New Ways to Fund Small Businesses

BY AMY HE

The new year will hopefully usher in some lifestyle changes. Join a gym. Tackle that neglected booklist. Clean out the dusty attic. Maybe…start a new business venture?

But, before you start fantasizing about your new tricked out office workspace and slick business cards, you have to jump over the mountain-sized hurdle of acquiring funding.

Traditionally, if you wanted to start a small business or a new venture, there were a couple of options when it came to funding. You begin with the process of sketching out your business plan and once you laid out the foundations of your business concept — what your business would do, where you would work, how big your team would be, for example — the next big step was the issue of financing.

Self-financing your business-operation-to-be was, and still is, the first option most potential small business owners consider. Sometimes, savings and investments aren’t enough, and people often deferred to the next best thing, which is some combination of credit cards, friends and family.

But over the years, credit has gotten trickier to access. Credit cards and bank loans are harder to get; rates are abysmal and carrying debt is a much bigger burden now than it was before.

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