Having your own business is difficult but going through the
investment route makes things a lot more difficult. Here are my eight
tips for getting investment into a business.
1. Do your research
When looking for investment, you will need to do your research. If
you haven’t looked into potential investment organisations, such as LBA
(London Business Angels), I suggest you do immediately. There are also a
lot of ways to help secure investment, such as going through the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, which is what I did.
2. Have a great business plan
You won’t find investment for your business if your business plan is
flawed. It is worth spending time and money on getting your plan right
before approaching investors. The last thing you want is to build
negative awareness before even securing any investment.
3. Be transparent
When approaching Investors, you need to be transparent. There is no
point going in there and avoiding difficult questions, they will see
this as a weakness. If you don’t have the answer, tell them that, but
also say you will be able to give them one. When answering negatively,
give them a positive to work off, too.
4. Be realistic
Going back to the business plan, predicting your business worth at
£1bn after two years isn’t going to appeal to investors. They will see
this as overly optimistic and unrealistic. Give them numbers you can
deliver.
5. Look at your team
One of the reasons why Gloople
received investment is because we have a solid team. We have our whole
team in-house and outside mentors who offer sound advice when needed.
The investors need to see that your business has stability – which
should include having a good accountant and lawyer.
6. Be prepared to negotiate
Going down the investment route, you need to be willing to change your outlook on your business. Take Dragons’ Den
for instance; entrepreneurs go in looking for £150,000 but want to give
away only 5% of their business. If they are lucky enough to get an
offer, it, without a doubt it will be at a higher percentage than the
business owner initially wanted to give away. This is an extreme case,
because it is a TV programme, but you will have some hard decisions to
make when negotiating with investors
7. Listen
You will find that some investors have a lot to say. You will need to
sit there and listen. It is a great quality to have and will be looked
at as an advantage when an investor feels their views are being taken
onboard.
8. Risk over reward
An investor will be putting their hard-earned cash into your
business, which is a huge risk. Make sure this risk is worth the reward.
They will need to be able to see that their investment is being used to
benefit the business.
I hope my eight tips will help you find investment for your business.
I would love to hear about any investment success you may have had.
Follow me on Twitter @GoldenWords_UK
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