Options Archives - BOLLYWOOD SURKHIYAN

Venture Capital – And Other Funding Options For Your Business

When is the right time to consider VC or Private Equity for your enterprise? Initially every entrepreneur needs to first see if they have exhausted all other options first. Typically, a company would be low on equity when considering private investors. There are however multiple sources of equity capital, including, Friends & Family, Business Angels, VC’s, Corporate/Strategic Investors, Private Equity companies or The Entrepreneur’s own capital.

For those seeking capital of $500k+ look for VC. For smaller investments, entrepreneurs should seek a Business Angel or Debt Capital. An understanding of the different types of funding stages is therefore useful so see below.

Pre-seed funding is funding that is needed prior to physically construct the enterprise. Usually this funding goes to putting together a good business plan that can impress potential investors.

Seed funding is funding that is required to start building the company. It is possible that some companies could if appropriate skip this funding phase, but seed capital is usually the capital that is required to get the basics for a start-up. Usually at seed stage, a company is not yet ready to open for business, and this funding is usually used to rent office space, real estate, equipment needed to produce the company’s product or service

Seed funding is less commonly invested by VC’s and is not necessarily a large amount of funding. Seed funding can range from $100k-$500k. Rarely does it exceed $1m. Seed capital can also be raised from a Business Angel, Friends and Family or the Entrepreneur’s own funds. Only 15% to 25% of VC’s invest in seed funding.

Early stage funding is usually where VC is sought. A company is usually ready to trade but requires additional capital for salaries.

Later stage funding is also known as expansion/growth stage funding is for companies who are doing well and are seeking to expand.

There are numerous ways that entrepreneurs raise seed capital to get started. These conventional ways include raising debt capital from a business lender, merchant bank or angel investor who are willing to invest seed capital into the business. Other more ingenious entrepreneurs raise seed capital through raising debt capital, sweat equity and funding from friends and family. VC is usually raised with early stage funding, i.e. as above, series A or series B funding. In most cases, VC’s will not invest less than $1 million in a company.

Understand these and you will be off to a good start and be taken seriously.

Best Business Loan Options Guide: Learn About Several Funding Options for Businesses and Pros & Cons

Considering that there are so many funding options for businesses – including start-ups – these days, you really don’t have to settle with trying to get a bank loan in the traditional way. However, since every business is unique, the best business loan options for you might not be the same as those for your competitors or other businesses in your industry. It depends on your needs, goals, size of business, specific requirements, what kind of business you’re running, credit rating, location, your risk level, and so forth.

One type of financial option to look into is a term loan. This is a common form of financing with which you get a lump sum of money upfront, which you will be required to pay back with interest over a predetermined period. You don’t have to apply through a traditional bank, as there are plenty of small to medium sized online lenders in the 21st century. A great thing about this option is that if you qualify, you’ll get the cash upfront to invest in your business. The downside is you will likely have to put up collateral, and if you are a new business and lack a good credit rating, the interest rate will likely be higher.

SBA loans have always been popular with smaller companies, as they offer some of the lowest rates and long repayment terms. The repayment period depends on how exactly you plan to use the money. If it’s for real estate purchases, you’ll have a longer period of time to pay the loan back. If you need money as soon as possible, then you probably won’t consider SBA to be the best business loan options, since the application process can be long and rigorous and there is no guarantee your application will even be approved.

Don’t forget about lines of credit for business purposes. A business credit card can come with some great rewards as long as you make payments on time. They are usually unsecured as well so you won’t have to put collateral up. Of course, you’ll need to already have a good credit score in order to qualify for good terms. Otherwise, you might end up with additional costs such as draw fees and maintenance fees.

What Are the Best Business Loan Options to Consider

A few other business funding options to consider include:

• Angel investors

• Crowd-funding

• Factoring

• Purchase order funding

• Equipment loans

• Venture capital

Take the time to research everything and consider which options you’ll want to try. Make sure you have all of your financial statements and documents organize and ready to go, as well as a detailed business plan showing what you plan to do with the funds you receive.

You’ll find some of the best business loan options for just about any type of business in all industries with US Business Funding. This organization has helped thousands of businesses nationwide get the funding they need in a fast amount of time.

Options for Entrepreneurial Retirement – Gaining A Real Peace of Mind

At some point in every entrepreneur’s life, they have dreamed of starting their own business. When that newly minted entrepreneur steps away from corporate employment and into the wild west of self-employment, they take on the full responsibility of their financial destiny. Gone are the days of contributing to a matching company 401k plan.

These small business owners are now responsible for setting up and contributing to their retirement plan. According to a recent TD Ameritrade survey 7 in 10 self-employed people are not regularly saving (if at all) for retirement. I recently spoke with Heather Banks, a Certified Financial Advisor with First Bank Wealth Management in Asheville, NC. Heather shared with me her impressions of how retirement savings has shifted over the years. “For too many years, U.S. citizens have been reliant on social security benefits to fund their retirement. Social security is simply not capable of fully funding a retirement with any realistic expectation of maintaining the lifestyle they grew accustomed to during their working years. It is vital that small business owners take advantage of the retirement benefit options available to them, and work with financial professionals (financial advisors, accountants, etc.) to determine which option is the most beneficial for them.”

There are several programs a self-employed person can utilize to help them achieve their retirement goals.

SEP IRA(Simplified Employee Pension plan) is a retirement plan that allows a self-employed or solo-entrepreneur person to make pre-tax donations. It is a plan that is similar to a traditional IRA. It does, however, allow you to have a much higher contribution level. This type of program is one of the easiest of open and maintain. Most banks and investment firms can help your open and maintain this kind of account. With this plan, you can contribute as much as 25% of your net earnings from self-employment. The contribution limit for 2015 is $53,000. The deadline to open an account is April 15th following the tax year.

ROTH IRA is a retirement plan where the contributions you make are not deductible in the year that the contributions are made however they grow tax-free and are not taxed when they are withdrawn. The maximum contribution in 2015 is $5,500 if you are under the age of 50 and $6,500 if you are over 50 years old. These amounts begin to phase out for high-income earners who make $116,000 (single/head of household) and $183,000 (married). The deadline to open an account is April 15th following the tax year.

SIMPLE IRA Plan (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) is a deferral of the compensation plan. It is easy to open and maintain with banks and investment firms but keep in mind it has a lower contribution limit. This plan is good for businesses where the owners have other income sources as it allows them to set aside a larger percentage of profit. You can put all of your net earnings from self-employment in the plan up to $12,500 in 2015 through salary reductions. If you are over the age of 50, you can increase your donations by $3,000. The employer can also contribute up to 3% of employee’s contribution. This plan is best for self-employed people with fewer than 100 employees. The deadline to open an account is October 1.

The SOLO 401(k) Plan is easy to open and requires little maintenance. It is designed for companies without employees and, therefore, the program is only available to the owner and his/her spouse. This plan follows the same rules and requirements as any other 401(k) plan. You can make salary deferrals up to $18,000 in 2015 plus an additional $6,000 if you are over the age of 50. If you hire employees and they meet the plan eligibility requirements, you must include them in the plan, and their elective deferrals will be subject to nondiscrimination testing. The deadline to open the account is December 31. The program will be required to file an annual report with the IRS if it has $250,000 or more in assets at the end of the year.

For more information on each of these plans, I recommend you contact your local Certified Public Accountant and Certified Financial Planner. They will be able to help you choose which plan is best for you. I agree with Dave Ramsey, who said “I believe that through knowledge and discipline, financial peace is possible for all of us.”

Event Planner Trending – Entertainment Options And Ideas

Event planner trending? Of course #eventplanner might not be the top hashtag of the day, but I’ll bet if you’re attempting to plan a great event, you’ll be looking for an amazing event planner.

Event Planner Trending –

These are essentials for planning your event, and your event planner will need you to have these details already lined out before they come on board:

Specific purpose of the event and what outcome you desire at the end.
Limitations such as budget, time, travel for destination events.
Size, number of people, food choices, and entertainment options.

These three elements are likely non-negotiable. And you’ll need to be aware of any possible changes, prior to hiring your event planner. Start with these details and start locking in the basic plan before you contact the planner.

Structuring Event Options –

Who will be helping? Do you have a team on board already? Most business events have speakers lined up within the company, or specific for their purpose. You’ll want to share this information with your event planner. Know who is in charge of these items and let your professional planner know who they’ll be working with at the company.

Food planning and decisions.
Entertainment decisions.
Travel planning and organization.
Ultimate location, destination for event.
Emergency team. Know who to call in the event of an emergency.

Be sure to delegate responsibilities and get everyone involved.

Marketing Your Event –

If your event is more than company wide, you’ll want a bigger marketing team, but here’s a list of the basics for marketing and bringing in company attendance.

Layout your marketing plan.
Define benefits of attending your event.
Decide on media options (Social Media is ALWAYS good).
Bring company bloggers on board.
Determine what hashtags #eventplannertrending should represent your event.
Set up registration options.
Simplify registration and payment with online options.
Get YouTube Videos of all speakers. Snippets sell.
Splash the entertainment on ALL social media.
Increase word of mouth marketing by giving them something to talk about. Keywords and phrases matter.

Of course, you’ll be ready to capture an audience on the big day, but your audience should already be excited, thrilled to be attending, long before the event. If you’ve done your work as a business, your event planner will have access to all the pertinent information, and your marketers will have created quite a stir.

Bringing in great entertainment for your affair is an absolute MUST. Your planner should know who is currently trending and popular and be ready with a great selection of artists, bands, and big name entertainers ready to meet your needs.