Going for Gold

          – The rules of getting finance

Other methods of finance have other criteria:

ANGELS OR DEVILS?

Like most things in life there are downsides as well as upsides: here are some facts about business angels:

• * They have often owned their own business and are between 45 to 65 years old…and very few of them are women – only 1% at the last “official” count.
• * Business angels tend to back people rather than propositions, so it often more important that they get on with you more than anything else.
• * They spend a lot of time looking at the business and talking about it before they invest. Be prepared to put aside weeks rather than days to get a deal done.
• * Most business angels invest near to where they live so they can be very involved in the business and see how it is doing first hand.
• * Most business angels want a clear exit route for their money from the arrangement so they know this is not going to be a life time partnership.
• * If you need to know what you are doing in business, they will look at every area of the enterprise and will expect you to be professional about all aspects of the business. They want to know how you are going to give them their money back. Is it your plan to sell the business, turn it into a franchise or just make so much money you can buy them out?
• * They want a much higher return than other financiers. They want to be able to make money whilst their funds are in the business from a salary or dividend and to grow their capital from anything between 12% to 25% over the term of the loan.

So there are many different options. None of are easy unless you are in complete control of your business. Before you seek any finance, think it all through carefully before you take the first step.

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