How do I search for business capital?
One source of business capital is you. You've got money yourself or your credit cards allow you to borrow certain amounts. It really depends on how much you need. Say you need ten million dollars; my credit card won't cover that and I don't have ten million dollars, but, really, that's one. Friends or relatives are all sources of money and you really should probably consider them first. You can consider a loan, and of course, loans have to be repaid. You can get those from your bank sometimes. Again, what do you need? You need a business plan. With the SBA, Small Business Administration, the first thing they want to know is 'do they have a business plan?' They may even recommend the outline of a business plan that they use. I think I mentioned venture capitalists already, although I'll cover the issue again. Venture capitalists want to participate in ownership. If you have to sell part of your business, how much are you willing to sell and are you willing to give a controlling interest to someone else? In other words, a venture capitalist will typically want a controlling interest which means that when push comes to shove, they have the right to say, “Hey. I own most of your business.” So, there are all kinds of factors like this you want to consider.
