It goes without saying that raising capital is a major concern for most entrepreneurs. To help you study up on the subject, I’ve put together a list of five of my most popular blog posts on raising capital.
1. #1 Strategy to Achieve Financial Success in Biz
Business is a direct reflection of how we run our personal lives. Using this understanding of the relationship between personal and business finances, usually within a few seconds I can determine if an entrepreneur will be financially successful or not by asking this question: “How are your personal finances?” Learn more about how your personal relationship with money impacts your business, and how you can ramp that relationship up.
2. Really Ready to Raise Capital for Your Small Business?
Most entrepreneurs don’t realize the difficulty in getting funded. We have all heard how some banks are lending, SBA loans are available, investors are investing and so on. What these guys don’t tell you, though, is how difficult it is to actually get the money from them. Now that I have helped four green businesses raise over $3MM for their businesses in the past 10 months, here’s my checklist to get you ready.
3. 10 Steps to a Funding Strategy That Works
For seven years I worked my ass off in my company, raised over $1MM and grew my green retail stores into probably the largest in the country at that time. And now we were going bankrupt. Upon reflection, I had not really taken the time to plan out the details of raising money for the company, expanding carefully, or determining the necessary contingency plans if things did not go the way I expected. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Here are 10 steps to creating a successful funding strategy.
4. What’s the Real Amount You Need to Raise?
I remember being in a real bind with one of my companies. The business was growing rapidly and I needed a delivery van. But not just any delivery van. It needed to fit our green retail store theme, so I wanted it to run on alternative energy. But in 1994 that was an expensive concept. I just could not seem to raise the money. What happened next taught me an important lesson, one that is especially needed with today’s economy. Read my important lesson on financing here.
5. Six UnReasonable Steps to Raising Capital
Meet Andrea Kihlstedt, who has been a fundraiser for non-profits for many years. Her exceptional success is deeply rooted in her interest in philosophy and psychology. She says, “Fundraising is the willingness to ask in a way that intersects with what the person you are asking wants.” Check out her unreasonable (and extremely effective) fundraising model here.
Want to explore this topic further? I’m happy to help. If you’re ready to make your unreasonable goals into a reality, sign up for a free 45 minute consulting call.