How to get funding for start up business

Funding for start up business is not an easy task and requires creativity. Most of the Startups are relying on big companies to fund them which is a bad idea. Big business always puts profit over creativity and this way the idea could hurt you. Instead one should try some new ways of funding for start up business. (1) Crowdfunding – Start with loans from your friends and family and go forward to the crowd for small amounts of money. This concept called crowdfunding can help you initiate the business and the individual stakes of lenders are also small. The crowd also allows your idea more time to flourish. (2) Work in an undiscovered niche – Business ideas which are in a particular niche have more chances of success. Startups in specific niches have greater chances of getting funding from the market. This is due to more likelihood of success. (3) Start your business in a government grant area – Many kinds of projects are funded with grants from the government. For example, the energy sector concerning renewable sources like solar and wind are being funded by governments worldwide.

Making Money From Gig Economy

Gig economy is the recent trend on the economic scene. More and companies are turning to small term contracts with individual workers in an effort to reduce costs. Gig economy of independent contractors is on the increase, attractive to workers and employers alike. Here are a few ways of Making some money from the gig economy.

(1) Using your driving skill – You can make some extra money on weekends by driving others. You can offer your services to a company like Uber. You just have to pass the screening test which takes about a week.

(2) Online gigs – If you are good with computers you can earn a lot online. You can become an affiliate marketer and let your facebook page earn money for you. Another way is to use your writing skills to produce online content and get paid.

(3) Renting a room in your house – If you have rooms in your house which are not used much, you can rent out the room either with a long term renter of something like Airbnb and earn some extra bucks. But you need to be careful while doing these part-time jobs. There are many online frauds, so online gigs should be checked for legitimacy. Same goes for renting rooms. You should always give your rooms via a verified source to save problems. Hope some of these suggestions help, let me know if you have any other tips and ideas.

Bridging finance and profits – business strategy

The study of business strategy has its roots in territorial values. That is to say, the first strategies came by way of fighting. Eventually, money sought to replace all measures of violence although it was unsuccessful in its goal of completely diversifying human intentions. Either way, money has become the most common way of measuring success in business and the modern world operates in a fairly organized way regarding business practice. So, like with the world’s first strategy, it’s important to understand the basic principles that all successful business people practice. We call this finance. Finance is simply a process of defining the amount of money a business needs to spend in order to create the ideal amount of profit. So, if you have a real goal, you can then begin bridging finance to profits. It’s important to note that finance is not paying people or buying things, it’s the process of raising, planning, and preparing the right amount of money. Therefore, bridging finance and your goals will provide your business with a comprehensive strategy.

Risks faced by Online Business

 

E-Commerce has taken a giant leap with internet availability spreading. Internet has made it possible for small entrepreneurs to leverage their business. More and more people are working to build their business online as this is the future. However there are certain risks of online business that should be considered.

Hacking of website – This is the biggest threat for a new entrepreneur. Generally a new business online is unaware of the plethora of hackers waiting to pounce on sensitive data. The data of potential clients that you have gathered working day and night could go in seconds. The solution is to keep up the security of the website and also have a backup of sensitive data.

Downtime Risks – If you have not chosen your web hosting smartly your website could have unexpected downtimes. This is really damaging for online business. The customers will go away if the website is down when they look at it. The way to counter is to choose a reliable web host and minimize down time.

The Google Algorithm – Online marketing is real with online business. Being on top in Google searches is a must. However take care with recent algorithm changes in Google search. You could be penalized if you do not know how to advertise without going against the new terms and conditions.

Essentials of Starting A Business

 

Having your own workplace and business is the best. It is better than 9 to 5 job and is more rewarding too. However there are certain things which should be considered seriously before you start off.

• Know the Business – Before starting off you should study and research each aspect of the business. The best way is to work for some time with a company which is well established in that line. You need to learn the secret behind the success of that company. However that need not be your focus. Knowing the line will help you immensely when you start your own.
• Start with the minimum workforce – Hiring people means regular outflow of money. So while starting try to have minimum people working for you. When I started my business I was the CEO, marketing manager and the accountant. In fact I was working alone for full one year before I hired an assistant. This is often necessary in the beginning.
• Always do the Primary part – If your business does well you will have to delegate the things. You cannot do all by yourself as there is limit to human capability. But keep the primary part of the business with you. Marketing is the thing you should always control.

5 Essentials for Success in Business

There has been a paradigm shift towards startups in the last decade. The spread of internet as a mode of communication has enabled new entrepreneurs. Communication and disseminating information has never been easier. However the business to be successful needs to do some specific things. Major characteristics of a successful business are:

• Clear cut Objectives – A business which is successful has well-defined objectives. It leads to goals and operations being robust and well-directed. The objectives act like guiding light for the business.
• Planning – Planning is the key to meeting the objectives of business. A well-made plan is vital to success in business. It also helps in removing uncertainty to a certain degree. Cash Loans can help while planning to meet immediate expenses of business.
• Periodical Market research – In the present scenario markets and consumer tastes are changing rapidly. Therefore periodical market research has become essential for knowing the needs and modulating the product/service according to consumer preference. Small business have greater flexibility in making changes. Country of origin labeling is one such thing which helps categorize.
• Employee Involvement – Gone are the days when the employees used to toil hard without being a part of profit. The right way is to include the employees and make them shareholders. This way they will have reasons to work hard. Better talent is essential for business success and involving employees helps attract better talent.
• Presence on the Web – In this digital age traditional way of setting an office does not work. Business will need to have presence on the internet. Convenience of this medium and the power it has should be acknowledged.

Understanding Business and Finance

It was an article that got me excited about finance, and then I started my journey to learn more about it. I spent more than 200 hours with senior chartered accountants to understand numbers, to demystify numbers for a layman. Throughout this blog I will be using my philosophy which is KISS – Keeping Information Simple and Specific. Albert Einstein very beautifully said – “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”.

Qualification Criteria

There is a qualification criterion to read and understand financial statements. This is the yardstick that I use to find out if my clients qualified to read and understand financial statements. Let me use the same thing here. It is a trade secret which I do not let out but now will

If you think you can read and find meaning from the above picture and it makes sense, it simply means you are qualified to read and understand financial statements. Does that mean you should learn tennis. Well it is not that. If you can read numbers you are qualified to read Financial Statements

Business is Simple

Business is not complex but very simple. Just follow the simple rule – Earn more, spend less.

While doing business when we add the transactions that involve money coming in and Money that is supposed to come in, it is the total earnings, and when we add money going out and the money supposed to go out it is the expenses or spending.

When the income is more than spending the business will make profit. It is so simple to do business.

Numbers and Business

Why understand numbers?

Whenever I meet business owners and decision makers I try to explain to them the importance of understanding finance and numbers before making any decision. Almost every time their immediate reply would be – Why should I understand numbers? I have got a book-keeper. I have got an accountant. We have a CFO. We have a finance department.

Well friends Rich dad said, “If you want to be rich, you’ve got to understand numbers.” That is why a person’s financial statement becomes their report card once they leave school. These are the words of Robert Kiyosaki. My mentor who got me into finance said – “Sooner or later everyone realizes that their ability to lead successful business largely depends on their ability to read Balance Sheets”.

Jack Stack author of the great book ‘The Great Game of Business’ said –“If people know how to use a financial statement, that’s really the simplest way to run a business”. These are not simply quotes but essence of business as stated by experts.

If I can understand numbers, even you can!

When I make my clients understand the importance of knowing numbers before making business decisions, their immediate reaction would be – Micahel do you think I can really understand numbers? Do you think I can read a financial statement? I was not good at math when I was in school. I did not study any subject related to accounting, when I was in my college. Well friends let me tell you something. Even I do not have commerce or accounting background. I am a Civil Engineer. I did my masters in Entrepreneurship but finance was not my main elective. What I am trying to say is you do not have to be a mathematics genius. You do not need to have any kind of finance or accounting background to understand reading financial statements.