{"id":1541,"date":"2015-12-18T13:01:34","date_gmt":"2015-12-18T17:01:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fluentricciardi.com\/?p=1541"},"modified":"2022-01-31T13:02:51","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T17:02:51","slug":"popular-ways-to-fund-a-small-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fluentricciardi.com\/popular-ways-to-fund-a-small-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Popular Ways To Fund A Small Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether the funding is for kick-starting a great idea for a new business or achieving a competitive advantage that will fuel future growth, little else matters as much as having the cash to make your entrepreneurial dreams a living reality.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In order to thrive, businesses typically require hard assets such as equipment, access to real estate for things such as office and warehouse space, computer equipment, etc. In addition to these hard assets are softer assets such as employees comprising the business’s work force.<\/p>\n

Without these assets, a great idea for a new business will have a difficult time positioning itself to flourish. Acquiring access to these assets is crucial if the good idea is going to have a chance at making itself a going concern.<\/p>\n

The pressures felt by the entrepreneur who has a great idea can be overwhelming and daunting — especially when those pressures come with the seemingly impossible task of obtaining necessary financing to make the dream come true. This article is intended, however, to shed some light on several avenues, or funding alternatives, that are available to the entrepreneur and that are intended to satisfy the new business\u2019s funding requirements.<\/p>\n

SBA Programs<\/h3>\n

Perhaps one of the most well known funding alternatives is the financing available through the Small Business Administration (\u201cSBA\u201d). One of the advantages of the SBA is that it offers products specifically geared toward small businesses.<\/p>\n

This definition from\u00a0bplans.com<\/a>\u00a0zeroes in on the nature of an SBA Loan:<\/p>\n

\u201c[The loan] is not a direct loan from the SBA itself. Rather, it is a loan that has been made by a commercial lending partner, but that the SBA has guaranteed for these partners and that has been structured according to SBA requirements. This helps to minimize the risk for both partners and borrowers. Only those without reasonable access to other funding sources are eligible for such a loan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angel Investors (\u201cVC\u201d):<\/h3>\n

VCs are early stage investors who are not intending to be there for the \u201clong run,\u201d at least not initially. VCs typically provide \u201ckick-start\u201d financing. Because of the high-risk complexion of that early stage, a VC is making an investment during one of the riskiest times of the investment\u2019s life span.<\/p>\n

For this reason, the new business owner should expect to pay a premium rate of return for the VC\u2019s participation. It is not unusual, and should be expected, that the VC will expect:<\/p>\n