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This week we’re talking about the myriad of ways you can raise money for your startup, whether it’s #partnerships, #investors, etc.
Plan to Make Money from Day 1
If you have venture capital money, you may not need to make money for a number of years…but for the rest of us, we need to have a strategic launch.
What does that mean? You create massive advertising so that day one you are making sales. If you don’t make money in 90 days, you probably have a bad idea (not-including venture-capital startups!)
Work a Job at the Same Time
So you can feed your family and put extra money into your new business. The best way in my opinion is to bootstrap the company as much as you can.
Credit Cards
I started my first business on a credit card. I needed a vehicle to start the business and the rest is history! I know Dave Ramsey would have a coronary over this but I’m just telling you what I’ve done and it worked for me.
Equity Loan on Your Home
I’m not a super-big fan of this but sometimes you need to do what you need to do. I’m not telling you to get a $250k line of credit…that makes you stupid. Take the very minimal amount and if you burn through the money unsuccessfully then you need to go back to work until you get the next idea going. It’s typically the second business that is successful for entrepreneurs.
Give Away Equity to an Investor
Giving away equity absolutely works. Be careful how much give away though.
Borrow from Family Member or Friend
Delay the payments for a year with a set schedule and a favorable interest rate to them AND EVEN IF THE BUSINESS FAILS, you pay them back regardless. Pay them back HELL OR HIGH WATER and do not borrow money from ANYBODY who cannot afford it, like your eighty-year old grandma.
Bring on a Partner
You can bring in a partner for a variety of reasons but early own you may find that bringing in a partner who also brings in money can be critical to the success of your startup.
