How To Get Money Today To Start Building Tomorrow

The old saying goes, "It takes money to make money".  The problem for most is that we don't have the money to make any money.  As a child your parents teach you to save money, but no one tells you how to save when you don't have enough.  There are plenty of people with great ideas, but they can't get off the launchpad due to a lack of funding.  In my recent post titled "Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail" I direct readers to start with a plan for their business before anything else.  As important as it is to start with a plan it is just as important to realize that even though you may need a source of financing for your project, the bank should be your last stop.

As an entrepreneur you have to be aware of all the resources around you. As a former bank manager, many entrepreneurs would come to see me for financing, but in all reality the bank should be your final step; not your first.  Banks don't want to invest in any risky lending.  You have to almost prove to banks that you don't need any money, before they will actually lend you any. Entrepreneurs looking for funding have to start somewhere and their local bank is not it. Organizations like the SBA and your local city government are a good place to start.

Below is a list of some great sites to help those entrepreneurs seeking funding for their endeavors:  

o www.opportunityfinance.net
o www.microenterpriseworks.org
o www.cdfi.org
o cfed.org
o www.cdvca.org
o www.ncif.org
o www.eda.gov
o www.firstnations.org
o www.oweesta.org

Be sure to check out these sites, because they provide great tools and direction in finding your pot of gold.  Now that I have shown you the rainbow, which way are you going to go?

Don't Hide, Go Get It

Day by day I continue to try to better myself and my situation.  A year ago I parted ways with my former employer to build my own dreams instead of theirs.  With leaving that job for “the road less traveled”, I gave up security, an income, and part of my sanity.  The struggle is real, but I know that the reward is great. 

A family member once told me to “Dream Outrageous” and I live by that now.  Currently you can find my writings in Soul Pitt Quarterly and Hip Hop Enquirer.  You can also catch yours truly on television, locally, but in all reality I’m local. 

Reporting for Hip Hop Enquirer in D.C. during the Chris Brown trial.

The reason I am saying all this today is because if I didn’t put any value in myself nobody would.  This is just the beginning and I know that times will get tough, but anything worth wanting is worth working hard for.  I come from a town where it seems so simple, yet it gets so complex.  Most of the youth don’t dream and the majority of the adults lack leadership.  At a young age I learned that if I wanted it, I was going to have to go and get it.  

This is how I am going to get it.  Pay attention please, because this message will self-destruct immediately after it is read.

The best thing that I can do for myself and my situation is to plan.  Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail.  Think about it.  Most of us are business oriented and don’t realize it.  Whether you are organizing neighborhood events or selling drugs on them same corners, you are business oriented.  If no one has told you this, let me be the first to.  “All businesses need to have a plan, regardless of their industry.”  In my journey as an entrepreneur I have found that be so true. 

Most people don’t think about the work that leads up to the grand opening of their own business, but that is the biggest obstacle to immediately hurdle.  A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals.  With having a background in banking and business planning I have a good bit of experience in dealing with business plans.  In my last posting, I spoke about two experts in business plan development that share great information on business planning.   The information that they provide should be considered by all business leaders. With the combination of my past experiences and my continued learning I have discovered ways to successfully communicate my business’ story.

The most important thing that you can remember about starting your business plan is that people want to see numbers.  The most important thing that you can remember about starting your business plan is that people want to see numbers.  The most important thing that you can remember about starting your business plan is that people want to see numbers. 

There I said it enough time to make it stick. 

Just remember, if it doesn’t make money, it doesn’t make sense.  Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t.

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

Small business is the backbone of our nation’s economy.  These days more and more people are chasing “The American Dream” and going for what they believe is theirs.  Folks are quitting their day jobs, risking it all, and going into business for themselves.

As a former bank manager I would constantly have people stop by my office to discuss getting a loan to start their small business.  The problem with that, however, is that the bank should not have been their first step to acquire funding for their business.  The very first step any entrepreneur should take in their quest to see their vision become a reality is to create a business plan.  Think about it.  Without a business plan how could one effectively communicate their business’ story? 

The days of walking into your local bank and simply requesting a small loan then agreeing to terms with a firm handshake are over. As if they ever truly existed.  With that being said, nowadays lenders and investors want to see your plan and more importantly your numbers. 

To give readers a better understanding of the importance of business planning I have researched and reviewed two recognized experts in the field of writing business plans.  The information that these two individuals provide is vital to any business plan and should be applied to many. 

Tim Berry is all about business planning.  He has been referred to as “The Obi-wan Kenobe of Business Planning” and “The Father of Business Planning”.  Tim has written many books on planning with his Stanford MBA degree, MA from the University of Oregon, and BA in Literature from the University of Notre Dame to back him.  As a founder, consultant, co-founder, and investor, this successful entrepreneur has seen business plans and business planning from a lot of different viewpoints.  Tim is the official business planning coach at Entrepreneur.com.

Tim believes that one of the most important pieces of the business plan is determining your “Goals and Objectives”.  “One of the most important reasons to plan your plan is that you may be held accountable for the projections and proposals it contains. That's especially true if you use your plan to raise money to finance your company,” says Berry.  

Goals and Objectives Checklist 
via Entrpreneur.com

If you're having trouble deciding what your goals and objectives are, here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. How determined am I to see this succeed?
2. Am I willing to invest my own money and work long hours for no pay, sacrificing personal time and lifestyle, maybe for years?
3. What's going to happen to me if this venture doesn't work out?
4. If it does succeed, how many employees will this company eventually have?
5. What will be its annual revenues in a year? Five years?
6. What will be its market share in that time frame?
7. Will it be a niche marketer, or will it sell a broad spectrum of good and services?
8. What are my plans for geographic expansion? Local? National? Global?
9. Am I going to be a hands-on manager, or will I delegate a large proportion of tasks to others?
10. If I delegate, what sorts of tasks will I share? Sales? Technical? Others?
11. How comfortable am I taking direction from others? Could I work with partners or investors who demand input into the company's management? Is it going to remain independent and privately owned, or will it eventually be acquired or go public?  

Noor Shawwa is the founder of ThinkDoBusiness.com which helps technical entrepreneurs and first time managers to “think and do” business better. He has lectured on entrepreneurship and business strategy and worked for some fast-growing online businesses.  Shawwa believes that your business plan allows you to map out where the huge land mines that claim most victims are and navigate your way around them. 

Noor Shawwa states that there are three key ingredients to every good business plan.

1.     Analysis

This is where you make sense of your Market, Industry, and Competitors.

2.     Action

This is where you lay out how you will run your business based on what you know about your customers, industry, and competitors.

3.     Results

This is where you show and forecast results of the business based on your analysis and decisions.

“The rest of the business plan works around these three building blocks,” says Shawwa.

Key takeaway: When it’s finally time to get down to business, always have a plan…both literally and physically.