The Art of Financing a Startup

If you are starting a business of your own, financing is almost certainly on your mind. It’s hard to find the money for a new business. Most businesses start as a means of creating a reliable way to generate money in the medium-to-long term. But in the early day, businesses just cost money. If you’re an entrepreneur, it’s important to understand how to apply for a loan to finance your startup. But you also need to know about the other options available for the funding of new businesses. Knowing all of your options will put you in a position to make the best deal for you and your business as the years go by.

Depending on the nature of your business, you may be well-served by crowd-funding options available through platforms like IndieGoGo and Kickstarter. These two crowd-funding giants have brought in millions of dollars for startups all around the world, and they’re showing no signs of stopping. Crowd-funding is also a great way to connect with your audience/customer base, even before you have a product to sell. Very frequently, these are people you would only meet after funding. But this way, you can form relationships with the people who will go on to value your business most, and be your most long term and enthusiastic customers.

Another good place to look for money is the government. We don’t often think about government support of small businesses, but there are actually many grants and programs to help entrepreneurs. When you really think about it, it makes sense. Governments want their citizens to earn reliable income. This creates national stability because these people create jobs, spend money, and won’t need to be propped up by government support for their entire lives.

You can always opt to ask for money from people you are close to. This is basically crowd-funding as described above, but you’ll likely ask a different group of people. Friends, relatives, well-monied social connections – these are some of the people who will want to support you. If they have the financial resources to do so, they may be more than willing to write you a check or grant you an informal loan. It’s good practice to ask these people for money only when you are sure you can make it worth their while, either through paying them back or in being very successful.

Of course, you can always get a loan from a bank or venture capital firm. Different institutions will have different loan terms and requirements, but there are so many that a good idea can have access to that you may be surprised at the sheer range of options available to you.

There are still other ways to finance your business, but these are some of the most common and interesting. Consider all of your options when it comes to paying for a startup, and you’ll be more likely to find dynamic solutions which give you the best chances to pay the loan back, while still growing your business at a steady and sustainable rate.