How to Raise Money for Your Company as a Female Entrepreneur.
As a result of being dissatisfied with their employment and the fact that they are routinely underpaid in traditional roles, a growing number of women are opting to focus their efforts on the creation of successful businesses that they own and operate on their own. These businesses generate enormous amounts of revenue.
The question of where and how to get capital to launch and expand their enterprises is a perennial challenge for female entrepreneurs. I had to find a way around this obstacle since I am a female entrepreneur.
Unless you’re a woman who is already involved in business or are considering establishing your own endeavor, here are a few methods to get the money you need to begin and expand your firm.
Putting in applications for various scholarships and incubator programs
You might be eligible for grants totaling thousands of dollars from the government, as well as awards from both public and private groups, depending on where you reside in the world.
There are particular awards available to help women company owners whose companies are at different phases, including genesis (the very first stage), start-up (the stage after a few years), and mature (been in business for a while and needs to keep growing).
You should be able to locate information about available grants and qualifying requirements by doing a fast search on Google. The websites of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Business Development Bank of Canada are two of my absolute favorites.
These funds are sometimes also connected to other incubator program offerings.
Incubators, which are synonymous with accelerators, provide women entrepreneurs with formal business mentoring, in addition to tools and resources.
To assist female company owners take their companies to the next level, growth-oriented programs often take place during a condensed period of time, anywhere from ninety to one hundred and eighty days, as the name indicates.
Even if not all incubator programs are connected to grants, the amount of learning and planning that goes on inside them gives them a tremendous amount of value on their own.
Products such as loans and lines of credit, along with other financing options
Nearly every financial institution accepts applications from female company owners for loans or lines of credit for their companies. However, based on my own experience with the financing of my own enterprises, I have found that the qualifying structure is often better suited to larger, more established companies.
When you finally do qualify for products like operating lines of credit, you’ll be in a better position financially if you’ve already established a loan connection with the financial institution of your choosing as early as you possibly can (which are extremely helpful when you have a business that has seasonal cash flow).
Look around for financial institutions that work specifically with business owners and entrepreneurs. Some examples are Export Development Canada, Women Entrepreneurs Saskatchewan, and Alberta Women Entrepreneurs, to name just a few.
To get started with the application procedure for a loan or line of credit, you need to prepare at the very least three documents: your company plan, a cash flow statement (or forecast), and a personal net worth statement.
If a woman entrepreneur has limited assets under her own name, she may not be able to access as much finance as, for example, a woman who has $75,000 in her TFSA or who owns a property. This last factor may clearly be a barrier.
Presentations that are successful with investors
This method is much the same as what you see on television programs such as “Shark Tank” and “Dragons’ Den,” in which an entrepreneur presents their company concept to a panel of potential investors (or people who make decisions on behalf of larger funds about what to invest in).
Think about the little labels that appear on websites and say things like “as seen on Dragon’s Den” to get an idea of how beneficial this may be for public relations for a company if the pitch is aired.
However, getting the word out about your company via almost any pitch medium will be beneficial, regardless of whether or not it is shown on television.
I was just made aware of a program called Total Mom Pitch, which is a business pitch competition as well as a program that provides a venue for company owners who are moms to present their business ideas and have access to advise from industry professionals.
When it comes to starting and building their own enterprises, women encounter a number of obstacles that may be overcome with the support of more platforms like these that are tailored specifically to women.
In order to make a pitch, you are going to require the following components: crystal-clear communication on your vision for the company, the figures (including your present and future growth narrative for your revenue, as well as how you intend to manage your margins), and what the potential is for the investor to capitalize on it (how much they stand to make and other ways the investment can benefit them).
You shouldn’t be shocked if others ask you what your genuine purpose for starting a company is; nevertheless, although though it may not be considered very ladylike by dinosaur investors, who you won’t want to accept money from anyhow, it isn’t improper to respond “TO MAKE MONEY!” in response to such a question.
It is crucial to have two different copies of whatever it is that you are going to pitch whenever you are getting ready to do so.
The first option is a brief two-minute presentation known as an elevator pitch. The second kind of presentation is a complete sales speech that lasts for thirty to sixty minutes. Usually, you will begin by giving your “elevator pitch,” and if it is successful, it will get you in the door so that you may give your “complete pitch.”
Gifts of cash from near and dear ones.
When you bring personal or family connections into the realm of finance, you automatically put yourself in a position to face difficulties in those relationships. Be wary of any investments, loans, or gifts that come with additional terms and conditions attached.
My recommendation is that you approach family members who are aware of what you are trying to accomplish and provide a crystal clear plan for how you will either pay them back or reward them with dividends or stock if they invest in your business.
For instance, my aunt is a successful businessperson in her own right, and when I was in the process of launching my own company, I spoke with her and presented my business plan to see if she would be interested in making an investment. She was, but in addition to that, she provided me with a wealth of comments to assist bolster my company.
Increase your business in accordance with the money you bring in.
When you begin to see an increase in your sales, you will want to make certain that some of the money is put back into expanding your company in some way, whether that be via the addition of new product lines or more employees.
However, this should not be done at the expense of paying yourself. Learn as much as you can about the “profit first” business approach, which comes highly recommended. It is the place where you, as an entrepreneur, make sure that you are paying yourself while your firm is growing…
Basically, this implies that you should pay yourself first before you pay for any other bills.
You may, of course, use your money toward expanding your firm, and in all likelihood, you will need to do so in some capacity…
Absolutely, it was me. But don’t go overboard with it since you also need to take care of your own money to ensure that you are adequately prepared for unexpected expenses and, eventually, retirement.
It is essential to investigate different avenues of funding for your company, such as those that were described above, if you want to expedite the expansion of your organization.
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