While bootstrapping has proven itself to be successful over the years, it’s not always entrepreneurs’ preferred choice for funding their business. It’s not the most reliable and unless your business starts out as a success and it’s going to take a long time to raise the funds for the improvements your business needs.
It can also be a very risky and difficult option when you start putting in your own money. While it’s okay to pay into your business with your own money as it’s starting out, once your business has levelled out you should not be mixing together your money and your business’s money; this is how you end up in debt and it can become difficult to keep track of whether it’s you or your company that owes money.
If you are struggling with bills you shouldn’t take the money out of your company and vice versa. Instead, consider taking out a loan. You might want to take out a business loan to settle the debts of your company and if you’re having trouble with your won bills then you can consider a peer-to-peer loan or regulated short term loans with payment plans.
This way you can keep your debts separate and if anything should happen to your company you won’t go down with it. But, with the right funding methods, you can be free to take risks with your business and push it towards progress. If you don’t want to get into debt, these are some of your best funding options:
Crowdfunding
If your business is quite small and you already have a bit of a fan base, this is a great option. This is a sort of funding method that’s great for getting creatives on their feet. The idea is that you generate interest, get donations and the use these donations started.
You might consider crowdfunding to be a springboard and once you’ve got the initial fuds it’s up to you to make it all work. But, there are a lot of other business owners and entrepreneurs competing for the kindness of strangers, so you need to know how to spread the word and market your idea. You probably won’t get a huge amount from crowdfunding, but it might be just enough to get your business off to a good start.
Angel Investors&Seed Investors
These are individuals looking for promising projects to get involved in and capitalise on, and 8if your idea is good enough they may just b the key to funding your business. You’re going to have to prove yourself to them, though. So, do your research, get started what you can afford and work on a show stopping business plan that will blow them away. If all goes well, you might have some excellent support.
Partners
A partnership with another business can be incredibly beneficial in the long term if you find the right business and manage to win them over. They can be a source of funding and support that is very useful and you might be equally as useful to them once you get your business off the ground. If you’ve already got your business going and are looking to take the next step, a partner might be the answer.