DO YOU REALLY NEED A LOAN IN YOUR BUSINESS AS A STARTUP?

One of the common things you hear from “starters” today is; “if only I could get someone to invest in my dreams or in my business, all will be well with me!” There is nothing wrong in wanting someone to invest in your small business to grow into the next big thing. But you have to know that top on the list of business problems; especially for starters is not usually money as we erroneously think most of the time. Skills and good business process top the list of requirements for a small business to grow and position itself as an attractive “business” for investors and lenders.

Taking a loan too early to invest can be one of the fastest killers of your business if you take it before “you deserve or need it”. A lot of small businesses have died given to this error, you should be different. When you assess the needs of your business objectively, you will discover that you need a whole lot of other things before money or a business loan. Buying a fancy business Car, printing Metal Business cards, renting Office space and all of the cool stuff you think you need in your business hardly qualify as reasons to take a loan or ask investors to come into your business.

ALSO READ: 7 TIPS FOR TECH ENTREPRENEURS LOOKING FOR FUNDING

Don’t take a loan until you are mature enough; and you become so when you can easily generate a strong ROI and show personal sufficiency to a very large extent.

This helps take the pressure of financing the loan off you because a lot of people forget that loans are repaid with interest and sometimes faster too. The truth is that investors and creditors hardly give you money until they see that you don’t “need it”. That means, until you become attractive enough to be funded, you can’t be funded. Build on this attraction first and leave the loan alone for now.
What you might need could be a better mastery of your business process and ideas, a better structure, better negotiation skills with customers and other stakeholders, more understanding and helpful suppliers or dealers, a room or a corner in your apartment, for testing things out first, a better understanding of your craft, better customer attraction and marketing systems, a fighting spirit for excellent result.  And all these you can get or start getting right now without a loan or an investor. If you must ask for funding, first assess your business completely, so you can thoroughly determine if you truly need this money.  Then ensure you have already tested the revenue lines that you have to be sure that they are strong enough to spill out enough cash to help you meet your loan obligations without stress or undue pressure.

Grow your capacity to attract and use money before asking for it. You will be better off this way.

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