photo credit: ronbrinkmann There are lots of articles and books written about the formula for start-up success, but start-up mistakes are much more consistent. These common mistakes will take even the best idea into start-up dead pool. Greed Getting rich quick only happens playing the lottery. If you are starting a company for a quick [...]

photo credit: HowdeeDoodat As the economy continues to face credit challenges, small businesses, especially new, start-up companies are finding it even more difficult to find the capital they need to take their ideas and concepts and turn them into viable businesses. Private equity firms and angel groups are no longer actively seeking new investments. They [...]

photo credit: cwbuecheler Many start-up companies and even savvy business people are not aware of what it takes to find capital to launch their new idea or propel their business forward. There should be no shame in this because if you were an expert on it you would be in business finance and not the [...]

photo credit: star5112 “Get an introduction to the venture capitalist.” It’s good advice. It just isn’t always possible, or even likely. Many outstanding entrepreneurs with equally outstanding financing proposals simply don’t have The Introduction. Unsolicited, and un-introduced, financing proposals are typically tossed into the dog pile or slush fund or circular file. In most venture [...]

photo credit: JUCCCE When we purchased Rockford Ball Bearing Corporation out of bankruptcy in 2006, the venture capital market was flush with cash. This spring we sought an additional round of funding for our expansion. Venture Capital is never easy to find, but especially during these difficult economic times it is getting harder. New strategies [...]

photo credit: rachie lea All businesses start with “the big idea”. The person with the idea often times does not have all of the start up capital that they need to turn this multi-million dollar idea into a reality. The first place that many business owners start to seek funding is from friends and family. [...]

photo credit: Jazz Defo Many would-be entrepreneurs who are long on vision but short on capital think that “angel” investors are the way to go for start-up capital, and they very well may be. Before approaching them, here are 10.5 things you should know: * 1) Angel investors generally participate in the early stages of [...]

photo credit: sunciti_sundaram Question: I’m an entrepreneur and have finished my business plan. I’m getting ready to raise $2 million for my startup real estate company – but a friend of mine said I should only talk to accredited investors. I’m not exactly sure what an accredited investor is and I don’t understand why I [...]

photo credit: BAIA There has been a recent wave of websites and TV shows about people starting their own business and following that path from bright idea and individual entrepreneur to small business start-up and then potentially to multinational, depending on the product or service. But what kind of audience are they broadcasting to? Well, [...]

photo credit: Nabeel H Often people ask us whether there are loans for starting their own businesses. And from time to time we receive inquiries about work-at-home business loans. In order to understand whether these loans exist and what are the requirements to get them, there are several concepts that need to be clarified. Some [...]