Raising £100,000 may seem like a daunting task, and you may be wondering where to start, and can it even be done?
Well, we’re glad you asked. Yes, you can. To be able to raise 100,000 pounds, all you need is to know is where to look and who to ask. This article will help you with both of those.
When you have come up with a start-up business idea and have no capital, you should never give up on your idea. There are plenty of actions you can immediately take to enable you to come up with the capital you require for your idea to come to life.
There are plenty of entrepreneurs in the world who are extremely smart and industrious but failed when it came to getting the start up finance they needed to fund their business plans. These ideas, unfortunately, may die without ever coming to fruition.
You do not have to be like them. By following these tips, you stand a much better chance of being able to raise the money you need to start your business
Get a bank loan
Most banks are actually quite willing to fund a start-up business by issuing what they call start-up loans.
You must, however, have a solid business plan, and the plan should be structured very well and it must convey things such as profits projections, modus operandi – the way in which you will do the business – and the amount of time by which you are anticipating you will get a full return on your investment.
Crowdfunding
This is the process of raising funds online. You do not even need to be tech savvy to be able to use this method. Here is how you crowdfund
Pre-launch
Prepare a pre-launch campaign with information about your business, and come up with ways in which you will engage people. This should include the social media platforms you shall use for the campaign.
Find a target audience
The key is to identify the right people and recruit them as ambassadors for you. Word of mouth will help you initially to spread the word about your campaign in a budget-friendly and reliable way. If you are able to grasp an audience even before the launch of the campaign, you will have a greater advantage. You can use platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc., to advertise and get the word out there.
Use Facebook ads
With over 2 billion Facebook users, this is the best platform to market your campaign. Let your ads target a specific audience and ensure to get the maximum number of sign-ups. The beauty of Facebook is that it allows you to target your audience using demographics, gender, age, location, etc., which makes it a great platform for advertising.
Create a newsletter
Statistics show that newsletters are still the no.1 most effective method of getting people to take action. Come up with a newsletter to alert the public or let them know what you are about to do. This will enlighten them on your upcoming campaign and can also be the source of initial sign-ups. Use any method possible to let the public know. Nothing is outdated.
Nurture your subscribers
Once you have your initial subscribers, nurture them into ambassadors. Send them several emails before launching the campaign, and ensure your story is presented and your position valued by each one of them. Go a step further and connect with each of them on a personal level so they understand your story more intimately.
Seek an angel investor
Angel investors are people with plenty of money who are basically willing to invest in new business ideas. This is what you see in the popular TV show Dragon’s Den.
What you need to do is prepare a business plan, and visit the investor with a clear analysis of what you need, how you are going to achieve your goals and the length of time you need to make enough money in order to pay them back.
If your idea is good enough, you may just end up with an investor, but, bear in mind that they will sometimes want to have a share of your company in return for their investment, or they may even decide to buy it outright from you.
Get a loan from a Microfinance Institution
This is yet another option you have in your hands. The beauty of a microfinance institution is that it offers a much lower interest rate compared to the banks. You may, however, need to become a member of the institution first, and even save some amount of money with them before they will trust you with a loan.
If you have some cash at hand, this is a good option.
Seek venture capitalists
Venture capital is a type of funding that is available to new and growing businesses. It comes from venture capitalism firms who specialise in funding new and high-risk business ideas. In this process, the firm will offer start-up loans to new firms in exchange for equity.
It is not always easy to find a venture capitalist who is willing to invest in your business idea, because they ideally look for the next big thing, and as such, many entrepreneurs find themselves bending backward in order to showcase their ideas as bigger than it probably is.
This is also a short-term investment, and the capitalist will want a return on their investment as quickly as possible.
Pursue a grant
You can opt to source funding via a grant from the government. Most governments have money set aside to fund new business ideas. Grants are sums of money for investment that do not need to be repaid. If you are lucky enough to win a grant, it is one of the best ways to raise capital for your new idea.
But the process is normally very long, and the competition is extremely high. The number of people trying to win a grant from the government is many, and the pot of money available usually too little to accommodate everyone, and therefore your chances may be extremely limited.
Conclusion
The above are some of the ideas you can employ in order to source for funds to start your new business, and these methods can even help you to come up with more than £100,000 to fund your new business idea.
If one doesn’t work, do not give up, just try the next one, and the next one, and the next one, until you are able to find what you need to start your company. The key to this process is never giving up, because you may not know exactly what you have in your hands until you try.