Category: Business

Whether you are writing a business proposal, a news article or a novel, a proper outline is extremely important.

It helps you to bring a proper structure to the main concept and then you can add to it.

A business proposal is one of the most important parts of any written text, be it a short composition or a major work of literature.

It would not be wrong to say that often this is your first initiative towards gathering your thoughts, taking forward a plan with constructive strategy going forward.

So even while you are writing a proposal for your enterprise, the business proposal outline is a very crucial element in the entire scheme of things.

Often the final shape of your business proposal is very closely linked to how effective the outline is?

This is because when you proceed along an outline, you are more or less sure of moving along a set structure and more prone to follow a format that can interest investors and various lenders.

What Are the Key Components of a Business Proposal Outline?

Here is the list of the most important components of a strong business proposal outline:

1. Executive Summary
2. A Brief Overview
3. Taking a Realistic Industry View-In-Depth Analysis
4. Customer
5. Gauging the Competition
6. Marketing Strategy

While there can be some exceptions, a typical business proposal would have at least ten primary sections in its outline.

In addition, there are 23 sub-sections too.

It is needless to mention that once you get these various sections and subsections in place, filing then up and completing the entire business proposal does not take a very long time.

You have only to create content in accordance with the section.

And you would have the entire proposal ready in a matter of hours.

1. Executive Summary:

This is primarily the first part of any well-formatted business proposal.

Often it is known as the essential window to the entire proposal.

If the readers do not like the executive summary, it is unlikely they would get past the rest of the plan properly.

It is more like a window to the entire business proposal.

Therefore it becomes a rather significant part of the business proposal.

Your outline too needs to, therefore, provide for it in an appropriate manner.

This will make sure that all key elements are touched upon.

And the core summary of the proposal is not compromised with.

Ideally, you can look at starting the executive summary with a precise and clear explanation of the company’s essential business plan.

Now refer to the RFP and try to understand the core essence of the client’s problem.

Now try to explain how your business seeks to address this problem and why you should bag the order.

List out the various competencies in your executive summary like:

1. Some unique features of the management elements in your company
2. In case you have important patents
3. In case you have the first mover’s advantage in the market, do no forget to highlight that

The ending of the executive summary also needs to be equally impactful.

Put up the entire financial estimates list.

From expected revenue to the profit projections, this is the most prominent place in the entire business proposal to highlight the financial viability and broad professional worth of the overall business model.

In case, you are seeking any specific funding requirement over the next few years.

This is the right forum to raise the subject.

Be clear in your estimates, projection and requirement.

This will convince the client about the financial viability of the claim that you are putting up as well.

2. A Brief Overview:

The second most important element of a business proposal outline is decidedly an overview of the company and its business fundamentals.

You can detail out a broad history of your company, how it was conceptualized, how it came into being and the primary highlights in terms of the key achievements of the enterprise thus far.

This is also the exact spot in the entire business proposal to specify the kind of legal standing that the company might have.

Especially the past accomplishments of your company are of great importance.

This gives a fair idea to the client about the business worthiness of your establishment.

This also makes sure that the potential for your future success is closely associated with the kind of success that you have experienced in the past.

The client also gets a realistic view about the kind of value addition that your induction in their team can mean.

3. Taking a Realistic Industry View-In-Depth Analysis:

We move from specific to generic in the next lap of business proposal outline.

You must realize that the outline is created to make sure that the content of the business proposal is as comprehensive as possible without unnecessarily making it too boring or unusually long.

The importance of industry analysis is also relevant to draw inferences about industry-specific growth parameters.

It is also relevant to and where your business enterprise stands in comparison to the competition.

Now this industry analysis can be divided into two sub-parts.

They address completely different aspects of industry dynamics.

But they are also an integral part of the overall analysis of business worthiness of a specific concept that you might be presenting to your client.

– Market Analysis:

In this subsection, you present the key market dynamics that business operates in.

In any business proposal outline, this is a key sub-sect that helps the client understand the kind of market dynamics that the company operates in.

It specifies the key size and the unique characteristics of the market that the business operates in, the primary factors that decide the sectoral performance and the parameters that decide the overall success rate of the business.

This will also give your client a fair idea of the market trends that need to be kept in mind while deciding a business strategy.

For example, if you are a publisher, you would include these:

• Details like the business prospects of the publishing industry in your area.
• The average turnover of the entire publishing business.
• The number of books that you publish every year.
• The number of books published by the industry in general.

– The size of the Market:

The next key ponderable is, of course, the market size that you operate in.

There are many reasons why it forms an almost indispensable part of any business proposal outline.

It gives the client an understanding about the maximum revenue that your company could generate, if it had 100% share and also the maximum amount of customers that you can target at any given point of time.

All these form an extremely crucial list of considerations that you must take into account when deciding on the business opportunity that a particular enterprise presents itself.

4. Customer:

When you are putting together a business proposal, the next key factor to take into consideration is undeniably the kind of customers that you can aspire to garner for your business.

Apart from the market, the customers are the next most important consideration for any business proposition.

It helps you identify the viability of the business proposal that you might be floating and gives you a realistic view of the kind of profitability that you can target overall.

So you must make sure that you include a subsection about the target customers.

This is the fundamental law of any business.

It is not just sufficient to float a business idea.

It is also important to understand the kind of people who would be ready to buy your offering.

You should also know the maximum number of people who would actually understand or appreciate the need for the product/service that the business is offering.

This is important for the client to whom you are presenting your business proposal.

This is because it gives the client a fair idea about the potential scalability aspect of the business and also the demographic dynamics that the customer profile presents.

You must understand that both demand and scalability of a business is closely related to the relative demand-supply matrix.

This is why your business profile outline almost makes it mandatory to include details about why the target customers need your product offerings and how you can offer them a reasonably good quality of product and service.

Reliability, comfort, business viability are all interlinked with this key question of customer need and demand dynamics.

As a result, it is important to highlight the advantage that you have vis-a-vis addressing customer demand.

This can convince the client, not just for the demand profile for your product, but also the relative profit prospect and the viability of associating with you to address their problem.

Your customer reach can sometimes even indicate your troubleshooting abilities as an enterprise and the kind of good will that you will be able to generate or that you already enjoy.

5. Gauging the Competition:

Now why does competition figure in your business proposal outline?

Well, that is because when you are taking into account the complete business prospects, competition and how you fare in comparison forms a very important part of the game plan.

A huge range of business dynamics come into play, and the way you can tackle competition also goes on to identify the profitability element for future.

But competition is not uni-dimensional.

There are many aspects to this entire competition aspect.

There could be some direct factors and other indirect contributors to the overall competition elements.

Here is a detailed study of the various competition parameters that you must take into account:

– Direct Competition:

This is the place where you have to list out the potential companies which offer direct competition to you.

Essentially they cater to the same set of customers that you are catering to and probably offering the same gamut of services that you might be specializing in.

An example of this could be P&G and Unilever.

On a global basis, their product range is similar; they are also addressing a similar set of customers.

But the fact that they are still sustaining as strong brands individually across geographies highlight their competition strategy.

In the same way, your business proposal outline needs to include the strategy that you are employing to tackle this type of direct competition.

Also, outline the relative strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and how you fare vis a vis them.

– Indirect Competition:

Direct competition is relatively easier to comprehend.

For example, if you have a grocery store, the kind of competition that you face from other grocery stores in the area.

But when I am talking of indirect competition, I mean the kind that you might be facing from a medical store next to you or an eating joint with readymade food options might present.

Your business proposal outline needs to carefully take into account these competitors and how you plan to deal with the competition.

– The Advantage over Competition:

The next key factor that you must keep in mind is how to outline your preparedness to deal with competition.

That factor alone will help convince your client about the possibility that you can book profit and also the fact that you can offer them a sustainable alternative to solve their problem.

You must clearly outline your strategy to deal with both direct and indirect competition in your business proposal.

6. Marketing Strategy:

Marketing is one of the key pillars to base your business upon.

Therefore, it is but obvious that the business proposal outline will prominently account for this particular pointer.

You must understand that however or whatever factors you might base your business, the absence of a proper business plan can impact the overall profitability to a large extent.

In fact, the absence of a proper marketing plan can also result in severe losses in terms of inappropriate pricing and inaccurate allocation of resources that need to be kept aside for each of the separate subsection under marketing.

So what are those sub-parts of marketing that need to be highlighted in your business proposal?

They are:

– Product Pricing:

You must give details of various products and their pricing specifics.

Also, list out how your pricing stands in comparison with competitors and if you have undertaken any specific pricing move to tackle the competition.

These elements are crucial pointers in your business proposal outline and are aimed at providing a far constructive understanding of your business strategy.

It also clients better guess if you are a premium brand in the market or relatively low-cost player.

– Product Offerings:

But just pricing is not sufficient in itself.

It should be provided hand in hand with a broad outline of various products and services that you offer.

This is particularly important as the client can gauge the relative volume Vs value offering that you can generate.

This will also help them understand what kind of value addition your business manages to bring forth to you and by extension to them.

– Promotion Prospects:

Marketing is never just about the direct selling of products.

This also includes the broad outline of the promotion initiatives that you might have undertaken.

Promotion is most important as the client would need to have a fair idea about the reach of your business and how exactly do you manage to maintain or continue to have this reach.

So it could be promotion via print or television, WhatsApp direct promotion or ads that you might have created for the same purpose.

This will also help the client understand the broad promotion avenues that they can leverage through you.

– Distribution Scope:

Apart from making sure that the pricing is mutually decided and well strategized, it is important that customers can buy your products easily.

This is where the distribution element comes to play.

Are you a business that is taken forward via direct selling or do you distribute your products through local shops?

You might also have several distribution partners who would be helping you in taking your product to others.

Make sure that your business proposal outline has details of these various distribution factors.

Together all of these various elements make for a constructive business proposal outline.

They make sure that every element of your running the business is properly highlighted and the potential client gets a comprehensive understanding of the overall business dynamics.

These outline also help you gather your thoughts in a proper manner and then steer the business in a profitable manner.

As a result, when a potential client floats a RFP or account of their problems that they are looking to address, you can easily provide them with a comprehensively written business proposal.

It helps them to chart out your progress in an extremely definitive manner and enable a rather complex and complicated interaction and interpretation of the different factors that enhance the profitability of those who might hire you.

A business proposal is after all not just a mere detailing of what business you run or how you run it.

On the contrary, it helps a potential client get a ringside view of both specific business as well as the generic industry that you are looking to cater.

The Dos & Don’ts of Writing a Business Proposal Outline

However, when you are charting out a business proposal outline, there are some basic dos and don’ts that you must follow.

They not only improve the quality of the business proposal that you need to create but also help you provide a rather clear picture to the client about the business or solution that you are offering in response to their RFP.

These include some detailed as well as some rather obvious misses that we tend to make while creating a mega document.

The Dos of Business Proposal Outline:

1.  Include Several Sub-Headers:

The sub-headers do not just break the monotony of continuous text.

But in many ways, they also improve the readability of the business proposal that you are creating.

They help divide the text into many sub-parts, and even if someone glances through the document, they will be able to comprehend the broad elements of the entire proposal.

It is rather important that the sub-headers are appropriately named to attract the reader’s attention and help them continue with the text for a far longer that one would have normally done.

2. Keep a Conversational Style:

The narration style also needs to be decided along with the business proposal outline.

This is because the entire purpose of the outline is to create a better and more acceptable style of documentation.

It is the quality of the outline that goes on to play a definitive role in the overall quality of the entire composition.

So a conversational style from the word go will ensure that the reader is hooked on to the document and will devote a fair amount of time and energy towards creating it and maintaining its consistency in quality and content.

3. Undertake Proper Research:

A business proposal outline plays a definitive role in defining the overall picture of your business.

Therefore you need to put in proper research and hard work in creating it.

This will make sure that you can dish out a quality product with a keen eye on small details and big elements altogether.

The research will help you highlight the unique aspects that your business represents.

It improves the chance of the business proposal getting accepted in the first available instance.

Just copying pasting mere template from the internet would not help you achieve quality.

You might consider that just the template for a business proposal outline cannot vary that much.

But the fact is your entire document would be based solely on this single piece of the framework that you are creating.

A sub-par work will show manifest itself.

This is exactly why you must remember that research becomes the backbone of a great outline.

The more time and energy you are able to devote, the better would be the outcome of it.

Therefore don’t waste any more time and get to work in terms of creating a great content framework.

The Don’ts of Business Proposal Outline

But there are some factors that you must take care to avoid as well.

This is because they can impact both the readability of the business proposal and profitability of the business that you are dealing in.

So what are the key avoidable while you are discussing and debating the merits and demerits of a great business plan outline?

These include many factors that can make the content boring or a rather dull read.

Here is a lowdown:

1. Avoid Repetition:

Carefully select all the parts and sub-parts of the business proposal outline.

This is because sometimes you might create two separate sub-parts that might mean the same thing or highlight similar factors.

While you might think you are giving more information in this process, essentially this would mean that the reader will be reading the same or similar set of information twice.

That cannot make for an interesting read.

So it is very important to select your content carefully and then based on that, take a call on how and where you place it in the overall business proposal.

This way, the outline becomes a crucial factor to base a clear narrative upon.

2. Be Clear:

Whether you are creating the simple outline or writing the entire business proposal, it is important not to go overboard.

That can impact the relative acceptance of the proposal quite seriously and in many ways, hinder the business growth too.

It is very important that you are clear and concise in your overall approach and help maintain a focused perspective in your entire narrative.

This can also help the reader or potential client get a lot of information in a very pointed manner and without too much of effort.

The idea is the client should open your business proposal, and the fact should be all staring in front of him.

3. Don’t Just Go by a Template:

A quick search on the internet would reveal that it is never difficult to get access to a business proposal outline template.

Almost every single business variant will have a template that caters to the unique demands and possibilities offered by the specific sector.

However, that said, it is never a great idea to blindly follow a template and create your outline.

Remember that is something the client is any way expecting.

What can help is creating a unique outline that totally does justice to the business proposal that you are offering.

Business Proposal Outline Is Often the Backbone of a Great Business Proposal

Therefore, we can conclude that the business proposal outline is often the backbone of a great business proposal.

The inaccurate or misleading construct of this framework can severely impact the acceptance of the final business proposal.

As a result, when you are creating this final product, it becomes essential to pay attention to details.

Careful detailing can often go a long way in determining the quality of the content as well as the profitability of the business going forward.

Moreover, a well chalked out business proposal outline always highlights the entrepreneur’s business senses.

Often for the client, this outline does not just represent the financial viability and mettle of the business.

It is also an important element in understanding the business sense and ability of the entrepreneur involved.

However, a cardinal rule while chalking out the business proposal outline is a thorough study of the RFP that you are responding to.

This is by far the most important factor that goes on to define the quality of the business proposal outline.

Indeed, human resource management is perhaps one of the fundamental entrepreneurial challenges that need to be addressed right at the behest.

An entrepreneur faces many challenges on the road to entrepreneurial success and overcoming them effectively is often the key to greatness.

While ideas, funding and daily running of the business efficiently are one end of the picture, the other end involves creating the condition conducive for efficient output.

By that, we mean handling the staff that is responsible for the efficient running of the firm.

The firm’s efficiency, as well as overall success, is deeply connected with this key factor.

As the entrepreneur creates an enterprise, it gradually transforms from being a one-man show to a team effort.

The entrepreneur, therefore, wears many hats.

Not only should they be able to deliver their dreams, in reality, but they also need to understand that they have to get the entire team to work with them.

So as an entrepreneur, the challenge for you is to understand that it is no longer your independent show.

The brilliance of your plan will come forth only when you are able to pass on the passion to your team, and they are able to share your ideas.

They need to be engaged continuously and bring forth a meaningful value addition to the effort that you are putting together.

And, that essentially would be effective human resource management.

What Are the Key Principles of Human Resource Management?

Here is the list of the human resource management key principles that make you a successful entrepreneur:

1. Creating A Strong Human Resource Management Team
2. The Right Recruitment
3. Communicate Your Expectation Well
4. Responsibility Allocation
5. Respect Privacy & Confidentiality
6. Encourage Talent & Diligence
7. Dealing With Problematic Employees

1. Creating A Strong Human Resource Management Team

First and foremost, you need to create a strong team.

For that, you need to first and foremost make a broad plan for the overall recruitment drive.

Bringing in the right amount of staff is extremely important.

Too many people would mean chaos and too few would hinder efficiency drastically.

The first challenge is, therefore, fixing the total number of staff that you need and then go about recruiting them.

As an entrepreneur, you must understand that human resource management is all about creating a happy marriage between the requirement of the department in focus and the budget that has been allocated for staff recruitment.

You have to remember balance, just like in financial management of a company, is very important while you are trying to bring in a happy mix of efficient and talented staff.

2. The Right Recruitment

Achieving the right recruitment mix is not just bringing in a lot of talented people.

As a keen entrepreneur, your focus has to be on getting the right person for the right job.

Here more than talent, it is important that you get a person who is well suited for the job.

Even if that means you settle for someone with lesser degrees or lesser experience, it is fine.

But while recruiting you must ensure that this person totally understands the job that is expected from him/her and is well geared to deliver it flawlessly.

One important aspect that can ensure this you have to be very clear in your overall directive about the job requirement.

People who you are interviewing must understand clearly what’s expected from them and how you want the job to be executed.

The tests that you formulate during the interview should also aim to find out the person’s adaptability to the job requirement more than the general talent.

For example, if you are looking to hire a manager, that person needs to be an excellent team leader, and it is okay to be perhaps slightly mediocre in core area expertise.

This is what will ensure effective human resource management.

4. Communicate Your Expectation Well

So now that the team has been hired, you need to engage in effective dialogue with them.

Interact with them in a friendly but effective manner so they totally understand what your expectations are from them and how well they can work towards fulfilling your passion.

So avoid rhetoric and get to more direct and to the point speaking.

This will ensure that there is no ambiguity and the staff understands the challenges and expectations clearly.

The right understanding often yields the most appropriate solution.

When the staff you hire understand the requirement clearly, they will be able to deliver the job a lot more efficiently.

This will mean that there will be additional positivity all across the workplace… a happy you and a happy workforce would only mean a happy workplace.

While the smiles of your staff might not show on the balance sheet directly.

But they surely reflect in your overall success and precision in your output.

Thus human resource management brings in a greater degree of commitment from your staff.

And in many ways it can also address potential attrition conditions a lot better.

5. Responsibility Allocation

Clarity in communication is not just important for efficient output but also for effective execution of responsibilities.

Therefore it becomes immensely important that the staff gets a clear idea about who does what.

In this way, you can ensure that there is no doubling of responsibility and wastage of time in delivering them.

For example, let’s take the HR department only.

Let’s say you have a total staff of 10 to handle the responsibility of 200 people.

Now instead of all of them handling everything, you must allocate responsibilities very clearly.

One person needs to handle payrolls.

The next one could handle benefits, one for enrollment while the fourth one could look at overall recruitment and talent management and the like.

This kind of distribution ensures that the team is able to perform a plethora of responsibilities in the same go.

Time, as a result, is much better managed this way and the staff too can work under a lot less pressure as they go about performing their responsibilities.

Therefore what an entrepreneur achieves is effective human resource management and precision in overall execution.

This no doubt leads to creating effective delivery channels.

6. Respect Privacy & Confidentiality

In many ways, efficient human resource management is a lot about respecting individuals and allowing them their privacy.

Just because you have hired them, it does not mean that your staff is answerable to you for every action they undertake to keep it very professional.

Of course, they are answerable to you in terms of the time they spend in the office and the responsibilities they undertake.

But that does not mean that they are in anyway answerable for what they do beyond office hours.

Keep your relationship with the staff strictly professional and convey your empathy for them in a dignified manner.

The other key aspect in this context is respecting an individual’s confidentiality.

By this, we mean that when you hire your staff, they need to disclose a lot of details about their health, wealth and family.

You as the entrepreneur and the HR staff who handles this information on your behalf should be discreet about not sharing the information with anyone outside the office.

The confidentiality of the staff details cannot be compromised at any cost.

The effort needs to be taken that it is protected and in no way misused with any type of ulterior motive.

7. Encourage Talent & Diligence

Remember whenever talk of efficient entrepreneurship, innovation is often considered the core of excellence.

In this context, it is important to mention that as your enterprise grows, it becomes essential for every member of your staff to try and innovate as efficiently as you do.

Often to achieve this, you also need to don the role of a mentor in your firm.

You have to try and encourage staff to start thinking out of the box, take ownership of the responsibilities that they take up and importantly they are able to deliver as well as you expect them to.

To bring about appropriate human resource management, you might sometimes even need to encourage them to undertake some training if required.

This is to ensure that the innovation procedure is not compromised under any circumstance in your firm.

Additional training processes, regular knowledge upgradation and even team engagement measures like offsite can go a long way in encouraging your staff’s talent and diligence to come to the forefront.

This also ensures that they are able to go about executing their responsibilities a lot more efficiently and appropriately.

As a result the positive vibe in the workplace gets enhanced.

8. Dealing With Problematic Employees

Whatever initiatives that you might undertake to make your staff happy and engaged there is always a chance of having a small percentage who are not happy.

Remember that human resource management is a lot about helping all of these people to change their stance as well.

So how do you deal with unhappy employees?

Here is a quick rundown:

1. Thorough Assessment

First and foremost you must work towards identifying the problem area and work towards alleviating it.

In this context, you must remember that you need to avoid assumptions at all cost.

Do not jump to conclusion, give your staff a patient hearing and then work towards creating a sustainable solution.

Whatever the problem is whether they are unhappy with the management, staff or just their job profile, always give them a patient hearing and then work towards a solution.

Look at offering assistance through various employee-related programs.

2. Delaying Tactics do not help

Always remember the longer you wait to address an issue the worse it becomes and in some cases even irreversible.

No one really looks forward to situations like this, but if you have t handle it, it is much better to do it now more than any other time.

Confrontation is most times the best way to deal with these kinds of problems.

Not only can you help root out a problem.

But you can also nip in the bud any kind of unwanted negative forces building up in your firm.

3. Don’t Compromise Privacy

Remember the cardinal rule of privacy is important in this case as it is in any other aspect of effective human resource management.

If you have to address a particular staff or if you need to speak with a specific team, it is always better to do it behind closed doors.

In this way, you are conveying the message to your staff that you are looking at resolving their issues and also committed to their happiness and satisfaction.

This also helps you in winning your team’s commitment at all times and them looking at you as your genuine well wisher.

They begin to see you as stakeholders in their happiness and often reciprocate it helping enhance the team’s efficiency.

4. Don’t Lose Your Cool

Remember that when you are trying to address an unhappy situation, it is quite simple to lose your cool, but it might not be the best course of action.

Tempers will be frayed anyway, and you cannot achieve anything by it.

On the contrary, a level-headed approach can always help in bringing out long-term gains.

The staff members in question will also be more comfortable in talking about their problem.

Unnecessary shouting can only make them more uncomfortable and even convince them to stay quiet.

The problem is the bargain you might lose out on a talented asset.

So best to try and remain calm and talk politely.

Mutual respect is one of the biggest policies that you must follow in the workplace.

5. Don’t Be In a Hurry

When you are dealing with unhappy customers and trying to fix the unhappy situation, please remember that it never helps to try and rush through it.

Speed does not help at all.

On the contrary, it could only add to the existing problems and even complicate the matter.

Don’t be under the belief that you can fix everything in one simple meeting.

Often it takes a lot more than that, maybe series of chats.

Yes, it can be often problematic and even frustrating to you as an entrepreneur.

But remember, in this case, patience is the key to efficient human resource management.

6. Don’t Forget To Record

Most importantly it is important to document and keep records of all the conversation that you have with your staff.

You must always document the outcome and result of anything you speak in meetings.

So you can clearly put forward your case in case of future conflict.

Remember to keep a positive tone, and the records should not work against you.

Also remember that if you have to part ways with an employee, it is always better to do it on a positive note.

Conclusion

As a successful entrepreneur you have to work continuously in creating an environment conducive for your staff to excel as well.

Efficient human resource management is about managing your staff efficiently, keeping their interest in your mind and looking at long-standing and sustainable solution that also aids future growth going forward.

Finding the best debit cards for maximum savings is not an easy task to accomplish.

This is more critical considering there are so many debit cards on the market nowadays claiming to be the best.

However, with little research and due diligence, you can get yourself locked with the best deal.

Debit cards have undoubtedly revolutionized the banking sector and have made payments greasy smooth.

Just imagine how painful it would have been if there were no debit card payment system.

Standing in the queue to withdraw cash and transfer money would really be a real pain.

With the intervention of debit cards, everything has become so smooth in terms of payment system.

Moreover, if you can get your hands on some of the best debit cards, you would apparently, end up with lot of savings.

According to stats, Americans have seen a drastic increase of debit cards usage following the Great Recession.

Federal Reserve Payment Study indicated that the use of debit cards increased from 56.5 billion in 2012 to whopping 69.5 billion in 2016.

The use increased by over $2.56 trillions of money in 2016.

It does not stop there and is increasing more with every passing day.

The convenience of debit cards and several perks that come along with it undoubtedly makes it popular to common mass.

What Is a Debit Card?

No one likes to carry cash or even do transactions in cash.

Here is where debit cards come in.

Debit cards are actually plastic payment cards that works by drawing money directly from your checking account.

Debit cards are safer and more convenient cash alternatives, where the money is automatically debited from your account.

It works in-person, while shopping or doing any other activities such as ATM withdrawal without the need for cash.

The best debit cards are those which comes free from banks associated with other perks and discounts.

The best debit cards work with Apple Pay, along with other mobile transfer and payment processing platforms.

It also works with money transferring and receiving platforms such as Venmo, PayPal and Square Cash.

Types of Cards and Difference with Best Debit Cards

There are three different types of cards namely, debit cards, Prepaid Debit cards and Credit Cards.

Prepaid Debit card requires user to upload money through cash, checks, or bank account prior to using it.

Debit card works by using money directly from your checking account for any transactions.

Credit card as the name goes, lets you spend money by borrowing from the bank and you need to repay later.

The costs associated with these three cards are different.

Credit cards come generally with a higher rate of interest, while debit cards differ.

While credit cards can cost you higher rate of interest, debit cards are not always free too.

Along with the several parks of the best debit cards, you also need to incur some fees for using it.

For example, if you use any other bank ATM, you need to incur a fee ranging from $2-$3 for each transaction.

Some banks charge Foreign transaction fees too, which ranges from 1% to 3% of the entire transaction amount.

If you lose your debit card or if it is stolen, sometimes a little charge is imposed on the new card, however, you may get it for free too.

Lastly, you could be charged for Overdraft or Insufficient balance fees too, which is $34 approx for online banks.

While you can get the best debit cards for free from your bank upon opening an account, these are the associated costs.

However, long story cut short, the most prevailing and the best debit cards as of now are the Prepaid debit cards.

Prepaid debit cards are soaring the market and can be listed as the best alternative to banking and other cards.

Prepaid Debit Cards Are the Best Debit Cards

So, what’s the hype about these prepaid debit cards?

Why are they so famous and considered the best debit cards on the market right now?

The answer is very simple.

The card is really intriguing to customers as it not only functions as debit cards but come along with a lot of perks.

Prepaid debit cards are alternative to normal banking cards, which only allow you to spend the money only after you load it on to the card.

You can only spend the amount you load onto your card.

You can use it similar to normal debit cards where the payment network of Visa or MasterCard is accepted.

It works more splendid than debit cards and is typically a pay-as-you-go kind of card for all your purposes.

You can either reload cash it visiting the bank or you can reload money online by linking your checking account.

It is an excellent budgeting tool and can act as a replacement for a banking account.

Prepaid debit cards come with lesser fees and you can get one if you don’t have a banking account.

Bad creditors can get their hands on prepaid debit cards too since they are not linked to credit check.

If you are among the approx. 9 million US families without banking account, then these cards are the best for you.

How to Evaluate Prepaid Debit Cards

Evaluating prepaid debit cards is absolutely necessary prior to getting one for you.

To be on the safer side, you should always evaluate your prepaid debit cards so that you do not overspend.

The most crucial part while evaluating prepaid debit cards is to look onto the fees.

Since, prepaid debit cards are soaring the market and are the best debit cards, they can be notorious too.

Since, higher fees and bad offers swarm the market these days, it is essential for you to pre-check everything.

Prepaid debit cards have a bad reputation of swindling customers with higher fees and limiting access to conventional banking accounts.

Transaction fees according to survey are the most egregious fees with the cards.

1. Fees & Charges

Prepaid debit cards come with variable fees and charges.

The fees include monthly fees as well as paper statement fees.

Some banks will waive off the fees if you conduct certain number of transactions each month.

You can use the cards on ATMs and may be charged with excess fees other than the ATM withdrawal fee.

On the contrary, some banks will simply not charge you anything if you are a part of their banking network.

Check before you get one as the charges will be mentioned in the agreement.

2. Features

Other than as an alternative to cash payments, prepaid cards come with a variety of other features too.

These best debit cards come with basic features such as account checking online, tax alerts, as well as does not include credit checks.

You can also have smartphone apps with some from where you can check your account online.

These best debit cards come with savings accounts as well as rewards program that makes them unique.

Apart from these, there are some other evaluating factors you need to consider before getting a prepaid debit card.

3. Cash Reloading Options

Before getting a prepaid debit card, you need to consider how you can reload cash.

Evaluating the cash reload options is very important since you need to know how you can reload and the conveniences.

Alongside, you also need to know your regular spending and deposition limits for these best debit cards.

The best debit cards allow your paychecks to go directly in your account, while some cards may vary.

Knowing your card balance is very important and you need to ensure you can check that.

You also need to know what limits you have on your deposition and withdrawal.

The limits are mentioned in the user agreement, hence, you should carefully go through it before getting one.

4. Security

You need to ensure that your prepaid debit card comes with enough security.

Most times, you will see that these debit cards do not have enough security that Federal Law requires.

Some cards may offer you purchase protections while at most times, you won’t get that.

It becomes very difficult to insure for unauthorized transactions or rectify any errors.

The best debit cards will come with Federal deposit insurance on your money.

It means that if the issuer becomes bankrupted, you are insured of your money.

5. Expiry Dates

This is another important aspect to look out for, when it comes to evaluating your prepaid debit cards.

Prepaid debit cards have their own expiry dates.

Although funds do not expire, you need to reissue a card when it is expired.

As per Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in 2016, many complained their cards were not reissued and they had balance on the cards.

You need to ensure that your card is issued on time after it expires.

You can complain on CFPB site, if there is any problem with reissuance.

Best Debit Cards That Are Prepaid

While there are many Prepaid debit cards, there are some best debit cards that offer you the maximum perks.

Below listed are some of those prepaid debit cards that come with the best perks and advantages.

1. American Express Serve Cash Back: Best Debit Cards for Rewards

These cards are for those people who spend big amount of money to generate rewards.

These rewards can easily make up for the debit card fees.

American Express Serve Cash Back comes with 1% Cash back everytime you make a purchase.

You can set up multiple subaccounts with your account and your family members can be a part of it.

However, their purchase doesn’t offer any cashback.

It comes with unique features, you can get nowhere and comes with purchase protection policy on your products.

Rewards are very fascinating with these cards, but look out for the fees associated.

Monthly maintenance associated with the card is $5.95.

Cash reloading charges of up to $3.95, however, depends on the retailer.

0 withdrawal charges at MoneyPass ATMs, and at other ATM, it is $2.50.

You may have to give ATM fees separate.

Foreign transaction charges are 27% post conversion to USD.

You need to spend at least $595 every month to earn enough rewards.

To break even you need to spend another $395, should you choose to go for cash reloading.

You can reload money through cash deposition, bank account transfers or check deposition.

2. Bluebird from American Express for Lower Fees

This card is for the people who are fees averse and do not bother if they are getting splendid value for covering costs.

Bluebird is hugely a fee-free card for most of your day to day activities.

You do not have to pay any fee for cash reloading, nil monthly fee in case you reload funds from Walmart.

Consumers can access fee-less withdrawal at MoneyPass ATMs.

User can also link upto 4 accounts of your family members, thereby can control their ATM access as well as check their spending limits.

Although, this card is feeless, however, if you are not careful, you would have to go through charges.

You need to spend $2.50 per transaction if you do not use MoneyPass ATMs.

If you reload money other than Walmart, then you need to go through $3.95.

It requires 10 days to complete for mobile check deposition.

If you want access to your money faster, then you need to pay 1% to 5%, which varies on check.

It comes with amazing benefits such as savings on shopping, restaurant dining, as well as other card purchases.

The card comes with trusted purchase protection when you use it while shopping or any other purpose.

Consumers can also expect the card to come with Fraud protection, which is excellent.

You can expect the card to come with Roadside assistance for towing or locksmith requirement.

Rewards on sports, entertainments and concerts along with 24 x 7 customer support.

3. Mango Visa Prepaid Card for Best Savings Account

If you are one of those people who prefer high-yielding savings account and have splendid cash in your hand, this card is for you.

Mango Visa Prepaid card is worth getting if you even didn’t own a prepaid card before.

The card may not have that fascinating feature, but the savings account associated is brilliant.

You can earn as much as 6% annually on your balance upto $5000.

You only need to have a net-direct deposition of $800 or more to your account, with minimum $1 every month.

Else, you would get just 2% yields.

If you have balance more than $5000, you will get 0.1% APY.

Monthly fee for this card is $3.

For each ATM withdrawal, the fee is $2 per transaction.

The charges for Foreign currency conversion is 2%.

However, you should not confuse with the word net-direct transfer.

Mango Cash details it as the direct account deposits minus the amount of money going out of your account.

If you are careful, you can easily get rid of the card fees.

Like you can add money to your account through direct deposition; PayPal or any bank transferring is free.

If you can maintain $5000 in your account, and can meet the net-direct criteria, you can earn as high as $300 per annum.

Or you can even get $25 per month as interest.

Bottom-line:

Apart from these, there are other best debit cards such as Chase Liquid Card, which is best for free reloads.

PayPal Prepaid Card for best shopping rewards.

Always be careful while choosing the best debit cards.

They may not offer you high stakes rewards or bigger sign-up bonus amounts, but come with fascinating traits.

You can determine the best debit cards on how you are planning to use it.

Do your diligence, shop everywhere and see which the best debit cards are for you.

Remember, the best debit cards are the ones you plan to keep using for long run.

Only check out for the fees, features, expiration, protection etc. when you go for selecting the best debit cards.

Crowdfunding is one of the latest trends these days when it comes to opening a venture.

Prior to discussing about crowdfunding let us have a look at some specific aspects.

Setting up a business has and will always be a challenging stuff to go for.

When we first think of opening a business, the first thing that comes onto our mind is the several challenges associated to it.

Starting a venture is not easy and you need to be very careful as well as planned to get it started.

Acquiring funds for your new business is a big challenge and this is where it takes the most time.

However, a lot of credit goes to the internet and several funding ideas that makes the funding process simpler.

Crowdfunding is one of the most prominent and effective strategies to get funding and start your new venture.

What Is Crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is one of those few effective methods of getting funds for your business with ease.

However, you need have a concrete plan and smart enough to impress people to acquire it.

Crowdfunding is simply the process of acquiring small funds from a lot of people over the internet for your venture.

It is the process of getting funds from many people at once for your venture in return for small rewards.

The best part is that Crowdfunding aids in reaching a vast network of people or potential investors through social media.

Crowdfunding websites helps in binding entrepreneurs and investors together and raise a massive pool of money beyond conventional methods.

With the right set of strategies, you can easily become successful crowdfunding campaigner.

For example, Neil Young, the music legend amassed a whopping $2.4 million in a single day through crowdfunding.

Certainly, there is a star power behind this campaign, but crowdfunding is quickly becoming the core of modern funding.

Although, it has revolutionized the market and start-up world, however, it’s no magic stick.

The success directly depends on the amount of labor you put into your strategies and idea.

Apparently, there are associated challenges, however, if you do your part, you should take no time to succeed.

The key is to convince people in funding your project in returns of promise to pay them some novelty or be a part of it.

Apparently, the most impressive crowdfunding projects make people talk about them and investment continues.

How Crowdfunding Actually Works?

Crowdfunding has completely revolutionized the investment world.

It has poured in a lot of opportunities for budding entrepreneurs to set up their own ventures.

It has paved the opportunity of acquiring thousands and millions of dollars potentially from anyone having money.

Crowdfunding paves a forum for budding entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas to waiting investors and collect funds.

According to stats, the crowdfunding market is about to amass whopping funds within the next few years.

One of the most interesting crowdfunding projects was the creation of a new kind of potato salad recipe.

The person’s intention or goal was to amass $10 in crowdfunding.

However, he eventually ended up with $55,000 from almost 6900 investors in a crowdfunding campaign.

Now, this is a whopping profit and you can imagine how big of a business, he could set up.

Through this campaign, investors can apparently find the best projects or ideas and invest as little as $10.

These crowdfunding websites collects a percentage of revenue from the collected funds as an income.

Examples of Popular Crowdfunding Sites

Crowdfunding campaigns have introduced several brilliant businesses globally and continues to do so.

Two of the most successful crowdfunding sites are Kickstarter and Indiegogo sites.

They are the best platforms you want to be for crowdfunding your project.

People want to invest in these sites hoping to invest in the next big venture and has amassed lot of popularity.

As of the year 2018, Kickstarter is another name for crowdfunding.

It is one of the biggest crowdfunding platform found in 2009, and attracts thousands of investors.

Since 2009, Kickstarter has raised more than 130, 000 campaigns, and collecting funds worth more than $3.5 billion.

On the other hand, Indiegogo started initially as a site to raise funds for independent films.

However, post a year to its launch, they started putting up all kinds of projects to crowdfund.

Indiegogo is considered to be a more flexible as well as lesser strict site compared to Kickstarter.

Indiegogo offers investors the freedom to have control over flexible or fixed projects.

This distinction is probably the biggest difference between both the sites.

Kickstarter only release the funds when the goal is reached.

However, Indiegogo lets you have the funds as soon as it is put up or you can even wait until it’s over.

All you need to do is ensure your plan is concrete and there is innovation in your project.

Successful Crowdfunding Companies

Crowdfunding has given birth to several companies over the years and they have been all successful.

Companies that were funded on Kickstarter have all become successful and profitable ventures.

Oculus VR, a US born virtual reality product was funded through the site, Kickstarter.

Palmer Luckey, in 2012 started a campaign on Kickstarter for virtual reality headsets for video gamers.

Though the original goal was for just $250,000, it successfully raised $2.4 million in funds.

In the year 2014, at March, Facebook bought Oculus VR for $2.5 billion in both cash and stocks.

One other example of successful Kickstarter venture is M3D.

M3D is a company that manufactures 3D printers and was founded by couple friends.

In the year 2014, Michael Armani and David Jones, the founders, raised a whopping $3.4 million for their company.

This was a very successful Micro 3D printer company funded from Kickstarter.

Their 3D printer that comes with several durable 3D inks can be found on Amazon, Staples, Brookstone etc.

Now, they are apparently making $10-15 million in sales.

How to Start Your Crowdfunding Campaign

Crowdfunding is a very tactical project and requires the best and proper strategies.

There are several ways how you can start your crowdfunding campaign, however, here are a few of them.

1. Choose a Platform

Platform plays a crucial role in setting up a successful crowdfunding project.

If you are unable to choose the right platform, then your project may not be successful.

Some of the best sites are Crowdcube, Crowdfunder, Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

Hence, go for the best and right platform, then set up your crowdfunding project.

2. Pitch an Enticing Idea

This is one of the most crucial steps of your crowdfunding project.

You need to pitch innovative and enticing idea to the potential investors if you want to be successful.

Always keep in mind that to get the attention of potential investors, you need to have a short as well as snappy pitch.

You also need to ensure that some images or video is linked with your idea so that the investors can understand and know it.

This will help you in standing out from the rest and be unique.

3. Promise Good Rewards

Rewards is an important part of your crowdfunding project since this is what would attract investors.

Investors are always attracted towards rewards and you need to make sure that you are good at it.

Rewards apparently depend on the amount of investments, the investors make.

However, you need to ensure that the rewards are enticing.

A simple ‘Thank You’ isn’t going to suffice and hence, you need to offer them something useful.

You can offer them access to your products, services, other discounts, some goodies and many more.

Ensure they are inclined towards your rewards.

They need to realize that they are getting something useful for their investments.

4. Few other Tactics

a. Keep Diverse Investment Levels

You need to keep in mind that different people would invest differently.

A section of people would want to make smaller investments, while a section would invest big.

Your rewards should depend on how much they are investing.

Therefore, ensure that you propose them distinct investment levels to make your project successful.

b. Make your Project Easily Shareable

Making your project easily shareable and accessible should be your primary goal.

A successful crowdfunding does well because the investors are excited about it.

They are excited about their investments and love being a part of something big and new.

Hence, they often adore sharing those with other people and letting them know.

Therefore, you need to ensure that your project is easily shareable on social media and other avenues.

c. Let People Know

Regardless of how good your idea is, if you don’t tell people, nothing is going to happen.

If people doesn’t know, how will they make investments?

Hence, you need to ensure that you are getting the word spread out.

Make use of social media, networking etc to share and always update your investors on the progress.

Do you have a good news or reached your goal?

Instantly let people and investors know about that.

This will help them share it with others and as a result, you are conducting a free marketing for your campaign.

d. Avoid Playing Long Game

This is a strict No-No for a successful crowdfunding project.

You might come into the conclusion that the longer you keep a campaign open, the better it is.

However, this is wrong.

According to the site Kickstarter, longer campaigns are not likely to be successful in their goals.

Stats show that the most funds arrive on the initial days of your campaign, hence no point of wait.

The middle days always bring a lull in donations and then again goes up during the last days.

Making your campaign shorter would decrease the lull period between the initial momentum and final one.

Keeping shorter campaigns help you in collecting the funds faster and get going with your project.

Always Be Realistic

When you are into a crowdfunding project, being realistic is always the best weapon.

Access properly how much funds you need for your project to get started.

Most entrepreneurs fail to access this and they overestimate the amount.

This happens because they never researched how much their startup would cost and hence, they fail.

Do you part before your campaign and figure out all the expenses.

Always try to get the real figures and then you can adjust a little.

Overestimating will not help and will eventually make your campaign unsuccessful.

Estimating properly will help you achieve your goal and make your campaign successful.

Estimate everything properly from the start of the campaign to delivering the first product carefully.

Prepare Yourself for Success

This might sound a bit awkward, but is extremely important.

You need to prepare yourself for success and do it wisely.

If you are creating a product that you can’t produce, then there is no profit.

You need to ensure you can manufacture the product in reasonable time, within budget.

You also need to ensure that the product is going to fetch your profit moving ahead.

This is because investors would be looking forward to receiving profits and that’s why they invested.

Consult with other business owners on the same niche and ensure that your product is worth it.

Launching your new campaign always sound interesting but you need to do your part of research.

Never fall short of commitment and always create a product that you can manufacture and fetch profits.

Is It Possible to Be Successful?

Although, it is true that not all crowdfunding campaigns can be successful, but majority does.

Even some of them can fetch funds higher than they ever anticipated.

For example, Emma Watkinson, founder of Silkfred, an online fashion retailer amassed €180,000 from Crowdcube.

Following her success, another entrepreneur Kelvin Dodds amassed €67,000 from Kickstarter.

He founded a funny product named Sugar skull Spoon despite of his goal being €3000 for his venture.

Hence, it is very important for you to be successful, you need to pitch an impressive idea.

You always need to be very creative and unique if you want to be successful in your campaign.

Hooking the investors is very important and you can only do that when you are creative enough.

Rewards as mentioned are important too for bringing in the notice and interest of the investors.

A successful campaign doesn’t come in a single day but with due diligence and hard labor.

Ensure you leave no room for errors when you create the campaign.

You should not wait too long to start a campaign for your crowdfunding.

At the same time, you should never hurry in for the campaign without collecting the necessary details and information.

You can get easily buoyed by creative ideas, enthusiasm etc, but never miss the hurdles.

You should never ignore the logistics, costs associated and all other factors, if you want to get successful.

Most fail due to the improper calculation of logistics.

You are ready for creating a product and prepared to make 100 of them.

What about then there is a 20% or 30% or 80% rise in your sales?

How would you fulfill that demand since you were up for 100 but not so many?

Here comes the importance of proper calculation of logistics and associated details.

Do your diligence properly and no one can stop you from creating a successful crowdfunding project.

An event organizer is generally involved in ensuring that events are successfully conducted at the end of the day.

The event organizer ensures that people for whom the event was created are satisfied with the results.

To become a good event organizer and make money, one should make clients happy.

The clients should also get value for their money to ensure they involve you next time.

Keeping all these on mind, let us get into more details on how to become a successful event organizer and start earning money.

Just like every other business, event organizing also require creativity, dedication, smart decisions and most importantly, a thorough research.

Without splendid knowledge on the subject of becoming an event organizer one should not hurry into the venture.

Being one of the most competitive businesses globally, this business leave you with no room for errors.

Hence, even a small mistake could land you in a complicated situation, thereby jeopardizing your business.

Responsibilities of an Event Organizer

Being an event organizer involves more than just planning an event by fully utilizing the resources offered.

It involves spending time on tasks like doing research to find the right venues for events.

Negotiating with suppliers of say sound systems and tents is also part of the deal.

A good event organizer cannot underestimate the importance of preparing for appointments with potential clients.

The preparation is demanding because it is more than just making presentations to clients.

It involves answering questions that clients are expected to ask to ensure you appeal to them.

Re-scheduling and scheduling of appointments is also part of the package, considering your tight schedule as an event organizer.

A good event organizer needs to make follow up calls because some potential clients need a bit of pushing.

Excellent book keeping will also enable you track client expenses and manage your income making you a good event planner

Having a network of friends who have been in the industry longer than you have is an added advantage.

A network of industry professionals will make you a good event organizer because they will connect you with vendors and potential clients.

To make profits an event organizer will require more than just the manual errands one runs every day.

It is from a user friendly website or blog that a successful event organizer can showcase their work for the world to see.

Creating and distributing newsletters or RFPs is also a way to get one’s brand out there for purposes of earning money.

How Can You Stand out as an Event Organizer from the Rest?

Clients like transparency and accountability in cases where money is involved.

To become a successful event organizer and make money, you need to account for the hours you work during the planning process

Before you can charge, account for your value and show your clients that you are worth the amount you quote.

Do not undercharge, simply because you feel embarrassed about your rates.

It is difficult to make profits as an even organizer if you keep thinking that you lack the experience or skills.

Such kind of mentality will land you into losses, when you should be tapping in on your high worth and making profits out of it.

Thinking that you are operating in a slow economy and clients will only consider the cheaper alternative is bad for business.

The recommendation is that when you are determining the amount you should charge, consider the time you spend.

Keep in mind that you are saving your clients lots of time and money when you plan their events.

Therefore, it is only logical that they compensate you for your time because event planning is consumes time that could be spent on other deals.

A successful event organizer understands that they are in the service industry, and are hence selling time.

Since it is difficult to produce more hours in a week, one can only make more money by charging for the time spent.

You can become a good event organizer if you charge for the time you spend planning events.

The idea is to get the one’s pricing strategy right, to make money in event planning.

Unique Ways of Making Profits as an Event Organizer

The good news about event planning, and making money out of it is that anybody can do it.

It is not a specialized industry like engineering and medicine where only certain people can prosper.

It only requires creativity and the will to start small before venturing into big business deals.

I will discuss a number of event planning models that will trigger your creativity in the business field.

1. Conducting Seminars

Considering that people are .always willing to learn new skills, it is clever to organize training seminars.

It is during that time that you impart the knowledge you have in regards to the industry and get paid for it.

The advantage is that you can do it during your free time, which means you can earn even when you are not working.

If you are not good at training, it should not worry you because you can still hire a good trainer.

You need to identify a need in the market, plan for the training event, and hire a trainer if you are not one.

2. Sports Tournaments

All over the world there is a good number of sport fanatics, who would be willing to participate in competitions.

Apart from the avid players, there is another lot of people which love to watch sports tournaments.

As an event organizer, you could plan say a soccer event and get participants who are willing to play against each other.

In same breath, it is simple to get a big number that is willing to pay to watch the tournament.

Therefore, what you have here is a crowd that has paid to watch the game and teams that have paid registration fee.

Money collected from both parties is a way of earning profits.

3. Are shows part of the event organizer deal?

Shows may not be categorized as unique methods of earning event planners profits.

This is because event planning is mainly associated with show events, hence losing the touch of uniqueness.

However, what we fail to understand is that there are certain kinds of shows that have been less exploited.

Let’s have a sneak peak at a couple of such events which are rarely though about by planners.

4. Pet Shows

With many households owning pets, it would be interesting to bring pet owners together in one place.

The planning industry has created minimal opportunities for pet lovers and owners to interact as a group.

If you would like to become a successful event organizer, try the concept and you can make money out of it.

A pet show could also involve the showcase of abilities and talent by pets, in a type of contest.

The best pet or group of pets can then be rewarded, say by offering them a free treat to the veterinary.

Participants would be willing to pay the stipulated fee, from where you can cater for costs incurred and keep the profits.

5. Craft Shows

If you are an upcoming event organizer, and lack enough money to plan a big event, look no further.

Craft shows can be held anywhere from a school gymnasium, to a rented public hall which makes it the cheaper option.

You only need to bring invite vendors to showcase their items, hence gain new clients.

It is therefore a win-win situation, because you get to make money, and the vendors get clients from the event.

If you manage to draw a big crowd on your first show, you can be assured of more people in subsequent shows.

6. How to Choose Your Niche

A good event organizer will venture into the niche they are able to handle, and can reap optimal profits.

However, this is not to restrict you from venturing into as many niches as possible.

Some event organizers are making money out of a wide range of event types, hence are generalists.

It is lucrative to venture into a specialty, as much as generalizing is considerably good.

The challenge comes in identifying the niche to focus on, especially if you are just starting out.

Capitalizing on your experiences, knowledge, interests and passions is key in finding a niche.

You need to ask yourself the kind of clients you prefer working with, and the best set up for you.

Are you a formal individual who is more comfortable around corporates?

If that is the case, you need to think of planning meetings for businesses, organizing company retreats and tradeshows.

If social clients are your type, consider managing baby showers, weddings, engagement and birthday parties.

The size of events you are comfortable with is also entirely up to you.

You can choose to specialize in big events, say those that hold more that 50 people, or in small ones.

How to Get Your Brand out There as an Event Organizer?

Regardless of how good you are in your field, you cannot assume that everybody knows it.

You need to make your presence known in the market, and create a name for yourself.

A good event planner will work towards remaining relevant in the industry, to keep making profits.

The key thing is to market your business in all means possible, and with consistency.

Keep in mind that marketing is not a onetime affair. It should be more of a lifestyle for you.

Choose a couple of methods that you deem effective and enjoyable and work on them daily.

If you are still wondering what marketing options are there in the market, have a look at the following:

Create business cards and have them distributed far and wide. They should have your contact.

It is easier to contact a person when you have their business card, and more conveniently if it explains their service.

Having a business card is not enough. Ensure that it explains in brief, your best services and offers you can allow.

People like content they can read fast and understand easily, as opposed to booklets with lots of information.

Having friends refer clients to you is also a plus for your business.

When you offer high quality services at affordable prices, and with consistency, it lands you many referrals.

When a client is happy with a service, they will refer others to you. Therefore your product is a marketing tool.

Participation on forums is also a sure way of selling your brand.

Contributing in online forums and telling people how your service can provide solutions is ideal in marketing.

People are constantly looking for a solution to their problems, and if you can provide that, you are better off.

The Power of Social Media in Event Planning

The number of hours people spend online daily are more, compared to those spent offline.

Out of the total time spent online, most of it is on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.

You cannot underestimate the power of social media in the prosperity of your event planning business.

If you are looking to become a successful event organizer, you need to create a strong presence on social media.

You may consider having a Facebook page or a Twitter handle from where your followers can access your services.

However, Instagram and Pinterest are better sites because they are visual in nature.

This means that visual appearance is more appealing, hence more people would be interested in your service.

However, you should acknowledge that social media is a marketing tool and not a selling platform.

It should not be a place where you go to book clients, but rather a site where you showcase your expertise.

It is advisable that sales be generated after potential clients are satisfied with what they see online.

How you cultivate your social media should publicize your business and bring in more profits.

The rate at which people return to your website and make purchases determines how much money you make.

A good event organizer will generate and share original content, that’s visual in nature.

The content could be from shots captured in previous events or inographics created in the past.

In the case of Pinterest, the images uploaded should be pinnable.

Do You Require SEO Too?

Your main concern is to become a good event planner, while at the same time making profit.

SEO is significant in helping you achieve your motive, because through online search, clients can find you.

This means that if you cannot appear online, then you are losing out on potential clients and resultant profits.

However, it is not enough to solely rely on the optimization of your online presence.

You need to incorporate excellent customer service to ensure clients make a purchase decision.

A client finding you on online search is one thing, but making a decision to purchase the service is another.

If you fail to work on the customer service experience clients get once they find you, you risk losing them altogether.

When a client reaches out to your customer service team, they need to receive the best treatment possible.

How a client is treated the first time determines whether or not they will stick with you.

The Stumbling Block You Need to Be Ready For

Competition is a major obstacle any person looking to be a successful event organizer should look out for.

There are companies that have been in business before you, hence are commanding the industry.

These will definitely have an upper hand and be a threat especially for new entrants.

To counter the competition, you need to be unique in finding a niche that sets you apart.

However, if done right, event planning is a sure way of making substantial profits.

Once your business plan is ready, the next step is to find investors.

But the reality is it is not that easy to find an investor.

The internet will convince you that the business plan is your magic wand.

But it is not the case always.

Most times, small and medium-sized businesses may toil very hard looking for funds.

Funds are never easy to procure, neither is it simple to spot investors.

Whether it is bank loans or venture capitalists, there are many hurdles.

In fact, contrary to the popular beliefs, generating business finance is undeniably a tough ask.

Statistics indicate that only a paltry 5% of the internet ideas get funded.

Does it mean that only 5% of the ideas are worth the funding?

In case if you think that creating a great business plan is sufficient to help you, think again.

The business plan surely helps people get a fair idea of your concept.

But there is nothing that assures you will get funding for sure.

In fact, investors can be rather arbitrary in terms of offering financial assistance.

That is why, it becomes extremely necessary to know the right way to find investors.

That is undeniably one of the most important aspects of setting up new business.

Without the right funding plan, the best of business ideas can fall flat.

Remember there is no clear formula or system to evaluate entrepreneurs and their plans.

Moreover, often entrepreneurs are motivated more by the need for funds.

But in reality there is a very fine line between needing funds and being ready for funds.

But an investor who is putting money will evaluate every big and small element of the plan.

In short, investors look for entrepreneurs who have their skin in the game.

How to Find Investors for Your Business

This is exactly why when you set out to find an investor, a clear strategy is essential.

There is no clear formula in this aspect.

Different investors may respond differently to a variety of business plans.

Often entrepreneurs have to meet and discuss with as many as 50-60 investors before making headway.

A quality business plan alone can take you nowhere in terms of generating funds.

This is precisely why you have to go ahead with a clear strategy when you set out to find investors.

That means you have to inevitably complement a good business plan with in-depth research.

That will alone help you formulate a cohesive strategy and meaningful gains over long-term.

Often how you pitch the business plan is also an important element.

Remember you have to create a pitch as per the investor you are approaching.

There will be a meaningful difference as per different individuals.

Remember every investor who decides to put their money, will also calculate the return prospects.

No investor will want to invest if they are not convinced about the rate of return.

It is impossible to know all the right people but here are some ways to undertake a meaningful strategy.

These are some constructive measures to look for the right type of investors.

Most importantly, it will help pitch your plan to the most relevant target audience.

Does it guarantee financing, well, may not always.

But at the same time, it surely improves the chances that you may actually find an investor.

The measures that we are suggesting are not unique in approach but are unique for every type of business idea.

You have to decide on the most appropriate way to ensure that you manage to find investors.

Here are some ways to find investors:

1. Contact Networking Groups
2. Approach Business Schools
3. Approach Friends & Family in the Corporate Circle
4. Create a List of Potential Angel Investors
5. Crowdfunding

1. Contact Networking Groups

Whether you are targeting angel investors or venture capitalists or even plain bank loans, networking is crucial.

Connecting the right type of network does not just help get investors but also other alternatives.

Most importantly it offers the opportunity to connect more than one investor in one go.

That can often make a huge difference.

You have to remember that investors sometimes can be really arbitrary in terms of their decision.

But when you connect to these networking groups, it is like connecting to multiple opportunities in one go.

Many investor networking groups also organize events and meet-up sessions.

These can instantly help open up a host of opportunities for entrepreneurs in one go.

They allow businesses and concepts to come to light in front of a bigger audience.

Entrepreneurs can also look at pitching their ideas to the local companies.

Apart from connecting to a larger group of investors, you can also get feedback.

An entrepreneur is often blinded by their cognitive bias towards their dream project.

Often they may not be able to see the elements that are lacking in their plan.

But when there is an open pitch in this kind of networking groups, it surely makes the process a lot more fluid.

If you pitch correctly, you may also see many local players join hands.

So when you set out to find investors, the funding is all that you are looking for.

But this is a unique opportunity that offers options to explore crowdfunding possibilities.

That can often be a big bonus.

Needless to mention, it enhances your options in a meaningful way.

It makes sure that you are able to connect to a huge group in one go.

When you are looking to find investors, this can be a major advantage.

2. Approach Business Schools

When you set out to find investors, this may seem like an odd choice.

After all, they train you to run businesses, how can they possibly fund your project?

Well, the truth is that these business schools are often meeting platform for the best investors.

Most times business schools have a strong tie-up with investor networks.

But be careful that you choose business schools that have an active program for entrepreneurs.

Those types of projects attract a lot of willing investors to part with their funds.

Now all you have to do is to tap this latent opportunity full of potential.

There are chances that many of these investors are also alumni of the institute.

That makes the deal even sweeter for you.

The idea is to access a platform that offers maximum exposure to investor groups.

The business schools that way become a fantastic breeding ground for long-term relationships.

Their network of alumni, teachers and guest lecturers make for a commendable force.

The chances are if you ask them, they will be able to guide you to the appropriate source.

What is particularly interesting is different businesses attract different types of investors.

These business schools and the authorities there understand these nuances very well.

They, therefore, don’t just offer help but also the most appropriate ones.

That goes a long way in creating meaningful pitches and worthwhile connects.

Though not a strictly networking group, these business schools have a relatively strong clout.

So if you can approach the right people, the chances of getting investment are much stronger.

The whole funding procedure also becomes a lot faster.

Who knows, there are possibilities where your project may become a case study.

So contacting a business school can help you find investors in many ways in a constructive fashion.

3. Approach Friends & Family in the Corporate Circle

Whether you like it or not, friends and family are still the most dependable source of funding.

We all know that the business plan is only a medium to take forward your plea.

The main idea is to convince the investor that your business can help them realize decent returns.

So this is where a personal rapport and connect can go a long way in seeking a meaningful help.

In this case, the first hurdle which is convincing investors is already done.

All that will be left is analyzing the mettle of your business plan.

So when you set out to find investors, research for friends and family in the industry.

It is an added bonus if they have also followed the entrepreneurship route.

This will mean they are already aware of the challenges and potential therein

The first option is undeniably them coming ahead and helping you.

But even if that is not an option, they can help you to find an investor.

Being in the industry gives them access to different types of corporates and funding institutions.

They can easily pass on the contacts to you and help you in looking for help.

When you contact the business through these references, it surely adds credibility to your case.

Investors will be more than willing to hear your case when they know you have been referred by someone who has a skin in the game.

Supposing your friends or family who are in business agree to be guarantors, you can get conventional bank loans a lot easier.

Therefore the bottom line is these contacts help you approach a greater number of potential investors.

The chances are when you use these references, you may be able to get a much better deal too.

4. Create a List of Potential Angel Investors

This is one of the most effective ways to find investors.

What is particularly interesting is profiling the angel investors often helps you learn a lot about your own business.

Of course, this step involves a lot of hard work and painstaking research.

Slowly and steadily you create profiles of all the possible angel investors you may want to meet.

Not just that, you also have to jot down how you want to pitch your business to them.

That helps a lot in highlighting elements of your own business too.

You have to detail out your team members, your business elements and the company info.

This kind of documentation can help in driving a meaningful investment campaign.

You can also undertake this type of exercise online.

The advantage, in that case, is you can share your profile with your friends who can also share in their network.

So the number of potential investors you may meet or approach for help increases.

That surely helps you create a constructive database of contacts too.

You can also look at sending personalized notes to each one.

Often that can help you a long way in creating strong contact base.

5. Crowdfunding

This is another popular way to find investors.

See when you find an investor, they may be convinced about your cause.

But at the same time, they need the kind of money that you need.

This is where crowdfunding can make a meaningful impact.

This is a platform where multiple investors and multiple resources can be pooled in.

There are specifically targeted platforms for specific industries.

You have to look out for the right option for you.

That will make sure that you get the access to the most relevant opportunities.

So whether you are getting money from angel investors or venture networks, you can contact these.

Moreover, this can help you spread out your capital requirement over an extended period.

This will always help you get better results when you set out to find investors.

Why Should Investors Reach out to You?

But even when you have created a list of strategic and angel investors, will they respond to you?

Why should they reach out to you is a cardinal question when you set out to find investors?

This is what will help you strengthen your pitch, presentation and business plan.

Needless to mention that always enhances the possibilities to get more and better funding.

Remember just like you are looking for a great investor, investors are also looking for great companies.

So it is a two-way street.

The need and necessity are there on both sides of the story.

The trick is how well you can convince the investors that they need you.

So you have to spend quality time in creating that sense of unique and indispensable in your pitch.

Your concepts, mission statement, drive and leadership skills should convince the investor.

They have to be certain that when the product is launched, it will make a great business.

Try writing about your concepts and ideas in popular journals and investor magazines.

If your idea is indeed radical and replete with potential, investors may start calling you up on their own.

But remember your 100% conviction is important.

You will never get a Yes in the first instance.

Be mentally prepared to hear a lot of Nos before any Yes comes your way.

But that should not deter you or temper down your drive

That is the only meaningful way that you can look at seeking long-term assistance.

Your drive and conviction should convince the investor.

Often investors judge an entrepreneur more than a plan.

A plan is often as good as the leader makes it.

So remember you are the biggest ambassador for your business.

Make sure the investors understand.

– Investors Are Looking For Your Drive

When you set out to find investors, make sure what investors are looking for.

The easiest way for it will be thinking of how you will create an ad campaign.

You are inevitably going to highlight the benefits and strong points.

Most importantly, you will tell your target audience why they need the product.

But when the product is just being launched in the market, there is no previous track record.

So how do you market it?

Well, the best way is to explain to them why they need it.

Remember, the investors are looking for the same from you.

They are always looking for entrepreneurs who are willing to put everything at stake for their business.

They should also be ready to part with the last bit of money they can spend on their own.

That demonstrates how keen the entrepreneur is about the business.

Just like the entrepreneur is looking for investors who are enthusiastic about the business, the investors also want the same.

They are constantly on the lookout for players who are dedicated and persevering.

That is often the recipe for success for any kind of endeavor that you start.

Conclusion

Therefore, we can conclude that when you set out to find investors, it is always an uphill task.

Your perseverance, enthusiasm and conviction are never adequate.

Neither is it sufficient to have a great business plan.

What you really need is to access the right network of investors and project your story in the right light.

That exercise alone will help you find investors.

Without the right investors, even the best of business plans can suffer.

So you have to carefully calibrate your requirements to find an investor.

If you are planning to be an entrepreneur, I am sure you have come across ‘angel investors’ many a time.

Apart from startups, this is one of the most commonly used terms in the world of entrepreneurship.

Well, these angel investors don’t come with a halo or a pair of wings.

But the fact is they can surely give wing to your business venture.

Usually these type of angel investors put their money in the early stage of business.

The reason they are referred to as angel investors is because they are like angels helping you take forward your business.

The capital that they provide may sometimes become part of the seed money you start with business with.

You do not need any special qualification to be an angel investor.

All you need is adequate capital and a willingness to invest in your business.

So, technically angel investors can even be someone from your family or friend circle.

They support your business and help you give shape to your dream.

So why is there a special term to refer to them?

In terms of pure functionality, they appear similar to lenders.

They have a minimum role in the business operation and get a share of business as return on investment.

But the reason why you may still prefer them is the condition of repayment.

Typically, they invest on the basis of their terms with the investor.

The focus here is on getting the business started.

The viability and profitability of the business model are not the primary objective.

This is where they are very different from the venture capitalist.

They are very informal in comparison to venture capitalist.

Most times, their investment model is based on the level of the investor’s confidence.

That becomes the crucial deciding factor.

How Did the Term Angel Investors Originate?

But the question is why call them angel investors?

Well, there is a variety of explanation for it.

William Wetzel of the University of New Hampshire was one of the first persons to use this term

He was the founder of the Center for Venture Research and undertook the study on how entrepreneurs gathered funds.

In fact, you can trace the origin of the term to Broadway.

As fund crunched directors struggled to get funding for their works, many affluent gentlemen helped them out.

They provided money to fund these theatrical productions.

Once the theater started yielding revenue, they were paid back in full with interest.

Wetzel in 1978 went ahead with his work and termed these investors as angel investors.

So he grouped them as investors who supported new businesses and provided seed capital.

The angel investors, in many ways, were the guardian angels for these businesses.

They helped the business thrive and grow at a gradual pace.

But business dynamics have come a long way from Broadway Theatres.

Today Silicon Valley is thriving with an unending line of budding entrepreneurs.

They all have unique ideas and lots of enthusiasm.

But often it is these angel investors who help give wing to their business.

But unlike Venture Capitalists, just the extent of return on investment is not their only motivation.

They do not invest in the business because they expect exemplary returns.

Often the enthusiasm and perseverance of investors motivate them the most.

That in many ways becomes a greater and more important factor that drives their investment calls.

The angel investors, as a result, do not follow any set norms for investment.

There is no reason if 5 angel investors are not convinced by your plan, the sixth one would not either.

Source of Funding for Angel Investors

Angel investment is a key source of funding in the entrepreneurial world today.

If you check the fund flow in the last decade, Silicon Valley received over $22 billion through angel investors.

That comprises almost 40% of the total entrepreneurial funding.

That means angel investors are helping address financial requirements in the startup world in a big way.

They are almost one of the most active group of investors.

That makes them also one of the primary drivers of new business.

This is a very important element in the overall entrepreneurial culture.

But does that mean you have to be a millionaire to be an angel investor.

Well, quite unlike popular belief, this is never the case.

You don’t have to be sitting on a huge mound of money to invest in a business.

In fact, if you see some recent studies, many angel investors are regular professionals.

You can be anybody, a lawyer, doctor or just about anybody with a regular source of money.

In some instances, angel investors may invest as little as $25000 to $30000.

In most times, it is about finding the right fit as per the demands of the business.

It is not even surprising to see retired professionals parting with a chunk of their money.

The funding amount can be sometimes as high as $100000 or even more.

You may even have a group of angel investors coming together to fund a specific business.

Needless to mention, the ease of connecting with angel investors also helped a lot.

This has drastically boosted access to them in a meaningful way.

It has made them more approachable and enabled entrepreneurs to look for them a lot easily.

It has kindled the possibility of getting funds a lot easier than through banks.

SEC Norms for Angel Investors

Though your willingness and access to funds is sufficient for you to be angel investors, you have to adhere to some norms.

The US SEC or the Securities Exchange Commission have outlined some essential requirements.

These guidelines are useful for both the investors and the entrepreneurs.

These ensure that there is a distinct amount of accountability in terms of taking money.

Neither can professionals use this medium to get rid of their illegal funds nor can entrepreneurs hoodwink gullible investors.

The US SEC has some strict measures for who can be accredited investors.

They need to have an annual income of $200000 and a minimum $1 million net worth.

That is what essentially makes these investors accredited.

This accreditation gives them the right to deal with securities that are not registered with financial bodies.

Apart from income and net worth, there are other means of winning accreditation as well.

You can have a professional qualification to win the accreditation.

Alternatively, your governance status may also give you the right to invest.

This essentially means that these investors are more financially savvy than the rest.

They also need a much lesser degree of protection and handholding.

That makes them relatively more self-sufficient investors with a greater degree of reliability.

Often businesses turn to these accredited investors or angel investors for low-cost funds.

Raising capital can be a somewhat costly affair.

In this context, businesses find it a lot easier to contact accredited angel investors.

Regulatory authorities will then verify the credentials of the angel investors.

These investors should be well equipped in terms of financial dealings.

In the sense, they must be capable enough to gauge the risks involved in a financial investment.

So a result, they will be able to calibrate the risk too.

How to Connect with Angel Investors?

But even understanding of the SEC accreditation does not sort out the availability issue.

I may have a great business plan and a niche idea.

But that is not always sufficient to land with the right set of investors.

You may have to deal with many rejections before you are accepted.

You may have to tweak your presentation as you keep addressing a fresh set of investors.

There are times when you may approach an angel investor in a very unconventional fashion.

But the fact is that the internet has surely eased the access to angel investors.

It has become much easier to contact them over an extended period.

Moreover, the internet has also expanded the reach of angel investors.

They are no longer limited by their geographical boundaries.

You can be in the United States and still manage to fund operation in Vietnam.

Provided the due diligence is undertaken properly.

Of course, this has meant that even for entrepreneurs, it is much easier to look for entrepreneurs.

They can approach potential angel investors through a wide range of options online.

There are associations online and entrepreneurs can even choose to contact the angel investors directly.

There are many web conferences and webinars.

Interested entrepreneurs can easily participate in these and look for potential investors.

Moreover, the internet also facilitates easy access to a wide network of angel investors.

That means you are not connecting with just one but a whole group of such investors.

That surely improves the chance of accessing funds a lot easier.

It also improves the potential of getting an investor easily.

The angel investors also find the online set-up way simpler to look for potential targets.

This surely enhances the quality of funds and probability of good businesses thriving.

1. Contacting Angel Investors

Therefore contacting appropriate angel investors is often the biggest challenge.

One of the most common sources is undeniably rich individuals with enthusiasm for new projects.

You can approach them with the business plan and then take things forward based on the response.

The other easy alternative is undeniably the angel investors’ syndicate.

These syndicates work like Chambers of Commerce and are extremely well networked.

That will mean that you can easily approach these syndicates for potential investors or contact others through their network.

Referrals are also an easy way to look for them.

Most importantly there aren’t different investors for different fund limits.

The best thing is there is no upper or lower limit; you can approach them for any amount of investment.

Sometimes angel investors may themselves look for potential targets.

They can appoint professionals too in helping them zero on targets.

Given all these factors, the online network comes in very handy.

It undeniably improves the opportunity and ability to contact angel investors a lot faster.

Whether you approach them individually or through a syndicate, it is way simpler for them.

Crowdfunding is another common source of getting angel investment.

The fact that you can invest as little as $1000 through it further makes them viable.

But here too internet networking plays a crucial role.

If you just type in angel investment online, a plethora of options will open up.

But looking for the online is often as tricky as offline.

Don’t just look for the money you are getting.

You also need to pay careful attention to the kind of managerial role they are looking.

Angel investors and business opportunities are practically lurking in every corner of the virtual world.

But making a wise choice is very important for properly initiating a thriving business.

2. Thorough Research Is Important

That means when you are looking for angel investors online, thorough research is crucial.

Often that is one of the biggest differences between a successful business and a mere concept.

The digital empowerment has undeniably created better opportunities.

But at the same time, it has also increased the possibility of foul play.

Only thorough research offers a fairly dependable solution that can yield a long-term profit.

The Internet has now enhanced the reach and degree of assistance that angel investors can offer.

That is why you have to be very careful about the type of choice you make.

There are many websites that are created potentially to reach target businesses.

Entrepreneurs can approach these sites online and apply for funds.

They can share their plans and strategies in a constructive manner online.

Some websites are even geared properly to submit plans or organize meet-ups.

In some cases, even when angel investors may not accept your plan, they can forward it to relevant investors.

So the online association helps entrepreneurs in reaching a larger network of entrepreneurs.

You should look for possible syndicates online as well.

The online syndicates are more effective in getting you the right opportunity a lot faster.

This is because the internet is not restrained by geographical limitations or time issues.

Here businesses can happen at any time of the day and any possible hours.

So the internet does not just broaden opportunities, it speeds up the funding process to.

That is another major advantage of looking for angel investors online.

You end up losing a lot less time than otherwise.

Therefore, on the whole, it facilitates better opportunities a lot faster.

That is one of the key reasons why entrepreneurs are looking for angel investors online.

However, caution at every stage is crucial.

3. Identify the Proper Groups

However, there is one basic problem with the online search.

There is no guarantee that you will get in touch with the right group at the first chance.

The question then is how do you ensure that your search is on the right track?

The best way is to branch out your online research.

It is not just sufficient to look for angel investors online.

The chances are you will take a long time to identify the right ones.

Most active angel investors maintain a very low profile.

This is exactly where the angel investor groups or syndicates become so important.

They are often the most important link in the entire jigsaw puzzle.

They help direct your search in the right direction.

So try to identify these groups and networks at the earliest.

Try and maintain one on one contact with as many as possible.

This will ensure that you are preferably on top of the investor’s list as well.

This will also improve the chances of more investors approaching you.

Being in touch with these groups will also mean that your visibility improves.

You are not just a potential target for a set of few investors in the United States.

People from all over the world can look at funding your business.

So that means the opportunity to make individual pitches also increase.

That is what creates a much better prospect of getting funding faster.

Moreover, these groups also give you a better sense of credibility and genuineness.

You can avoid individual traps looking to steal your business ideas.

Conclusion

The angel investors can help put your business plan on the fast track.

But looking for them online ain’t that simple.

You have to undertake in-depth research and focused study to look for angel investors.

They maintain a rather low profile, and that is why the online syndicates can be very helpful.

But remember to verify the authenticity and credibility of the angel investors you choose.

The SEC accredited investors are undeniably the most genuine angel investors to go ahead with.

As the economy emerges from the sub-prime crisis, it is one of the best times for small business loans.

Entrepreneurship is on the rise, job opportunities are again opening up, and business is growing.

The environment is just conducive to the growth of small business.

However, for many budding entrepreneurs, the fund crunch becomes a roadblock.

In the absence of adequate resources, even the best of plans can absolutely fall flat.

The lack of money limits any opportunity quite significantly.

This is exactly where small business loans come to play.

They typically provide entrepreneurs with the seed capital to start their business.

Whether it is for buying equipment, land or inventory, a small business entails a truckload of expenses.

Statistics indicate that nearly 70% of new enterprises use these crucial small business loans.

This includes everything from loans to credit cards to crowdfunding and even venture capital.

In fact, one NSBA study highlighted that small business loans form an important part of the economy.

According to 2015 data, small business loans totaled more than $600 billion.

But the problem is these loans are not that easy to procure.

Often securing a small business loan can be a rather uphill task.

It can entail a series of paperwork, adequate credit score and a proper business plan.

But thankfully, today you have a lot of different types of small business loans.

While the traditional bank loans still work, there are many other options too.

You can choose online lending platforms, peer to peer lending and opt for business credit lines.

Based on the needs of your business, you can select the best possible opportunity.

The terms and the facility provided by the small business loans is what is crucial.

That will decide the loan viability.

Top Banks to Apply for Small Business Loans

Here is the list of the banks that offer small business loans:

1. Wells Fargo
2. JPMorgan Chase Small Business Loans
3. Bank Of America Small Business Loans
4. SBA Loans

Let us first explore the most traditional small business loan avenue, that is the bank.

Typically, banks are the first stop for any type of financial requirements.

Banks provide a wide range of small business loans.

Types of Small business loans

– Term Loans

This is essentially a lump sum money that a business can get from a bank. The entrepreneur has to pay back this amount within a fixed tenure.

They also have to pay a certain amount of interest for this loan.

The terms of this type of loan vary from one situation to another.

It will primarily depend on the nature of the business and how you wish to take it forward.

– Line Of Credit

This is how a credit card loan works in personal expenses.

It is a unique business financing arrangement.

The lender offers you funds with an appropriate line of credit.

So you can use these funds whenever you need capital in your business.

This is a very flexible arrangement for new or small businesses.

– Equipment Loan

As the name indicates, these loans are specifically to buy equipment.

So, an entrepreneur can look at dividing their total loan liability into a term loan and equipment loan.

This can reduce the interest expense to a large extent.

The loan amount gets divided, and you can easily go for multiple loans.

– Invoice Financing

This is a particularly useful arrangement to address the cashflow issue.

When you have too many invoices that are pending and will be paid, you can use this method to address the fund crunch.

Basically, you are selling the unpaid invoices to secure funding in the interim period.

Normally lenders may pay about 70-80% of the invoice upfront and the rest after getting actual payment.

Therefore, a small business can apply for any of these.

1. Wells Fargo

There are many reasons why you may want to apply for small business loans from this bank.

You may often hear Wells Fargo addressing itself as “America’s leading small business lender.”

But this is not just a mere promotional line.

If you check the statistics in the past few years, this indeed holds true.

Wells Fargo bank has been consistently lending significant chunks to small businesses.

In 2015 alone, they lent close to $35 million as small business loans.

These loans were extended to companies with less than $20 million in revenue.

This is part of the bank’s 5-year commitment towards the growth of small businesses across the country.

Wells Fargo has undertaken this pledge in 2014 and hopes to lend $100 billion to small businesses in all.

Just like any conventional bank, Wells Fargo offers a gamut of finance options for its borrowers.

So as an entrepreneur, you have a wide range of choices to look at.

The nature of your business and your own financial state will have a key bearing on the overall situation.

But two of their most effective and popular small business loan includes

Unsecured Business Loan

It offers capital anywhere between $10,000-$100,000.

The term for these loans too varies between 1-5 years.

Depending on the amount and credit history, the rate of interest starts from 6.5% and can be as much as 23%.

Since it is an unsecured loan, you will not have to include any collateral in case of this loan.

Unsecured Line Of Credit

You get a credit line of $5,000-$100,000.

The rates for these could waver around 1.75%.

These too don’t need any collateral.

So it is a quick loan opportunity with minimum risk included.

If you don’t want to risk your personal assets, this is a great option.

2. JPMorgan Chase Small Business Loans

This is another popular destination for small business loans.

With an asset reserve of over $2 trillion, this is among the three best banks in the US for small business loans.

As per early 2015 data, it has lent over $19 billion in small business loans.

Convenience for entrepreneurs and ability to address the requirement of small businesses is the key consideration.

You must remember that this bank has revived from the lows of 2008 on the basis of a focused lending initiative.

Needless to mention that many budding entrepreneurs benefited in the bargain as well.

Among the loans on offer, there are two that are absolutely tailor-made for small business.

These include

Business Quick Capital Loan

The bank offers this loan in association with the online lender, OnDeck Capital.

This loan processing depends heavily on Chase’s huge asset base and speedy underwriting by OnDeck.

As a result, entrepreneurs have a quick, convenient and affordable financial alternative for them.

The rate of interest is also typically a notch lesser than what most online lenders charge for this.

However, you can avail this facility only if you are in the JPMorgan Chase business network.

Business Credit Card

Though you may not consider this as a traditional bank loan, it is a financing solution no doubt.

The Chase Ink Business Preferred Credit cards come with their unique set of advantages.

Given the dynamic nature of modern businesses, many times, these cards get used like loans.

The additional advantage is that the processing time and qualifying conditions are significantly flexible.

As a result, an entrepreneur can easily resort to this measure when they need some handy and quick capital.

Along with this credit cards, cardholders also get access to business checking accounts.

This provides further flexibility to entrepreneurs.

3. Bank of America Small Business Loans

This makes the powerful banking trinity of United States when you are looking for small business loans

One of the best banks to undertake transactions with, it is one of the foremost in terms of lending to small businesses.

In terms of sheer capital lent, they are second with a stupendous record of $33 billion small business loans thus far.

Small businesses need access to this type of quick and convenient capital.

The terms of payment make it even more attractive.

All in all, these loans encourage effective implementation of a business plan.

– Unsecured Business Line Of Credit

This is undeniably one of the best solutions when you are looking for small business loans.

You may consider that all line of credit will operate at similar terms.

But that is not so when you consider the Bank Of America Unsecured business line of credit.

The credit line ranges from $10,000-100,000.

Like the Wells Fargo one, it is also a flexible financing option with no collateral required.

The bank does not set the rate of interest upfront in this case.

This interest rate is based on your eligibility criterion and also previous interaction with the bank.

For example, if you already have a business bank account with BankAm, you can look at getting loans at a lower rate of interest.

There are several relationship-based offers that you can take advantage of.

But you can apply for this credit line only if your business is operational for at least two years.

Moreover, the bank will also take into account your revenue generation capability.

You have to gross an annual revenue of at least $100,000 in the year before applying for the loan.

That is an important eligibility criterion for BankAm’s unsecured credit line.

4. SBA Loans

When you are looking for small business loans, it is hard to ignore SBA loans and grants.

They decidedly play a crucial role in furthering the small business and facilitating their operation.

SBA stands for Small Business Administration.

It is essentially a Government supported organization that supports small business and facilitates funding for them.

They offer a series of loans and guarantees to further the interest of small business.

These loans are generally executed by SBA approved commercial lenders.

In this case, the SBA guarantees close to 85% of the loan amount.

The loans could be for as much as $150,000.

When the loans are for $500,000 and more, the SBA guarantees 75% of the loan amount.

This also reduces the level of risk associated with a specific loan they guarantee.

Here is a quick run through of some of the most popular SBA backed loans.

– 7(a) Loans

These are by far the most popular, flexible and simple loan offerings from SBA.

The rate of interest on these loans is also much lesser than many other offerings.

You can look at incorporating these loans for generating working capital or new building construction.

You can also use it to fund renovations of any type or expand current facilities or business prospects.

However, there are some pre-conditions associated with these loans.

You must carefully look at details before signing on the dolled lines.

– Express Loans

In this case, you can get a loan processed very fast.

Often borrowers can expect the loan sanction within 36 hours of putting in the application.

In this case, you can apply for a maximum of $350,000.

The Small Business Association guarantees 50% of these loans.

The maturity for these loans can vary from 5-25 years.

Most times it depends on how the money is used.

– SBA’s Microloan Program

There is another unique opportunity offered by the Small Business Association.

This is named the Microloan program.

Businesses that are just setting up or expanding can easily make use of this loan facility.

In this case, as the name indicates, you can get loans up to $50,000.

You can use these loans for a variety opportunities like generating working capital or buying equipment.

You can even use these Microloans to pay off short-term loans or reduce interest expenses for your businesses.

A small business loan can be used to address a whole gamut of financing requirements.

Debt refinancing can be a purpose as well for these loans.

The SBA basically works in tandem with the designated commercial lender they approve.

They make funds available to these lenders.

These are primarily non-profit organizations that support and manage this unique microloan program.

The average loan amount, in this case, is about $13,000, and repayment is done in about 5-6 years.

The repayment terms may not be same for all businesses though.

Individual credit condition and business viability pay a crucial role in it.

How the fund is being planned to use also has a bearing on the overall repayment asked.

Alternative Funding For Small Business

But apart from these, there are many other options to procure small business loans now.

They can be direct online lenders or peer to peer lenders.

They all provide easy cash to small business with limited interest rates.

Most importantly, most of these are geared to encourage the growth of small business.

Peer-to-Peer small business loans

Peer to peer lending generally incorporates a pool of fund.

The borrower digs into these pools to address any sudden financial need.

These peer-to-peer lending facilities often screen the borrowers very closely.

As a result, the relative risk involved is much lesser.

Most importantly, the screening also ensures the significantly lower rate of default.

That makes this service popular too.

Online Direct Lending

The basic difference with peer to peer lender, there is no third party investor here.

The lender is funding your business using their own capital.

As a result, these loans can be often processed in a very short time.

The paperwork involved is much lesser in these online direct lending facilities.

Generally, the time required to secure these loans is much lesser than most other loan facilities today.

However, the APRs may be much higher in this case, when you compare with peer-to-peer lending.

The average loan amount that you can apply for ranges from $20,000-$500,000.

The loan term averages 1-4 years.

However, most of these loans are for a shorter duration.

But when you are applying for small business loans, you must remember that these are predominantly for established players.

If you are just starting your business or plan to do so, they may not always offer the best terms.

The higher APR amount remains a constant irritant for those looking to reduce their interest expenses.

This is for low hassle sudden monetary requirement for small businesses.

Conclusion

Given the revival in economic conditions, it is not difficult to procure small business loans.

But the point is you must keep in mind your state of business and years of experience.

Typically a small business that is operational for a few years with proven revenue records can get loans a lot easily.

However, for first-time entrepreneurs who are just starting their business, the going can be tough at times.

So you must undertake thorough research before deciding on any small business loans.

You must opt for the loans that offer you maximum value at minimum interest.

For best results, always go through the fine print of the small business loans you apply for.

To start a small business segment now commands a massive chunk of market share.

After the devastating economic bloodbath in 2008, we have seen a significant jump in entrepreneurship.

Part of it is due to the sheer necessity to generate income.

Reducing job opportunities also led to a rise in small business.

In United States alone, there are over 28 million small businesses.

According to the Small Business Administration, they comprise nearly 99.7% of total US businesses.

That is why more and more people are keen to start a small business.

But simple as it sounds, the basics of how to start a small business is rather complicated.

After all, no business develops overnight.

It is inevitably a slow and steady process.

But the key point is that a systematic plan of action is important.

If you plan to start a small business, you have to bring together the various facets in perfect harmony.

You have to carefully nurture the business like a little sapling.

The slightest of miscalculation can severely affect the sustainability of the concept.

So the most important aspect is to guide your business towards success.

That will ensure that you can create a long-term proposition.

When you take the plunge and take up the challenge to start a business, eye for details is most important.

From concept to how you market the product, limited resource is often the bane of small business.

But with a little bit of planning and foresight, you can make this an asset.

Statistics indicate that only two-thirds of total small business survive beyond first two years.

Most times, the starting is what matters most.

So we decided to create this ready guide of how to start a small business.

It gives you a systematic ready-made road to success.

How to Start a Small Business

So here is the steps to start a small business:

1. Research Is Important
2. Create A Business Plan
3. Organizing The Finances
4. Look Out For Business Grants & Government Help
5. Creating The Right Business Structure
6. Decide & Register The Name Of Business
7. Look For Licenses
8. Create Your Team

Step 1- Research Is Important

This is the first step in any successful plan on how to start a small business.

I am guessing you have already identified the business idea.

But research will help you get a reality check.

The research will help you understand the kind of reach your small business can generate.

If you have not thought about the concept yet, research can help you finalize that too.

It can help you identify some key profit-generating ideas and how you can implement them.

Moreover, does your idea have the strength to succeed?

Well, one of the most significant benefits of research is you can explore the possibilities in depth.

Is your idea solving a problem?

Can the small business you plan to start help address a problem?

Research helps you to explore this fact in several ways.

You have a realistic view of the competition that you may face.

That is a critical aspect of any business.

The extent of competition goes on to determine how successful can you be.

Moreover, it can help you decide whether or not to go ahead with the idea.

For example, if research indicates that there are already 10 operators in what you are planning to launch, you can take a call.

You can either look out another opportunity or plan to change the area of operation.

The location in which you operate a business is also crucial.

The detailed research will help you identify the most profitable areas.

You can then easily look to cash in on the opportunity to promote it further.

Whenever there is natural demand, it is always easier to promote a business.

You get an advantage, and as a result, resource mobilization too can be moderated.

That surely gives you a head start in your small business.

Step 2: Create A Business Plan

A good business plan is almost a necessity when you are exploring how to start a small business.

Once your research is complete, creating a business plan is the next logical business.

In fact, when you plan to start a small business, this is a very important step.

A good business plan generally lays the foundation of a great business.

The business plan is what helps implement your thoughts in reality.

So you often refer to it as the blueprint for your business.

This is what will help to start a small business in reality.

The progress of your business is charted out in the business plan.

When formulated correctly, entrepreneurs simply have to execute this plan effectively.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Different types of business plans are useful for different businesses.

Therefore, just creating a plan is not sufficient.

You have to identify the most effective business plan that suits your business model.

The business plan is necessary for not just charting the growth strategy but many other elements too.

For example, if you need financial help or looking for investors, this is a necessity.

The business plan, therefore, becomes the crucial lifeline for a sustainable small business.

But don’t underestimate the whole effort in creating the business plan.

It is never wise to simply download a template and fill it up.

For example, when you are approaching investors, a one-page plan will not work.

It needs appropriate clarity and reference to the context for effective solutions.

Moreover, the type of business you are in may also dictate the business plan.

But, all in all, if you want to lay the foundation of an effective small business, you have to make a proper plan.

That will alone help you to get an edge.

Step 3: Organizing The Finances

This is the next important step when you are exploring how to start a business.

You may have a killer concept or a rocking business plan, but without money, it is of no use.

So organizing the finances is very important for an effective start to your business.

Whether you have your own investments or you are planning to get an investor, you need clarity in your concept.

Let us understand that there are many ways of organizing the finances for your business.

You can apply for a bank loan or approach your family or friends.

You may also look at mortgaging assets like a house or jewelry to raise funds.

The other option is of course roping in investors for the same.

But whatever you decide on, you need to follow a precise and well-formulated plan.

For that, you have to analyze the cost involved.

Businesses have capital expenses, need working capital and many other requirements.

So you have to create a comprehensive spreadsheet with these.

That will help you garner meaningful advantage and also improve the overall sustainability.

That will have to be detailed, so all the required expenses are covered in this list.

It also needs to account for expenses for licenses, marketing and brand promotion.

All in all, even if it is a small business, it needs a lot of money.

If you don’t plan well and allocate better, the sustainability of the business becomes a concern.

Whenever you are exploring how to start a small business, this is an important consideration.

For any kind of results, you have to run the business smoothly for at least a year.

So that is the amount of money that you need to arrange for before you start a small business.

Step4: Look Out For Business Grants & Government Help

Most state and Central governments, the world over, have business development initiatives.

Different types of grants may be available for different sectors.

Moreover, in every sector, there is some fund allocation to encourage business initiatives.

Now when you are looking for funds, it is a good idea to look out for these grants.

As they are Government sponsored, they may attract a lower interest expense.

You can also latch on to the advantages of Government sponsored funds.

Apart from that, Government grants also can give a business a lot more visibility.

It also helps build a degree of credibility to your business.

It can help you attract a larger customer base and create a convincing growth strategy.

Most importantly with a few grants in place, the need to look for fresh investors also reduces.

That means the shareholding structure of your business does not get diluted too much.

When you rope in investors, you are also answerable to them.

You may have to incorporate their views, and your original concept may become redundant.

However, a business grant easily addresses all these concerns in one straight go.

Apart from Government aids, many private organizations may also offer grants.

The idea is to keep a meaningful watch for all these opportunities and make the most of it.

These opportunities may need some research.

You may have to scour through pages of various departments to zero down on the best options.

That means you need to allocate time and invest energy towards this end too.

Apart from it, the business grants also need an expansive and striking business plan.

So you can see proper research, financing and an effective business plan are all related.

You need to keep a close tab on all of these.

Step 5: Creating The Right Business Structure

In the plan about how to start a small business, this is the next most important step.

The right business structure will provide an appropriate fillip to your small business.

Now this will again depend solely on the type of business you are launching.

The nature of funding too has a bearing on the overall business structure.

The sole proprietorship business is one of the most popular structures for small business.

In this, you shoulder all responsibilities and pocket all profit from the business.

The partnership is a popular option when two or three friends or family members pool in their resources.

A LLC or a Limited Liability Company is another popular business structure.

This is more commonly seen in case of large corporates and has a relatively complex shareholding structure.

Your liabilities and how you plan to file the taxes are important.

That too plays a crucial role in helping you decide the structure for your small business.

However, the structure that you choose initially can also be changed eventually.

You can re-evaluate your business at a later date and take a call to restructure it as well.

It all depends on how you want to distribute liabilities and profit.

Certain business structures have a distinct tax advantage over others.

So, all these elements will play a role in helping you decide on a structure.

The degree of complexity in your business will dictate the final structure.

You can always take help from your legal advisors and CPA for the best results.

They are best placed to explain the liabilities and advantages of each structure.

You can take into consideration all these factors before deciding on the final structure.

You need to look at preserving profit and minimizing liabilities.

Your business interest is primary.

Step 6: Decide & Register The Name Of Business

This is perhaps one of the fun elements of starting a small business.

But that does not undermine the importance of this step.

Naming a business is a crucial move.

After all, the business will be known by this name.

Sometimes the right type of name will help in the initial deluge of customer response.

Though you may say that the quality is what matters finally.

But the naming of a small business is equally important.

It is that important factor that gives a sense of identity and branding to the overall business.

When you start a small business, be sure of the name you want for it too.

You must make sure that you think through all the potential implications.

Therefore a comprehensive analysis of all probabilities is crucial.

But selecting a name is not just enough.

It is also important to follow proper procedures in registering it.

In the absence of proper registration, the credibility of your small business may suffer.

Look out for all possible options and choose the ones that have the best impact.

Registering for an online domain is also important.

In today’s era, a small business can benefit a lot from the internet exposure.

Be it for promotion or branding; the online exposure can limit these expenses significantly.

So don’t just go for an offline registration.

Make sure that you also create a website and register your business online.

That will help improve the visibility and also address marketing and promotion interests better.

Step 7: Look For Licenses

Proper legal compliance is a necessity for any business to succeed.

Before you start a small business, it is important to get all the paperwork done.

That will help you start with a smooth and hassle-free note.

This will also ensure that there is no unnecessary interruption in your business.

Paperwork is a part of the process when you start your own business.

Normally a small business can attract a variety of permit and licenses.

Depending on the type of business that you have, you need to identify the right ones.

The start-up process in any small business is very crucial.

It does not just set the tone and tenor of business but also the future prospects.

Proper permits and licenses are also crucial in building a level of credibility to your business.

Therefore, this too is a crucial step in how to start a business.

Step 8: Create Your Team

The next step is getting the manpower in.

That is decidedly one of the most important elements for perfect execution.

Without the right team in place, you cannot start your small business properly.

You can directly recruit people through your network of associates.

You may also want to advertise and organize interviews before short-listing the final team.

A lot of it will be dependent on how your funding comes through.

After all, advertisements and interviews will involve expenses.

Moreover, when you start a small business, you may want to go with individuals with a proven track record.

You can also look at outsourcing the work to third-party contractors.

But that will depend on the nature and type of small business you are launching.

All in all, you have to look at creating a meaningful base of dependable employees.

Conclusion

Therefore when you plan to start a small business, it is a labyrinth of many processes.

The plan does not just end by starting the business.

It continues even after that.

You have continuous exercises and expenses like running an ad campaign, product marketing and brand promotion.

So you have to build a comprehensive plan of how to start a small business.

That alone will help you create a profitable and successful small business.

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