Funding Sources - Options To Raise Capital For Your Business

Access to funding when you need it is essential to both emerging and established businesses. So where can you find it? There are far more sources, which are far more accessible, than you may have imagined. Your capital acquisition strategy may include a combination of funding sources. It's smart to diversify, and a blend of debt, equity, and possibly grants is a great idea. Here are some options:

* If your company needs cash to cover expenses, can't wait for the typical accounts receivable cycle, and has invoices and purchase orders, then consider asset-based lending.

Potential sources include your neighborhood bank or factoring finance companies, which you can locate online by searching for "factoring" and the name of your city.

* If your company needs cash to cover expenses, can't wait for the typical accounts receivable cycle, and has a solid history of credit-card sales, then consider merchant cash advances.

Potential sources include http://Advanceme.com and other such services, which you can locate online by searching for the keywords "merchant cash advances."

* If your company needs seed or expansion capital and is willing to take on debt, then consider business loans, loans from friends and family, and microloans.

Potential sources include your neighborhood bank, the Small Business Administration, http://Prosper.com, http://TheSnapLoan.com, and http://Count-Me-In.org.

* If your company needs seed or expansion capital and has time to apply and wait for processing, then consider government or other types of grants.

Potential sources include http://Grants.gov and online searches for the keywords "small business grants."

* If your company needs seed or expansion capital and is willing to sell equity in the company, then consider angel investors, venture capitalists, and friends and family.

You can locate potential sources using online searches for the keywords "angel investors" or "venture capital" plus the name of your city.

* If your company needs to buy equipment or incur other capital expenses (such as pricey software), then consider an equipment lease line of credit.

One potential source is your neighborhood bank.

Business Funding Sources

When you decide to open a business on your own, often times the excitement will have you ready to launch your idea right away, however one thing that may be holding you back. You have several options in gaining much needed capital to begin to implement your business ideas. This article will include some ideas you can use to find funding for your business and begin to make the capital you need to grow.

So where can you begin to find funding sources for your business to gain capital? First place you should look is at the support of your friends and family. Occasionally, some people will get lucky and be able to find a lender within their family or friends to begin a business. You will want to be extremely careful however, borrowing from close friends or family can hurt your relationship with them, if extreme care for repayment is not made.

Another excellent avenue is to investigate any type of small business loans your government may offer. Many governments will offer new business owners loans for business start up, or disaster assistance and training. Also with the fast growing internet population there has been websites that have been created that allow lenders and borrowers to come together in efforts of starting up a business.

Another idea is to seek out venture capital firms; these are types of financial businesses that pulls together all partners resources and use these funds in efforts to help a new business entrepreneur being their business. In addition, look into your home equity, these types of loans typically called a second mortgage, allows you to borrow money from an institution by using the equity contained within your home as a form of collateral.


Lastly, credit cards and angel investors are two other types of funding sources you can investigate. Using your personal credit card can be a very tempting funding source; this typically works if you have enough of a credit limit as well as the means to pay it. With credit cards, you will want to be extremely careful in using them for your business venture and make sure that you keep up with the minimal payments at least; otherwise, you could end up hurting your credit and its rating.


Angel investors are typically retired executives or business owners, which are specifically there to help you start your business. These angel investors typically can provide you beginning capital in excess of what any other funding source can. Generally, these loans can start at $20,000 all the way up to around two million.