How can your unique perspective and experiences help secure funding for your Small Business?

Have a clear and deep understanding of your Customer segment to address your identified niche market, and position your offering with clarity in the minds of the identified customer through targeted communication.

Identifying your target market will give you a competitive advantage by allowing you to become a category champion in your niche. Banks prefer to deal with business owners who understand their market.

A crystal clear view of who your target market is imperative to not throwing away capital during marketing efforts. Think on if your target audience is men/women/other, what is their age range, location, job types, income ranges, etc. This will help with your marketing efforts and even viability of your business model during planning stages.

Know who you are, what do you want and what’s the plan to achieve your goal. Know what your target market deeply desires because there are things they don’t really know themselves they want.

A holistic approach to help secure unsecured funding for a potential business owner prospect is to know the basics for their business financial needs: How much funding are they requesting, what are the funds used for, and how soon they need it? These answers will be a mirror of their financial situation and choices. For example, if they need the funding within a week to take advantage of their competitor selling all their equipment, because they are retiring the business it would be a bridge loan. If prospect is looking for a permanent loan it would take up to 3 months to complete transaction.

Banks like to support leaders and category champions. Make sure you have a good portfolio of achievements and mention that in your interviews with lenders. It's a win-win for both you and the funding sources, as they know they are supporting brave business owners.

Awards,accolades and achievements are key markers in how your constituents view you. Having received several awards I have felt each time it allowed me to expand my reach of credibility to better interact with a new demographic. When showcasing your accolades make sure to stay humble and acknowledge the achievements of your counterparts. We never want to allow only awards to be the engine for due dilligence as some can easily be purchased.

Look at what makes you unique in your expertise and credibility. How does what you have done until this point allow you to be innovative in your approach to the industry or how does it help you solve problems in a unique way? A business owner with a disability, for example, will have had unique opportunities, experiences, and challenges to overcome that can give them an innovative way to approach the problem their business helps solve, giving them and their business a competative edge.

Everyone has a uniqueness, a Blue Rose. Find out what your thing is and tell everyone what makes you, you and watch your network grow.

Building the right team will provide a lot of leverage, as well as a higher probability of success. Any real business succeeds because of the ability to make people work together towards a grand vision.

Don’t forget that that banks are businesses too, with ever growing and changing goals and objectives. At any given time, a certain bank may want to offer more mortgages for building out a new office space, but six months later, or with new leadership, they no longer have an appetite for that type of loan but may look for smaller lines of credit instead. The trick is to have multiple relationships with multiple bankers, so that when you have a specific need, you won’t run into a roadblock based on a bank’s current needs or objectives.

One of the best ways to find the best funding is to work with professionals who have access to multiple banks and can guide you to the best options for your business. By doing this, you will save a lot of time and avoid frustration.

First, the knowing of the availabilities of differing funding companies existences and knowing the requirements for each and which is the closest fit with your methods of operation and skillset delivery in matching their requirements in obtaining their funding can leap frog you into levels of success unavailable to the average individual working from their own available resources. Being under capitalized through the various stages of business growth can be the difference between success or failure.

In my experience banks can be a valuable source for funding, but tradition fundraising via bank loans is potentially one of many options. I would encourage small business owners and investors to consider raising capital from personal loans with successful local community members, putting no money down with owner financing, and other creative fundraising options. It can be worthwhile to think outside the box!

Upon launching my media company, an AD agency executive underscored the inherent value of my unique life story. While I initially overlooked this insight, I've come to wholeheartedly embrace my distinctive perspectives, thereby infusing substantial value into the projects I produce.

Mentoring and internship is essential to building strong foundations in business. ESPECIALLY in Cannabis and Hemp where many concepts have been withheld from the public. As each aspect of whatever type of business you are in gains traction look at each section of resources you have available and apply it to thus. Through networking in all ways you can find yourself in unique situations that may be advantageous and unexpected. When you are passionate about what you do it's easier to connect with like minds. Our vibes create our tribes. To better include yourself in conversations as entrepreneurs and business minds...continue to evolve by interacting and seeking Information from those that were there before you.

There is no reason to reinvent the wheel unless that is your business plan. I highly encourage entrepreneurs to look at successful businesses that they would like to potentially emulate. Often times these business owners have made videos or courses on what they have done to succeed and even from time to time might be accessible to you via email or calls. This is obviously a valuable resource and would improve the learning speed and help minimize mistake.

In my experience, you get so much further faster by using the experience of those who have gone before you. Reach out to business mentor groups, other entrepreneurs who have done what you’re trying to do, or talk to local business loan resources. The more you educate yourself, the more apt you are to find and secure the funding you need.

Finance for small businesses is completely different from corporate finance. How medium and larger corporations access capital doesn't apply to small businesses. In many ways, the small owner-operator has advantages that others don't. Knowing your strengths and leveraging them can result in funding needs being met in as little as a week and you don't have to give the house away! The #1 sources of funding are current clients, vendors, and friends. Debt and equity work very well for small companies!