If you want your business to be a success right from the start (or at least stand the best chance of this happening), there is nothing else for it but to have a decent amount of money to use in the business. This startup capital is crucial as it means you can realise your goals much more quickly, and you’ll be able to offer a much more polished and professional business to your customers.
Knowing this is one thing, but getting the money to use in your business isn’t always easy, and much of the time, you’ll need to speak to investors to help you. In order for these discussions to have a positive financial result, it’s important to know what investors are looking for in a business. Read on for some pointers.
A Solid Business Plan
Every business owner should write a comprehensive and well-researched business plan, but if you want to borrow money from investors, this is non-negotiable. This is the document that will prove your business idea is a profitable one. It will show potential investors where their money will be spent and how they will get a return on that investment.
Not only will you be able to include all the important figures in your business plan, but you can also show that you have a thorough understanding of the business itself, and your target market, plus you can detail your ultimate goals. You might even want to include the fact that you know there are R&D tax credits you can apply for, proving that you have looked into every facet of every element of your business. If you can prove you have done this, investors will feel their money is safer and will be more likely to invest.
A Unique Idea
No investor is going to be very interested in a business idea that has been done before. If it was done well, there will be a lot of competition. If it was done poorly, that suggests there is no market for it. In either case, it’s not going to look like a viable investment.
That’s why it’s best to come up with a unique idea or at least a different spin on an old one. If you can show why you feel this new business will work (market research is crucial, and plenty of statistics will help), an investor will be more interested, and you can discuss how much funding you’ll need once they are intrigued by the prospect of whatever you’re suggesting.
Experience
A savvy investor is going to be wary of a first-time business owner with little experience. Even if the idea is good, the execution might not be, and they could lose money. Or they might have to put in a lot more time and effort to make the business work, and therefore they’ll want to take a larger share, which could make their investment an impossible one to accept.
If you don’t have much – or any – business experience, it’s a good idea to get some before starting your own business and certainly before approaching any investors. You could take a business course, work for someone else, or launch your business on a shoestring to gain experience before you relaunch bigger and better with more money.
