Funding | Business Made Simple

The Steps to Take When You Can’t Get a Business Loan

October 15, 2019 AKHAD SUNARTO

Drumming up enough capital to get your business up and running is no easy feat, and millions of entrepreneurs have attempted to secure a loan only to find out that willing creditors are few and far between. Nevertheless, your startup or existing business may find it utterly necessary to get a sudden infusion of capital, and the failure to attain financial flexibility is tantamount to defeat in a competitive marketplace.

Luckily, not getting a business loan doesn’t have to spell an end to your business. Here’s what to do if you can’t get a business loan, and why being turned away isn’t always the end of the world.

Understand why you were turned down

Before beginning to delve into alternative means of raising cash for your business, it’s worthwhile to explore exactly why you were turned down for a business loan in the first place. While many entrepreneurs may throw their hands into the air and give up after being denied a loan, others realize the problem that prevented you from gaining access to a line of credit initially may be solvable later on down the line. If you never know why your business was rejected, you can’t hope to strengthen your weak points and return later, more confident and assured of your success than ever before.

It’s thus worthwhile to peruse some common reasons that businesses are turned away from loans, as this will help you successfully petition for financial assistance in the future. When you’ve truly exhausted your supply of creditors, however, and a business loan simply isn’t forthcoming, you need to get down to brass tacks and pursue alternative measures of establishing or broadening your commercial empire. One excellent, and uniquely modern, method is to rely upon is crowdsourcing. This option is easier and more profitable today

How to Find International Investors for Your Business

October 9, 2019 AKHAD SUNARTO

The most important parts of attracting international investors are a strong business model, extensive research and an engaged network.
Investors will expect you to know everything about your business and how it will function in an international market.
There are many resources available to help businesses find international investors.

Attracting international investors to your business can be a daunting task. It requires time, effort, a lot of confidence in your business, and the willingness to handle rejection. But with the right tools and preparation, you can be well on your way to breaking into a foreign market with the support of an international investor behind you.

1. Start with a strong business model.

Every good business decision is built on a strong and clearly thought-out business model, which is a design for the successful operation of your business. It identifies your revenue sources, customer base and finance details. [Read related article: How to Create a Sustainable Business Model]

Your business model needs to prove that your business can be profitable in the international market by showing how successful it has been in your own country. Breaking into international markets is often riskier than the domestic market because there are several new variables to contend with, like different government regulations and the mutable nature of the markets. Thus, international investors tend to be more cautious when taking on new investments, and you’ll have to work harder to convince them that your business is worth the risk. A detailed business model that preemptively answers investors’ questions will go a long way in determining your credibility as an investment.

2. Be prepared.

Before seeking international investors, you should prepare as much data, research and information as possible. You will need to know everything about your business, the market you are looking to

How to Invest in Startups

October 7, 2019 AKHAD SUNARTO

Nothing gives you perspective on investing in startups like running one, and vice versa.

Since founding Clever Real Estate in 2017, I’ve had many “through the looking glass” moments where I found myself considering internal company decisions through the lens of an outside investor. (“If I was thinking about investing money in Clever, would this move inspire confidence or caution?”) As one part of a decision-making rubric, it can make you see things from a more objective perspective, separate from your own rationalizations and blind spots.

On the other hand, although my company’s still in its early stages, I’ve already learned so much about what makes a startup successful and what can sink its prospects. With those insights guiding where I put my money, I feel much more confident in my startup investments. Will every one hit? Of course not. But I like my chances.

Here are a few guidelines I’ve put together, based on my time inside and outside the startup investment world.

Choosing the right company

1. Meet the founders.

There’s a lot of truth in the cliche about how you should invest in people, not companies. Starting a business is brutally difficult, and obstacles and problems pop up almost daily. Without a passionate founder who’s 100% committed to their vision, the odds of success sink to near zero. Meet them, talk to them, and find out what they’re all about.

Another necessity is genuine expertise. We all know there’s a superficial level of expertise that can get you through a cocktail party conversation or even a business meeting, but to really make it in your field, you need a deeper level. Deep, genuine expertise is a product of obsession. I would never invest in a company if the founder wasn’t truly obsessed with their vision.

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6 Best Practices to Follow When Applying for a SMB Loan

October 4, 2019 AKHAD SUNARTO

Applying for a small business loan can be easy when done correctly, but there are many mistakes that small business owners make when they start the business loan application process.

Mistakes in a business loan application draw out the process and can even result in your loan application being declined. In this article, I discuss the best practices and common mistakes that are made in order to help business owners avoid them when applying for a loan.

Taking the appropriate steps, and avoiding these mistakes will save you time, effort, money and many headaches!

Understand your options

More than ever, business loans are readily available for small business owners. However, that doesn’t mean that every option is optimal for your business. Before starting your research and looking for a business loan, first spend time planning what your business loan proceeds will be used for. Will you use the money for equipment? Are the loan proceeds going to be used for working capital? Do you have an expansion plan that requires funding? This is a very important first step before analyzing potential business loan options.

Why is this one of the most crucial steps? This is because you want to search for loan structures that align with the use of proceeds. An example of this would be the following.

Nancy owns a retail store that needs to purchase inventory for the holiday season. The inventory that Nancy purchases involves a three-month period from the time the inventory is ordered to the time that it’s sold. Once the inventory is sold, Nancy won’t have to use an inventory loan until the next holiday season.

In this situation, Nancy wants to search for a business loan that she can repay in three months and use again for the next holiday season. Nancy should