In Australia, billions of dollars are invested in businesses each year from angel investors, venture capitalists, personal investors, etc.
However, with so many start-ups popping up all over the country, the competition for this investment is simply too stiff and for many entrepreneurs, finding the right funding for their businesses remains an uphill task.
So what can your business do to attract the right investors, and ensure future growth with valuable business expertise?
Here are five tips you can use when seeking investment in your business:
1. Spell out what they will get in return for their investment and when
Be clear on what you plan to achieve. It is important that everyone involved knows exactly what the deal is up front. What are you going to deliver and in what time frame? What exactly are you asking of them?
Clarity on the deal and deliver is essential for new possibilities showing up. A good leader will always know where they are heading and at the same, they will listen to other people and be open to ideas to create different results and a greater outcome.
2. Be willing to receive investment from everywhere and anywhere
Be willing to receive possibilities from places you never perceived possible. It’s amazing, if you’re actually willing to receive, things show up from the most unexpected places.
At one stage I was $187,000 in debt. Within two years of using simple pragmatic money tools that I learned from Access Consciousness, I was out of debt. I ended up quickly back in debt because with the mind-set that I had, I was more comfortable being in debt than being out of debt. It wasn’t until I changed my relationship with money and was willing to actually have money, that wealth and abundance began to show up in weird and wonderful ways.
When you’re looking to find an investor, start asking questions. Ask, “What else is possible that I haven’t considered?” You can also ask, “What choice can I make today, to increase my wealth right away?”
3. Have fun!
Just because you’re receiving investment, just because people are investing in you or your idea doesn’t mean that you have to stop having fun. Often times, when you receive money from an investor, you start to be more serious and uptight about your business. People often add even more pressure to themselves and function from the added stress of “Now I really have to make this work.”
What if you could let go of the seriousness of business and investors? What if this could actually create more fun in your life? What if the purpose of life and the purpose of business was, to have fun? Are you? Joy creates money, not the other way around! So no matter what, find a way to have the joy of business. Money will follow.
4. Don’t write your own business plans and projections
Enlist the help of a business expert for business plans and projections. When business owners write their own business plans, what tends to happen is that they end up writing out every detail of the whole business. While this may seem like a good idea, it actually slows down the creation process.
Outsourcing to experts will help you put your best foot forward. Find someone who gets the vision you have for your business and have them write the business plan for you. This allows you to continue the creation of your business rather than slowing yourself down.
5. Identify that this is a risk investment
Is there risk? Absolutely. Every single investment is a risk. If it wasn’t a risk, everyone would do it, and everyone would be would be walking around with loads of money.
Before seeking investors, obtain legal advice. This is a must. I usually request a one-page summary of everything that is required legally so that I am clear. I then pass this information along to potential investors and even bold that it is a risk investment. Be clear in your communication.
Provide investors all of the information required including that this is a risk investment and then let the investor choose. Don’t worry about whether or not they say no. Don’t try to persuade them. There are always other possibilities available. Just keep asking, “What else is possible?”
When you do find an investor, don’t give away all the stock in your business just because you’re grateful for them coming on board. Acknowledge what you contribute to the business, from ideas to securing the investors who believe in your vision. Have gratitude for their contribution and continue to be the leader of your life and your business.
Simone Milasas is a dynamic business leader with a difference. She has founded and operated many businesses from a young age and always done business differently. Today, Milasas is a director of multiple companies. As a mentor, Milasas specialises in enabling business owners to create businesses that operate from joy and she presents Joy of Business programs internationally and online.
