Money for Any Reason You May Need!

10 Ways to Finance a Small Business on your Own

Getting started with your own business requires a great deal of money. Even if you have the best idea to be the next "big businessâ€‌ you need to have the money to get started. If the banks are not offering you loans, all hope is not lost; there are several ways to finance a small business on your own.

1.آ آ  Crowdfunding

Social media has taken the world by storm and has become a great way to gain capital. Crowdfunding is a social media site that allows friends, family members, and complete strangers to donate money to your cause. It is crucial that you use the right wording and market the site to the right people. Getting the word out using other social media sites, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is a great way to get your Crowdfunding site noticed and the funds to come in.

2.آ آ  Peer to Peer Financing

If your lack of financing is due to less than perfect credit, then peer to peer financing might be a great option for you. This alternative requires you to request the funding you need on an online network. You state the amount of money you need and the terms you are willing to accept, namely the interest rate you are willing to pay on the money you are borrowing. If someone on the network is willing to accept the terms, they provide you with the funding and you make payments directly to them.

3.آ آ  Sell Before You Have the Product Ready

Large companies offer pre-sales so why can't you? If you think your product is the "next big thingâ€‌ then let your product do the talking. Create as much hype as possible about your product and people will get excited. They will want to be the first ones to have their hands on your products, which means they will do anything, including purchasing them before they are available. You can then use this money to produce the products and keep the ball rolling. Before you accept pre-orders, however, make sure you are going to be able to deliver on your promise or you could crash your company before it starts.

4.آ آ  Sell Your Idea to Universities

Universities do more than provide education; they also provide funds to businesses that show incredible promise. If you have a solid plan in place and can talk about your business with authority and precision, approaching large universities might be well worth your time. Many universities offer grants for businesses that show that they can make a difference in the world. As a part of the offer, you might be required to accept a few interns from the university, but if it gets your business up and running, it could be worth the trade.

5.آ آ  Barter

Bartering might be something that was done in our ancestors' past, but it is still effective today. If you are trying to get a business started without capital, yet you have extensive skills, barter those skills! For example, if you are good at IT, trade with a company that has extra office space to spare. They give you the office space to use for free and you offer your IT services in return. Of course, you should make sure to have your exchange in writing to ensure that you are not getting the short end of the stick or are not being used for your services.

6.آ آ  Competitions

Various areas of the world host Business Plan Competitions. These competitions, as the name suggests, have start-up businesses competing against one another for the grand prize – money to start up their business. For example, the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition 2016 offers monetary prizes to the winners of the competition in exchange for a boost in the rate of employment in the Rhode Island area. Along with the benefit of obtaining the cash necessary to start a business up, businesses also receive recognition and attention, helping to boost their target audience in the long run.

7.آ آ  Sell your Assets

It might not be the first choice of any entrepreneur, but selling your assets could net you the money needed to get your business running. Take a look around at your belongings and determine what you can get rid of in order to make your dream come true. You might have things lying around that while possibly sentimental, they are just collecting dust. If these items will help you make something of yourself in the long run, the sentiment can still remain; it will just be in a different form than collecting dust on your shelf or in your garage, whatever the case may be.

8.آ آ  Get a Microloan

Microloans are gaining popularity as they do not require as much documentation as the standard bank loan and provide just enough capital to get a small business off the ground. Microloans are typically capped at $35,000 and are provided by nonprofit organizations. The flipside to these loans is the higher interest rate that you must pay, but if you are unable to obtain traditional financing, it could be one of your only options. There are micro lenders located throughout the United States, each with their own requirements – do your research to find out what is available in your area.

9.آ آ  Check out Grants.gov

The government has money to give to you to start your business, believe it or not! Log onto grants.gov to find out what grants are available. You never know what is out there until you search. You just might have the next best thing that the government is looking to fund. There are a variety of ways to navigate the website, including reading through the available grants or performing a search on the keywords that pertain to your business. Even if there is only a small amount of funding available, a little bit is better than nothing.

10.آ آ  Find an Angel

Angel investors are people that are not involved in your business directly, yet they provide the funds to get you started. This tactic will take a bit of work because you must make sure you have done your research, created a solid plan, and have a proper exit strategy. Angel investors are not interested in fly by night companies – they want a company that will make a difference in the world and be around for a while. If your business is a fad or you are not passionate about the industry, an angel investor will be hard to come by. On the other hand, if you show that you have done a competitive analysis, understand the market's need, and you can show a proper track record, you might be able to entice an angel to help you out.