7 Creative Ways to Raise Money for Your Small Business

Tap to Read ➤ If you need to raise money for your business and start-ups, these 7 ways can help you. Chris Ng

Are you looking for ways to start your small business? You just found it, you are about to get seven excellent and highly useful options you can choose from. A lot of people do not have problem or waste time getting great business ideas; if you ask many of them to give you two or more business ideas, they will provide business ideas in a flash!

Nevertheless, if you ask them why they have not done anything with these ideas, 80% will tell you they lack the funds to bring their ideas to life. Raising capital is one of the most significant challenges most entrepreneurs face when starting a business. It is a serious problem, also a common excuse for several business-minded people.

You may be familiar with some of the sources of capital you will read here, while some may come off as strange. Notwithstanding, the goal is to give you a lot of choices for you to turn your ideas from fantasy into successful real-life businesses. So if you are among the many people having problems raising the money, this story is a must-read for you.

Begin With Your Savings

Starting with your savings is an excellent way of telling people that you believe in the business idea and you are ready to stake all that you’ve got to make it work. After all, if your idea is brilliant as you say it is, then you should have no problem committing some of your hard-earned money to it.

Meet Friends and Family

The next best source of capital for your business, after you sum up your savings is your friends and family. They already love and care about you; they want you to succeed. Because they are close to you, they will be ready to take higher risk to invest in your business, unlike investors and banks who check for risks carefully.

Partner with someone who’s got the cash

Ideas are not the only tools you need to successfully start a business, you need money. You may not feel comfortable bringing someone else to your business; nevertheless, it is a good option. It’s easier to find business partners at seminars and conferences. They can bring money and expertise to the table.

Angel Investor

Before you roll your eyes, this is not a fairy tale. An angel investor is basically someone who has free money and is ready to invest in your business in return for ownership stakes. A popular place to find investors is Shark Tank, a TV show where entrepreneurs persuade a panel of "shark" investors to invest money in their idea.

Apply for Grants and Loans

Do you know that governments and international agencies are interested in supporting small and medium businesses (or SMEs)? Small and medium businesses play important role in the economic growth of the country.

That is why the government is interested in supporting small or medium business owners. So, use this opportunity to raise capital for your business.

Allow your customers to pay upfront for your goods or service

It may not be the top three best options to raise capital for your business, but it works. It is one of the few ways of starting a business with zero capital. Consumers with an immediate need for products or services are most times willing to pay in advance.

The Bank

The bank may be known for declining loan requests from small business and startup entrepreneurs, but people are still getting “yes” from them. All you have to do is to reduce your ‘high risk’ as a startup will give your loan application a higher chance of success.

Take Action Today

Most successful entrepreneurs have used some of the seven options listed here to start their company, and you too can do it. Good luck!