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Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid – What RE Investors Should Know

There are 3 major drugstore chains in the US: Walgreens, CVS, and Rite Aid. Below are some key statistics about the 3 major drugstore chains as of 2012:

1. Walgreens ranks first with market cap of $28.51 Billion, $72.2 Billion in 2011 total revenue ($45.1B from prescription revenues), and an S&P rating of A. According to Walgreens, 75% of the US population lives within 3 miles from its stores. In April 2010, it acquired 258 Duane Reade drug stores in New York Metropolitan area which brings a total of 7841 drug stores Walgreens operates as of February 2012, including 137 hospital on-site pharmacies.

2. CVS ranks second with market cap of $56.56 Billion, $107.1 Billion in revenue ($40.5 Billion from CVS prescription revenues and $16.1B from its Caremark prescription mail order revenue), and an S&P rating of BBB+. As of December 31, 2011, CVS operates 7404 drug stores.

3. Rite Aid ranks third (fourth, behind Walmart in terms of prescription revenues) with market cap of $1.49 Billion, $26.1 Billion in revenue ($17.1B from prescription revenues), operates 4714 drug stores as of February 2011 and has an S&P rating of B-.

Investors purchase properties occupied by these drugstore chains for the following reasons:

1. The drugstore business is very recession-insensitive. People need medicine when they are sick, regardless of the state of the economy. Both rich and poor people in the US have access to medicine. Some even argue that low-income people use more medicine due to free or low-cost drugs offered by government-assisted programs. So the tenants should do well during tough time and have money to pay rent to landlords.

2. The drugstore business has a good prospect in the US:

· People are living longer and need more medicine to sustain longevity, e.g. Actonel for osteoporosis, Aricept for Alzheimer’s symptoms. Older people tend to use more medicine than younger ones as they often have more medical problems. As the 78 million baby boomers are getting closer to retiring age starting from 2008, the drugstore chains anticipate the demand for medicine to increase in next 20 years.

· The drug market continues to expand as the US population continues to grow. More and more Americans suffer from various diseases. The number of Americans suffers from seasonal allergies doubled in the last 15 years to 37 million people per Fortune magazine. They spent $5.4 Billion in 2009 for allergy drugs. As their waist lines balloon (75% of Americans are forecasted to be either overweight or obese by 2020), more Americans are diagnosed with diabetes, along with high cholesterol at younger and younger ages. In addition, doctors also recommend treating various diseases sooner than later due to better understanding about the diseases. For example, doctors now prescribe antiretroviral drugs for patients soon after infected with HIV virus instead of waiting for the infection to become AIDS. More doctors combine insulin with oral medicines to treat type-2 Diabetes instead of just oral medicines alone. All these factors increase the size of the drug market.

· Advance in genetic engineering has introduced various new genetic DNA testing kits which allow the genetic diagnosis of vulnerabilities to inherited diseases and disorders. Genetic testing is currently the highest growth segment in the diagnostics industry. Some of these genetic tests will probably transform into direct-to-consumer testing kits available in drug stores in the near future.Upon FDA approval, these new products will potentially bring in additional revenue for drug stores.

· Using a new method of tailoring molecules called structure-based design; drug companies come up with new medicines that they might not have discovered otherwise, e.g. Xalkori by Pfizer to treat lung cancer.

· The passage of Health Care Reform Bill on March 23, 2010 provides insurance coverage to an estimated 33 million more American. This is a great present to the drugstore industry.

· There are new drugs to treat previously untreatable illnesses, and new diseases, e.g. Viagra for men’s unhappiness, Avastin for colon cancer, Herceptin for breast cancer,. The new medicines are very expensive, e.g. a year’s supply of Avastin costs about $55,000. Eli Lilly has sold about $4.8 billion of Zyprexa in 2007 for schizophrenia and yet most people have never heard of this medicine.

· There are existing drugs now approved to treat new illnesses and thus increase their sales revenue. For example, Lyrica was originally intended to treat pain caused by nerve damagein people with diabetes. It is now approved by FDA to treat Fibromyalgia which affects 5.8 million Americans per WebMD.

· Big advances in genetics, biology and stem cells research are expected to produce a new class of drugs to treat diabetes, Parkinson’s and various rare genetic disorders. For example the new drug Ilaris from Novartis targets genetic causes of an inherited disorder that there are only 7000 known cases worldwide. However, Novartis hopes to gradually broaden its drugs to a blockbuster drug to more common disorders caused by similar genetics.

· Technology and modern life introduce and require new products, e.g. pregnancy test kits, Lamisil for stronger clearer toe nails, Latisse for longer & thicker eyelashes, Propecia for male hair loss, Premarin for menopausal symptoms, diabetic monitors, electronic toothbrushes, contact lenses, lenses cleaners, diet pills, vitamins, birth-control pills, IUDs, nutrition supplements and Cholesterol-lowering pills (Americans spent nearly $26B in 2006 on Cholesterol medications alone per IMS Health, a Connecticut-based consulting company that monitors pharmaceutical sales.)

· Before the customers can get to the medicine aisles or pharmacy counters, they have to pass by chocolates, sodas, digital cameras, watches, toys, dolls, beers and wines, cosmetics, video games, flowers, fragrances, and greeting cards. Drug stores hope you use the one-hour photos services there. The stores also carry seasonal items, e.g. Halloween costumes, and “As Seen on TV” merchandise, e.g. Shamwow. As a result, customers buy more than their prescriptions and medicine in these drugstores. CVS reported that non-pharmacy sales represented 30% of the company’s total sales in January of 2007. The figure for Walgreens is 34% and 37% for Rite Aid. Many pharmacy locations are in effect convenience stores especially ones that are in residential or rural areas. And so Walgreens hopes that customers also pick up WD-40, and screwdrivers at its stores instead of at Home Depot; Thai Jasmine rice, and fish sauce to avoid a trip to Safeway or Kroger Supermarkets. During the recession, sales of these non-drug items are down as customers buy what they need and not what they want. Walgreens tries to reduce the number of items by 4000. It also introduces its own private label which has higher profit margins.

· There are more and more generic medications on the market as a number of enormously popular brand-name blockbusters lose their 20-year long patents, e.g. Lipitor (best selling drug in the world to lower cholesterol) in 2010, Viagra (you know what it’s for) in 2012. Drugstores prefer to sell generic drugs to customers due to higher profit margins than the brand-name medications.

· Many people are addicted to pain killers, e.g. Hydrocodone/Oxycodone. Per the DEA in 2012, there are 1.5 million American addicted to cocaine but 7 million addicted to prescription drugs.

· This author estimates that at least 10% of the dispensed prescription drugs are not used at all and sit idle in the medicine cabinets. They are eventually expired and thrown away.

3. These companies sign very long-term NNN leases, guaranteed by their corporate assets. This makes the investment in the underlying property fairly low risk, especially for Walgreens with a S&P “A” rating. In fact, these properties are sometimes referred to as investment-grade properties. Once the drugstore chains sign the lease, they pay the rent promptly and timely. This author is not aware of any properties leased by one of these drugstore chains in which the tenants failed to pay rents. Even when the stores are closed due to weak sales (Walgreens closed 119 stores in 2007), these companies may sublease the properties to other companies, e.g. Advance Auto Parts and continue to pay rents on the master leases.

· A typical Walgreens lease consists of 20-25 year primary term plus 8-10 five-year options. During primary term and options, there will be no rent increases in most of the leases. This is the main disadvantage of investing in Walgreens drugstores.

· A typical CVS lease consists of 20-25 year primary term plus 4-5 five-year options. The rent is normally flat during the primary term and then there is a 2.5%-10% rent increase in each 5-year option.

· A typical Rite Aid lease consists of 20-25 year primary term plus 4-8 five-year options. The lease often has a rent increase every 5-10 years.

Investment Risks

Although the pharmacy business in general is recession-insensitive, there are risks involved in your investment:

1) The main downside about investing in pharmacies is there is little or no rent bump for a long time, e.g. 20-50 years, especially for Walgreens. So the rent is effectively reduced after inflation is factored in. This is one of the main reasons these properties do not appeal to younger investors, especially when the cap rate is low.

2) The 3 drugstore chains now have a new formidable competitor, Walmart. Walmart sells prescription drugs in more than 4000 Walmart, Sam’s Club and Neighborhood Market stores in 49 states. As of 2012, Walmart is the third largest drug retailer with $17.4B in prescription sales, just ahead of Rite Aid with $17.1B in prescription sales. The retail giant is known for launching in 2006 a highly-publicized $4 generic prescription drug program which now sells 350 generic medications for a 30-day supply. The actual number of medications is less as the medications with different strengths are counted as different medications. For example, Metformin 500 mg, 850 mg, and 1000 mg are counted as 3 medications. Walmart probably makes very little profits on these medications if any. However, the marketing campaign–created by Bill Simon, the President and CEO of Walmart US, generates a lot of publicity for Walmart. Walmart hopes to draw customers to its stores with other prescriptions where it has higher profit margins. In an unscientific survey with just one brand-name prescription of Lyrica, this author finds the lowest price at Costco, the highest price at Walgreens and Walmart at the middle. Other drug chains try to counter Walmart in different ways. Target now offers the same 350 generic medications for $4 for a 30-day supply. Walgreens has a Prescription drugs club with membership fee which offers 1400 generic medications for as little as $1/week. CVS says it will match any offers from its competitors.

3) Chief Business Correspondent Rick Newman from US World & News Report predicted that Rite Aid might not survive in 2009. Rite Aid is still around in 2012. The prediction seems to go away in 2012 as Rite Aid as it was able to refinance the long terms debts and sales revenue has increased.

4) Drugs are also sold in thousands of supermarkets, Target stores, and Costco warehouses. However, there are no drive-through windows at these stores or Walmart to conveniently drop off the prescriptions and pick up medicines. Customers will not be able to pick up their prescriptions during lunch hour or after 7PM at Target stores or supermarkets. They need to have membership to buy medicines at Costco. Others may not fill their prescriptions at Walmart because they don’t want to mingle with typical Walmart customers who are in lower income brackets. And some baby boomers don’t want their prescriptions filled at Target or Walmart because there are no comfortable chairs for them to sit down and wait for their medicines.

5) Drugs retail business to some degree is controlled by the Pharmacy Benefits Managers (PBMs). Customers normally get prescription coverage from their health insurance companies, e.g. Blue Cross. These PBM manage prescription benefits on behalf of the insurance companies. In 2012 Walgreens lost a contract valued at over $5 Billion with Express Scripts, a major PBM. Walgreen revenue was immediately fallen in the first quarter of 2012 as Express Scripts customers cannot fill their prescriptions at Walgreens. The PBMs are also in the drugs retail business via mail orders which do not require leasing expensive retail spaces. The prescription mail orders currently capture over 20% market share of the total prescription revenue. Should customers change their prescription purchase habits to mail orders (there is no such evidence in 2012), it could have negative impact to the business of drugstore chains.

6) Many leases in areas with hurricanes and tornadoes are NNN leases with the exception of roof and structure. So if the roof is damaged, you will have to pay for the expenses.

7) The tenant may move to a new location down the road or across the street when the lease expires. This risk is high when the property is located in small town where there is low barrier for entry, i.e. lots of vacant & developable land.

8) The tenant may ask for rent concession to improve its bottom line during tough times. The possibility is higher if the tenant is Rite Aid and if the store has low sales revenue and/or higher than market rent.

9) More Americans are walking away from their prescriptions, especially the most expensive brand-name medicines. This may have negative impact on the sales revenue and profits of drug stores and consequently may cause drug store closures. According to Wolters Kluwer Pharma Solution, a health-care data company, nearly 1 in 10 new prescriptions for brand-name drugs were abandoned by people with commercial health plans in 2010. This is up 88% compared to 4 years ago just before the recession began. This trend is driven in part by higher and higher co-pays for brand name drugs as employers are shifting more insurance costs to their employees.

Among 3 drugstore chains, Walgreens and CVS pharmacies in general have the best locations-at major intersections while Rite Aid has less than premium locations. Walgreens tends to hire only the top graduates from pharmacy schools while Rite Aid settles with bottom graduates to save costs. When possible, all drugstore chains try to fill the prescriptions with generic medications which have higher profit margins.

1) Walgreens: the company was founded in 1901 by Charles Walgreen, Sr. in Chicago. While the company has existed for more than 100 years, most stores are only 5-10 years old. This is the best managed company among the three drugstore chains and also among the most admired public companies in the US. The company has been run by executives with proven track records and hires the top graduates from universities. Due to its superior financial strength–S&P A rating– and premium irreplaceable locations, properties with leases from Walgreens get the highest price per square foot and/or the lowest cap rate among the 3 drugstore chains. In addition, Walgreens gets flat rent or very low rent increases for 20 to 60 years. The cap rate is often in the low 5% to 6.5% range in 2012. Investors who buy Walgreens tend to be more mature, i.e. closer to retirement age. They are looking for a safe investment where it’s more important to get the rent check than to get appreciation. They often compare the returns on their Walgreens investment with the lower returns from US treasury bonds or Certificate of Deposits from banks. Walgreens opened many new stores in 2008 and 2009 and thus you see many new Walgreens stores for sale. It will slow down this expansion in 2010 and beyond and focus on renovation of existing stores instead.

2) CVS Pharmacy: CVS Corporation was founded in 1963 in Lowell, MA by Stanley Goldstein, Sidney Goldstein, and Ralph Hoagland. The name CVS stands for “Consumer Value Stores”. As of 2009, CVS has about 6300 stores in the US, mostly through acquisitions. In 2004, CVS bought 1,200 Eckerd Drugstores mostly in Texas and Florida. In 2006, CVS bought 700 Savon and Osco drugstores mostly in Southern California. And in 2008 CVS acquired 521 Longs Drugs stores in California, Hawaii, Nevada and Arizona for $2.9B dollars. The acquisition of Long Drugs appears to be a good one as it CVS did not have any stores in Northern CA and Arizona. Besides, the price also included real estate. It is also bought Caremark, one of the largest PBMs and changed the corporation name to CVS Caremark. When CVS bought 1,200 Eckerd stores, it formed a single-entity LLC (Limited Liability Company) to own each Eckerd store. Each LLC signs the lease with the property owner. In the event of a default, the owner can only legally go after the assets of the LLC and not from any other CVS-owned assets. Although the owner loses the guaranty security from CVS corporate assets, this author is not aware of any incident where CVS closes a store and does not pay rent.

3) Rite-Aid: Rite Aid was founded by Alex Grass (he just passed away on Aug 27, 2009 at the age of 82) and opened its first store in 1962 as “Thrif D Discount Center” in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It officially incorporated as Rite Aid Corporation and went public in 1968. By the time Alex Grassstepped down as the company’s chairman and chief executive officer in 1995, Rite Aid was the nation’s largest drugstore chain in terms of total stores and No. 2 in terms of revenue. His son, Martin Grass, took over but was ousted in 1999 for overstatement of Rite Aid’s earnings in the late 1990s. Rite Aid is now the weakest financially among the 3 drugstore chains. In 2007, Rite-Aid acquired about 1,850 Brooks and Eckerd drugstores, mostly along the East coast to catch up with Walgreens and CVS. In the process, it added a huge long term debt and is the most leveraged drugstore chain based on its market value. The integration of Brooks and Eckerd did not seem to go well. Revenue from some of these stores went down as much as 20% after they change the sign to Rite Aid. In 2009, Rite-Aid had over 4900 stores and over $26 Billion in revenues. The figures went down in 2010 to 4780 stores and $25.53 billion in revenue. On January 21, 2009 Moody’s Investor Services downgraded Rite Aid from “Caa1” to “Caa2”, eight notches below investment grade. Both ratings are “junk” which indicate very high credit risk. Rite Aid contacted a number of its landlords in 2009 trying to get rent concession to improve the bottom line. In June 2009, Rite Aid successfully completed refinancing $1.9 Billion of its debts. In 2012, Rite Aid benefits from Walgreens contract problem with Express Scripts. Same store sales increased 2.2%, 3.2%, and 3.6% for January, February and March of 2012, respectively. Rite Aid is still losing money in fiscal year 2012 which ended in March 3, 2012. However, it is losing less, $0.43 per share in 2012 versus $0.64 per share in fiscal year 2011. The company expects better outlook in fiscal year 2013.

Things to consider when invested in a pharmacy

If you are interested in investing in a property leased by drugstore chains, here are a few things to consider:

1. If you want a low risk investment, go with Walgreens. In stable or growing areas, the degree of safety is the same whether the property is in California where you get a 5.5% cap or Texas where you may get a 6.5% cap. So, there is no significant advantage to invest in properties in California as the property value is based primarily on the cap rate. In 2012, the offered cap rate for Walgreens seems to come down from 7.5%-8.4% in 2009 to 5.5%-6.5% for new stores.

2. If you are willing to take more risk, then go with Rite-Aid. Some properties outside of California may offer up to 9% cap rate in 2012. However, among the 3 drug chains, Rite Aid has 10.5% chance of going under in 2010. Should it declare bankruptcy, Rite Aid has the option to pick and choose which locations to keep open and which locations to terminate the lease. To minimize the risk that the store is shuttered, choose a location with strong sales and low rent to revenue ratio.

3. Financing should be an important consideration. While the cap rate is lower for Walgreens than Rite Aid, you will be able to get the best rates and terms for Walgreens.

4. If you are not a conservative investor or risk taker, you may want to consider a CVS pharmacy. It has BBB+ S&P credit rating. Its cap rate is higher than Walgreens but lower than Rite Aid. Some leases may offer better rent bumps. On the other hand, some CVS leases, especially for properties in hurricane areas, e.g. Florida are not truly NNN leases where landlords are responsible for the roof and structure. So make sure you adjust the cap rate down accordingly. Some of the CVS locations have onsite Minuteclinic staffed by registered nurses. Since this clinic idea was introduced recently, it’s not clear having a clinic inside CVS is a plus or minus to the bottom line of the store.

5. All 3 drugstore chains have similar requirements. They all want highly visible, standalone, rectangular property around 10,000 – 14,500 SF on a 1.5 – 2 acre lot, preferably at a corner with about 75 – 80 parking spaces in a growing and high traffic location. They all require the property to have a drive-through. Hence, you should avoid purchasing an inline property, i.e. not standalone and property with no drive-through windows. There is a chance that these drugstores may not want to renew the lease unless the property is located in a densely-populated area with no vacant land nearby. In addition, if you acquire a property that does not meet the new requirements, for example a drive-through, you may have a problem getting financing as lenders are aware of these requirements.

6. If the pharmacy is opened 24 hours a day, it is in a better location. Drugstore chains do not open the store 24 hours day unless the location draws customers.

7. Many properties may have a percentage lease, i.e. the landlord can get additional rent when the store’s annual revenue exceeds a certain figure, e.g. $5M. However, the revenue used to compute percentage rent often excludes a page-long list of items, e.g. wine and sodas, tobacco products, items sold after 10 PM, drugs paid by governmental programs. The excluded sales revenue could account for as much as 70% of store’s gross revenue. As a result, this author has seen only 2 stores in which the landlord is able to collect additional percentage rent. The store with a percentage rent is required to report its annual sales to the landlord. As an investors, you want to invest in a store with strong gross sales, e.g. over $500 per square foot a year. In addition, you also want to check the rent to revenue ratio. If the figure is in the 2-4% range, the store is likely to be very profitable so the chance the store is shut down is low.

8. It does not matter how good the tenants are, avoid investing in declining, e.g. Detroit and/or low-income areas or small towns with less than 30,000 residents within 5 miles ring. In a small town, it may be the only drug store in town and captures most of the market share. However, if a competitor opens a new location in the area, revenue may be severely affected. In addition, the tenant can always moves to a new location down the road when the lease expires since there is low barrier to entry in a small town. These properties are easy to buy now and hard to sell later. When the credit market is tight, you may have problems finding a lender to finance these properties.

9. Many properties have an existing loan that the buyer must assume. If you have a 1031 exchange, think twice about buying this property. You should clearly understand loan assumption requirements of the lenders before moving forward. Should you fail to assume the existing loan (assuming an existing loan is a lot more difficult than getting a new loan), you may run out of time for a 1031 exchange and may be liable to pay capital gain.

10. With few exceptions, drugstore chains do not own the stores they occupy for several reasons. Here are just a couple of them:

– They know the pharmacy business but don’t know real estate. Stock investors also don’t want Walgreens to become a real estate investment company.

– Owning the real estate will require them to carry lots of long term debts which is not a brilliant idea for a publicly-traded company.

11. About 10% of the drugstore properties for sale and typically CVS pharmacies require very small amount of equity to acquire, e.g. 10% of the purchase price. However, you are required to assume an existing fully-amortized loan with zero cash flow. That is, all of the rent paid by the tenant must be used to pay down the loan. The cap rate may be in the 7-9% range, and the interest rate on the loan could be attractive in the 5.5% to 6% range. Hence, the investor pays off the loan in 10 to 20 years. However, you have no positive cash flow. This requires you to come up with outside cash to pay income tax on the rental profits (the difference between the rent and mortgage interest). The longer you own the property, the more outside cash you will need to pay income taxes as the mortgage interest will get less and less toward the end. So who would buy this kind of property?

– The investors who have substantial losses from other investment properties. By acquiring this zero cash flow property, they may offset the income from the drugstore tenant against the losses from other investment properties. For example, a property has $105,000 of rental profits a year, and the investor also has losses of $100,000 from other properties. As a result, the combined taxable profits are only $5,000.

– The uninformed investors who fail to consider that they have to raise additional cash to pay income taxes.

Out of the Box Thinking

If you put too much weight on the S&P rating of the tenants, you may end up either taking a lot of risks or passing up good opportunities.

A Good location should be the key in your decision on which drug store to invest in. It’s often said a lousy business should do well at a great location while the best tenant will fail at a lousy location. A Walgreens store that is closed down later on (yes, Walgreens closed 119 stores in 2007) is still a bad investment even though Walgreens continues paying rent on time. So you don’t want to blindly invest in a drug store simply because it has a Walgreens sign on the building.

No company is crazy enough to close a profitable location. It does not take rocket science to understand that a financially-weak company like Rite Aid will make every effort to keep a profitable location open. On the other hand, a financially-strong Walgreens will need justifications to keep an unprofitable location open. So how do you determine if a drug store location is profitable or not if the tenant is not required to disclose its profit & loss statement? The answer is you cannot. However, you can make an educated guess based on the store’s annual gross revenue which is often reported to the landlord as required by the percentage clause in the lease. With the gross revenue, you can determine the rent to income ratio. The lower the ratio, the more likely the store is profitable. For example, if the annual base rent is $250,000 while the store’s gross revenue is $5M then the rent to income ratio is 5%. As a rule of thumb, it’s hard to make a profit if this ratio is more than 8%. So if you see a Rite Aid with 3% rent to income ratio then you know it’s likely a very profitable location. In the event Rite Aid declares bankruptcy, it will keep this location open and continue paying rent. If you see a Rite Aid drug store with 3% rent to income ratio offering 10% cap, chances are it’s a low risk investment with good returns and the tenant will most likely to renew the lease. The weakness of corporate guaranty from Rite Aid is probably not as critical and the risk of having Rite Aid as a tenant is not really that significant.

Drug stores with new 25 years leases tend to sell at lower cap, e.g. 6-7% cap on new stores versus 8.0-8.5% cap on established locations with 5-10 years remaining on the lease. This is because investors are afraid that the tenants may not renew the leases. Unfortunately, lenders also have the same fear! As a result, many lenders will not finance drug stores with 2-3 years left on the leases. The fact that drugstores with new leases have a premium on the price means they have potential of 20% depreciation (buying new at 6% cap and selling at 7.5% cap when the leases have 8 year left). Some investors will not consider investing in drug stores with 5-10 years left on the lease. They might simply ignore the fact that the established stores may be at irreplaceable locations with very strong sales. Tenants simply have no other choices other than renewing the lease.

Four Steps in Attracting Investors Into Your Business

Do you need more investment in your business but can’t seem to attract more investors? Have you resorted to asking family and friends to invest in your business?

Do you know that there are a lot of people who are seeking opportunities to invest in a lucrative business that can make their money grow without them having to do anything? If your business is profitable but just needs some cash to give it a boost, then you have a lot of potential partners waiting out there. You don’t have to grovel among family members to get them to sign up with you.

Here are some tips on how to simply attract investors into your business.

1. Make a business plan. Be ready to present your business to any interested investor at all times, and this should be done the professional way. The manner by which you present your business is sometimes more important than what you actually have to present. If your business is only just starting up and has not proven anything yet, you can convince investors about the potential of your business with the way you sell your business to them.

So how can you present your business the professional way? The first step is to prepare a business plan with all the details regarding your business, from its history, current standing, and your goals and strategies for the business’s future. The business plan should be written properly and presented in a clean format.

2. Give them all the information they need. Present the business plan together with other important information, such as market data and information about competitors. Most importantly, be honest about your financial status. Make it clear what you are planning to do with their investment? Is it going to fund any new equipment that will make the business grow? Is it for a business expansion? Present a clear and accurate financial breakdown.

3. Tell them what’s in it for them. Present all these along with a draft of an investor agreement so they can read through the terms and conditions if they do decide to invest in your company. This will give them an idea of what to expect and what they will likely get from the investment, and when they will get it.

4. Be confident. It is difficult talking to investors and convincing them to put money into your business. But there’s one solution to this: you have to be confident in yourself, your abilities, and in the potential of your business. You have to believe that you are a good manager, that you have the right skills and abilities to make the business grow, and that the business has a promising future. This is better than anxiously pleading with them or shyly asking them to make an investment. Do not let yourself think that you or your business do not deserve the financial aid that investors are willing to give. Just think that your business is an amazing opportunity and they’ll be making a mistake not to invest in it.

If you believe in all these positive thoughts, your belief will turn into action and behavior. Your investors will feel your confidence and will feel assured in your ability to lead the business well. They will be convinced of the potential of the business.

If you are having doubts, bombard yourself with positive subliminal messages to plant positive thoughts and beliefs in your subconscious. You can convince your subconscious that:

My business is an amazing opportunity.

I am a good manager.

I handle business well.

I am a smart and capable businessman.

I can make my business grow and my investors rich.

My business is worth investing in.

5 Keys for Startup Investors

Hundreds of thousands of businesses are formed every year. Many of them are in significant need of capital, presenting opportunities for investors.

While startup investing is not for everyone, those with a high risk tolerance can find it a stimulating and potentially rewarding pastime. The possibility of getting in on the ground floor of the next Uber or Facebook, speculative as that might be, can be compelling.

Suppose you hear about an exciting new company looking for investors. You are aware that a majority of startups end up failing within the first few years, but you think this one could hit it big. What do you do?

1. Check out the Management

You ultimately are investing not just in a product or an idea, but in the people running the company. No matter how innovative or promising the business concept may seem, the enterprise is unlikely to succeed without capable management. You should assess not only the founders, but also those promoting the investment. An initial review often can be done online. In the case of those with professional licenses (such as brokers, accountants, and attorneys), you can check their license status and any disciplinary history. You want the people running or associated with the company to not only have clean backgrounds, but also a record of success in other ventures. Look for qualities such as experience, intelligence, creativity, integrity, discipline, and leadership ability.

2. Determine How the Business Will Make Money

Lots of companies are based on an intriguing concept. But the company must be able to translate that concept into a product or service that it can produce and sell at a profit and in sufficient quantities to generate reasonable cash flow. What is the startup’s monetization plan? What is the market demand? Who are the competitors? What is the marketing strategy? Is the business scalable, having the ability to grow rapidly without sacrificing quality or profitability? If the company is unable to provide good answers to these questions, its likelihood of success is dubious.

3. Rely on Advisors

If you are buying a used car, it is good practice to hire a mechanic to look the vehicle over to make sure you are not getting a lemon. The same principle applies in evaluating a startup. It is crucial to use qualified professionals, such as an attorney and accountant. Make sure your advisors are familiar with startups-an attorney specializing in personal injury cases probably will not be a good fit. You may also want to consult with experts in the business sector in which the startup operates. Your advisors will provide various insights you would not have on your own. They also will help you command respect from the company.

4. Thoroughly Research the Startup

Ask lots of questions and request lots of documents. If the business is concerned about revealing confidential information, it can have you sign a nondisclosure agreement. You and your advisors will want to examine the startup’s business plan, offering memorandum, financial statements, budgets, capitalization table, and corporate documents (articles, bylaws, prior investor agreements, etc.) If the documents are shoddy or incomplete, that is a bad sign. Be wary of internal financial statements; statements prepared by an outside CPA have more credibility. Audited financial statements are best, but are less common because of their expense. If your investigation raises red flags, insist on complete explanations.

5. Review the Investment Documents

Your advisors can be of great help here. At the very least, you want to be fully informed as to how the deal is being structured and what rights and obligations you and the company will have. Your attorney can advise you as to what document changes might be in your best interests and help you negotiate with the company. Your accountant can let you know whether the valuation seems reasonable. Do not proceed unless everything is fully documented. You should not invest based on a handshake or mere verbal assurances.

Startup investing requires patience and hard work. Although there are no guarantees, you can reduce the risks and boost the chances of success by following the principles discussed above.

Problems Faced When Looking For Investors For Your Business Idea

Venture capital firms, business angels and investors are people who make money out of investing in upcoming or established businesses in exchange for a share of the company. Finding a good investor to back your business idea can be a great help, specially if you still control most of your business, but it’s also considerably more difficult than finding a small business bank loan and other types of finance. Investors have very clear ideas about what they expect of their investment, and you will need to be able to prove that your business idea has a high likelihood of being very profitable. If you are getting ready to raise money for your business, the following are some of the most frequent problems you may face:

Being unprepared

This is often the worst problem a new entrepreneur may find when trying to sell his business idea to investors. You may know your product and have a strong feeling that it’s going to work, but you’ll need numbers to back your intuition to prove it to any investor. Investors are often entrepreneurs themselves, and know how to recognize a great business idea and a suitable person to make a profit out of that idea. They won’t put money on a business if the management (that’s you) doesn’t seem prepared or doesn’t know the target market intimately. A solid business plan and the ability to sell that business plan to another businessman are the key requirements to get your idea considered. Make sure you can answer uncomfortable questions, such as quoting data about your competition and showing an understanding of your audience and why your product is perfect for them.

Asking for too much, or offering too little

Investors often want a quick return on their investment, so if you are asking for a lot of money to launch your idea and you don’t expect to be profitable for a long time you should expect a hard negotiation ahead. You may be offered less money than you were after, or asked for a larger percentage of your business in exchange for it. Asking for a £20.000 investment in exchange for a 5% of a company that isn’t going to make any money the first year is just not going to work, no matter how good your idea is. An investor will think of ROI, and that means they want to own enough of your company to make a profit on your investment. Be prepared to negotiate, and remember that even if your business idea is great, the investor is also incurring a risk by trusting you and is understandable to want something in exchange for that.

Attitude, business management skills and dress codes

If the investor thinks that you are not really a good business person they may hesitate to provide you with their financial backing, no matter how good your idea is. If you come across as a great engineer but cannot show that you are also great at managing and sales you may be harming your chances of receiving funding, or you may find out that your investor actually wants to take an active part on your business instead of just letting you manage everything. Consider your meeting with the investors as a job interview, and as such aim to give an impression of security, professionalism and good business manners.

This often means wearing professional attire (yes, a suit, even if your business is an innovative ecological farm for casual artists) and being able to talk about your product in business terms, not only about its features or why it’s so great. If the investors see you as too young, too casual or too crazy they won’t invest because you’ll be seen as risky. If you can also show your experience as an entrepreneur without lying or being too obvious you may greatly increase your chances of success.

How Do Investors Read Business Plans

There are hundreds of thousands of business plans floating around and attempting to find a funding home. I receive hundreds of business plans annually myself, and can definitely state that 99% of these documents are laughable as presentations of an exciting investment opportunity. I am not referring to the value of the product being described, rather the presentation that purports to describe an exciting investment situation.

One of the reasons that so many plans are so poorly written, and there are many, many additional reasons, is that the writers do not understand how plans are read. Investment banks, venture capital firms, family offices, angel firms, banks and blind investment pools receive a stack of plans for consideration every day. Typically a junior reader, often a recent MBA, is assigned to read and screen the plans editing out all of the obvious losers. The remaining business plans are then marked up after sections are read in the following order: Executive Summary, Financials, Management, and Exit Strategy.

Why is the order in which a business plan is read important to recognize? Because, these are the areas that must be powerfully and compellingly addressed in order to have the business plan placed in front of decision- makers. The writing and construction of these sections dictate the level of interest that the original screening reader will express in the synopsis they will attach to the business plan copy as it begins it’s route through the project analysis process.

The Executive Summary is read first. This should be a two page vivid snap shot of the enterprise, and touch on each aspect of the opportunity. The Executive Summary needs to paint an exciting word picture that leaves the reader wanting to know more. Unfortunately, most plans are not read beyond the first paragraph or two.

Why? I have discussed this with investors on many occasions. I have asked the question, “aren’t you worried that you might be missing out on a great product opportunity just because the document has a weakly written Executive Summary”? The universal answer, “if there is no more passion or ability to excite us than we see in a poor Executive Summary, we have never had to look back at a missed opportunity. If you can’t make a great first impression for us, you won’t for anybody else either”?

You only get one chance to make a great first impression. The business plan is your projects first impression. It is the superstructure of your opportunity, the skeleton, and a foundation. If a house has a weak foundation it will not stand up for long. Why entrepreneurs submit documents that do not properly reflect the excitement they believe inherent in their invention is a sad mystery. A poorly executed Executive Summary negates all of the time, energy, investment and innovation built into a new offering.

Assuming the newly submitted Business Plan has an exemplary Executive Summary, and passes the initial screening read, Financials are read next.

Why Financials? Well, the Executive Summary is the skeleton of a project, while the Financials are the muscle.

Financials are based on a set of assumptions that are key to presenting a realistic, justifiable cash flow, balance sheet and income statement. Investors have certain Return on Investment parameters that they must seek to achieve before they can consider any investment commitment. The assumptions upon which the Financials are based must be from thorough research, current market conditions and historical means.

The principal reason Financials lead to project death is that the assumptions are based on dreams, hope and pie in the sky. A rule of thumb for successfully leaping the Financials section hurdle is this: investors need to realistically see that they will receive a mid-30’s per cent return on investment commencing between month 24 and 36 (year 3) after an investment is made. This rate and speed of return must be able to stand aggressive scrutiny. Believe me, investors are manic about analyzing, poking, prodding and tearing apart the assumptions upon which the Financials are constructed.

Good News! Your Business Plan has successfully passed through the Executive Summary and Financials doors. Next up, Management!

The Management section represents the brains of the new enterprise being considered for investment. An experienced (industry specific) management team must be either on hand, or readily available for successful placement.

The downfall in this area for so many prospective entrepreneurs is a complete lack of direct management experience. I recently reviewed a terrific safety product that had immense appeal. An exciting product, great margins, consumer need and obvious benefits, however, the group seeking funding had no executive management experience in any area the project required. They are candidates for a sale or license, but no funding round ever occurs without strong management. Remember: the investment is being made in people, people capable of driving an exciting opportunity to success.

Do not dream about running your own company, with someone else’s money, if you are a warehouse manager by trade but need production and marketing experience to succeed at the new business. It just will not happen, unless the investment comes from Aunt Hazel.

However, if you have strong and direct management experience and the Management section indicates a rounded team, the plan will move on through door three and to the last initial barrier to be overcome. What is your Harvest Goal (exit strategy)?

The Exit Strategy is crucial for investors and the effective management of their money pools. The Exit Strategy is the brain, intellect and emotional component of the deal. Venture capital is a high risk/high reward game. Investors know that the successful investment must pay out large, and relatively quickly, in order for them to cover the losers that greatly outnumber the home runs they hit.

Some entrepreneurs are unrealistic about harvesting gains from their business. This scares investment and venture money. An agreed plan to depart, take profits, sell or exercise myriad other harvest mechanisms at maximized points in the business cycle will be demanded before investment will be considered. It is best for the entrepreneur to be highly flexible when negotiating the harvest. The Exit Strategy is best summarized as an area where the entrepreneur is open, flexible, wishing to maximize profits and make a deal fair to all parties.

Inflexibility is a mortal sin for those seeking investment. I can not overstate how many deals never happen, products linger and die, opportunities are lost because an owner is unrealistic in framing his requirements for his enrichment when potential success is achieved. Leave something on the plate for all parties in a deal.

The other sections of a customized business plan are now important, but only after the pre-eminent Executive Summary, Financials, Management and Exit Strategy areas have passed muster. If your business plan has all four in good order you will be in rare company. Too many entrepreneurs dream about securing investment. This is anything but a dreamy exercise. It is tough, competitive, demanding, hard work. If you put the necessary effort into your project you will greatly enhance your chance for success!

Do not take shortcuts! Do not guess at details and assumptions! Do not fill in the blanks on a store bought template! Do not offer your opportunity for review until you have a professional, exciting presentation! Your Business Plan represents you, your family and your partner’s future!

Types of Angel Investors As It Relates to Small Business Investments

There is a large misconception that there is only one type of angel investors. However, there are many different attributes that make these individual funding sources very different from each other. This is primarily due to the fact that many angel investors have varying investment objectives as it relates to what they want in a small business investment. Foremost, the wealthiest of these funding sources are looking to make large scale investments into small businesses as they want to generate the highest return possible on their capital. Additionally, these investors typically do not want an ongoing stream of dividends paid to them on a monthly or quarterly basis. However, private funding sources that do not have a substantial amount of small business investment capital are more focused on generating a recurring stream of revenue from your business. As such, it is important that you focus heavily on the type of individual funding source that you intend to work with as this may impact certain aspects of your business including your cash flow analysis and profit and loss statement.

If you are working with a smaller angel investor then you are going to need to factor in the ongoing payments that are associated with your business. As such, you may not have enough capital on hand in order to make appropriate reinvestments into property, tangible assets, equipment, and expanded working capital. If your business has solicited capital from a wealthier investor then you may be in a much better position to make substantial reinvestment into your business while generating a much higher return on the equity of the business. Additionally, one of the benefits to working with a high end private funding source is that you can always go back to them with additional capital requests in the future. They will most likely have the appropriate capital on hand in order to assist you with aggressively expanding your growing business.

In closing, it is very important to discuss exactly the type of angel investor that you intend to find as it pertains to your start up business or expanding venture. It is imperative that you profile anyone that expresses an interest in regards to providing capital to your business on a one time or ongoing basis. Of course, we always recommend that you work closely with appropriate counsel that can assist you in making these determinations as it relates to your ongoing business operations. Additionally, you are going to need to make an appropriate examination of your business as it relates to your total capital needs.

Angel Investors and Alternative Financing

It is extremely important to keep your financing options open. Prior to looking for angel investors, you should look at programs offered by the Small Business Administration. Angel investors are the life blood of small business investment. In limited instances, these private investors will syndicate their investment with other funding sources if the investment is large but not large enough for a venture capital firm. Not every business needs a capital investment. Writing a business plan for your company is a difficult process.

There are many industries that are less risky and therefore more attractive to angel investors. If you business is profitable then a SBA loan may be a better fit for you. Popular industries amount angel investors include auto repair businesses, medical businesses, law firms, and other companies that are always in need. When seeking private investment, you will need a well developed cash flow analysis. In some instances, your certified public accountant can handle issues as it relates to incorporating your business in the state for a business friendly state. If you qualify for a bank loan, then using angel investor may not be in your best interest.

Only extremely large businesses, with values in excess of $50 million, are appropriate candidates for an initial public offering if you are seeking an extensive amount of capital. As an alternative to seeking equity investors you may want to look into specialized white using programs. Your lawyer should have a number of documents prepared for you in regards to raising capital as you are going to need to comply with any and all applicable securities laws.

When writing your business plan, either for an angel investor or any other type of funding source, you should always include a yearly budget as part your financial forecasts. There are many quality sample business plans available online that can assist you with this process as you are seeking financing.

Technology-based businesses are highly prized by angel investors that may qualify you for alternatives to private funding sources. It is imperative that you work with a properly qualified attorney when you are looking for private funding sources. It should be noted that most private funding sources that provide equity usually do not provide loans. Technology businesses are highly favored by venture capital firms, and this may be a better alternative if you need a large capital investment. Hard money may be an alternative for you as it relates to raising money from outside funding sources.