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Do You Need Funding for Your Small Business Idea?

Dave Thomas

December 17, 2014

Starting a small business can be both the most exciting and stressful time of your life.

On one hand, going into business for yourself takes away having to work under another person’s direction, having to deal with office gossip and politics, and likely wasting time commuting to a job that for some people can involve hours stuck on the roads.

On the flip side, you are oftentimes (unless you go into business with one or more people) responsible for important decisions such as whether or not you need funding for your business through a loan provider like InstaLoan or others, the choice of hiring help or doing it yourself, and how you will go about promoting your brand.

With that in mind, are you ready to become a small business owner?

Where to Turn for Investing Help

As it does with many things in life, opening and running a small business requires financial investments.

There are several options when going this route if you don’t have the funds yourself, among them:

• Taking out a loan – In many instances, budding small business owners will turn to a loan provider to get them off and running. If you decide to take this option, check out each and every loan provider thoroughly. How long have they been in business? Do they have a sizable number of customer complaints? Have they had issues with the Better Business Bureau (BBB)? What are their terms of agreement? Is there a chance you will be hit with hidden fees? These are all things that you need to review. One way to do this is by checking a loan provider’s social media site/s. You can oftentimes learn about how they handle customer service issues by seeing what interaction they have with customers on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other such social networks. If they are slow to respond or seem confrontational, considering steering clear of them;
• Turning to family and friends – Going to a family member or friend/s for a small business loan can be both rewarding and risky. On the positive side, you more than likely won’t be going through a credit check and all the other scrutiny you can be under when seeking an outside loan. You also probably have a little more “wiggle room” in the event you run into some financial challenges. On the negative side, more than one personal relationship has been ruined over time when a loved one did not pay back a loan as originally scheduled. Even though you are dealing with friends or family members, be sure to draw up a professional contract. Detail the important information as to exactly how much money will be loaned and when repayments are slated to start and end. If the friend or family member is investing in the company for the long haul, make it be clearly known what he or she is expecting from the investment over time.

As more and more Americans consider starting their own small business ventures, knowing where the funding is going to come from should never be taken for granted.

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