Self-Financing

What Kind of Funding is Right for Your Business?

It’s the question that everybody starting a small business asks. Do I need outside funding or can I bootstrap my business. If I do need funding, what kind do I need, and how to I get it? Most businesses are actually financed by home equity or private savings. Attracting venture capital or angel investors is...


Need Funds: What About Family and Friends?

“I’ve got a great idea for a business, but I don’t have any money to get it started! Where can I get money from the government or find investors to help me start my business?” If I had a dime for every time I’ve been asked this question, I’d be wealthy enough to establish my...


Beware of Friends and Family Financing

I caught a blog post last week recommending friends and family financing for a startup. It’s dangerous when a good blog posts bad advice.  So I’m not going to link to that post here. Years ago I met a man who’d spent 15 years struggling to make a sailboat manufacturing business work. He’d started the...


5 Lessons for Bootstrappers on Dealing With Banks

Banks and bankers have a relatively bad reputation, largely undeserved. Being more of a natural hermit than a networker, I can’t say I ever looked forward to dealing with banks, even though I had to. But over time, through the years of running the business, I’ve met a lot of smart, likable banking people. And...


Bootstrappers need business planning too.

There’s a world of difference between the business plan and business planning. Tim Berry speaks to this in his new article on Entrepreneur.com: Business Plans for Bootstrappers There is considerable confusion about business plans. Too many people think of a business plan as a document used to describe a business to potential investors. Sure, it...


Funding a Business from Friends and Family

If I could make a point with budding entrepreneurs, it would be that you should know what money you need and understand that it is at risk. Don’t bet money you can’t afford to lose. I’ll always remember a talk I had with a man who had spent 15 years trying to make his sailboat...


1 2