The Seriously Lighthearted Guide to Funding Your Start-up Business!: The Seriously Lighthearted Guide Series, #4

By Derryn Brigg

How to hunt in the world of start-up funding and bring down the big game!

A humorous but practical guide to the various funding options available to start-up businesses and tips on how to prepare for them.

Includes links to useful resources.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Derryn Brigg
• Release date: Jan 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393841869

Book preview

CHAPTER 1 – PREPARING FOR THE HUNT!

Like most things in life, preparation is key to success and it’s no different when you go hunting. A keen hunter will prepare by getting all of his weapons and hunting gear in order, making sure everything is in tiptop shape and that he has everything needed for a successful hunt, before going out into the wilderness. Imagine a hunter stuck in the wild at night and he forgot his torch... eish!

Hunting for funding is exactly the same and there are a few key preparations that need to be done before starting your mission otherwise you too will be caught in the dark with the lions circling. At a minimum you need prepare by doing the following:

Get a free credit check done

Calculate your own finances (Personal Balance Sheet and Income & Expenditure)

Minimise your start-up costs

Obtain a valid Tax Clearance Certificate

Consider strategic partners

Have a whopper of a business plan at the ready

Have 5-year financial projections compiled

Draw up a funding prospectus

Keep your day job

We will go through each in a bit more detail below.

CREDIT CHECK – It is a wise idea to get a credit check done and there are plenty of places where you can get a free one done at least once a year. The reason why I say that you should do this is because many of us are totally oblivious to our own credit rating and how bankable we are. If you don’t know your own financial position then how on God’s green earth will you convince someone to give you money? You need to know your situation in order to know what you are up against and the outcome is likely to influence or limit your choice of funders to approach. You can’t take down an impala with a pellet gun and there’s no point in wasting time approaching banks if you have a credit rating that’s in the toilet or even worse you find out that you are blacklisted (and yes, some people are unaware of this). Assuming you are bankable, it will also help you to estimate a realistic interest rate that the banks are likely to charge you therefore strengthening the accuracy of your projections. The better your rating, the more favorable the loan terms will be.

CALCULATE YOUR OWN FINANCES – Evaluate your own financial situation to see exactly what you have and how much its worth because you might be able to actually fund the business yourself or at very least contribute towards it. Add up cash reserves in savings accounts and any other accessible investment accounts. Look at your home loan to see if there is any equity that you can leverage off or perhaps there is an asset you can sell to raise the money (a painting, boat, motorbike etc.) Create a list of all assets including any policies which have the possibility of being used as security against a loan.  You may be thinking "Whoa, stop e’lorrie, I’m not risking my assets!" and you may be right but then WHY ON EARTH would I, as the potential funder invest mine if you are not willing to invest yours? This immediately says to me that you have no faith in the success of your own business therefore #shutthefrontdoor! Even if you scrape together a miniscule amount, it shows good faith and don’t say you can’t do it because I am sure there is something you can go without every month in order to save up a little. Also calculate what debt you currently have and how long before these are paid off. This will also help in assessing how bankable you are – the general rule of thumb is that your monthly debt repayments should not exceed one third of your income. The reality is usually very different