It Takes Money to Make Money

Most people decide to start their own business for two main reasons (1) to be your own boss and (2) the MONEY. But in order to get to this point, you need capital to start off with. For some putting the funds together to start a business might be easy but for most, with the cost of living, bills, and other commitments to consider putting aside all of the money needed to start a business can be difficult. This is why it is important to know what resources are available to you that can help jumpstart you on the path to your dreams.

Getting a business loan is the single most easiest and difficult method of solving problems related to capital. Easiest because it’s money given to you that you don’t have to worry about raising yourself just paying back once your business is earning enough to do so. Hardest because life is not a fairytale and banks are not just making it rain on every man, woman and child that comes in wanting money to start a business. The onus is on you to prove to them that you deserve this loan and ultimately that your business is good enough to not only make you money but most importantly make you enough to pay them back!

So how do you do this? Well, a business plan of course. As our previous post outlined research is key to starting a business and when making a business plan this research is what will help convince lenders that you are deserving of the money you are asking for. Banks want to know why you chose your particular area of business, your demographics, how you decided on the location(if applicable) and most importantly numbers.

In order to help you structure your business plan, you can hire a market analyst to gather the information that is necessary to prove why your business would benefit the community. Once you have put together a solid plan you can start using it to make a case to various financial institutions as to why it would be worthwhile for them to invest in you. Other ways of raising funds include:

• Canada Small Business Finance
• Private investors
• Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)
• Leverage funds from assets/savings