photo credit: James Willamor

New business loans offer financial assistance to those who are willing to start up their new business. At the time of setting up a new business you can easily rely on new business loans as they successfully cater all your financial needs. You can set up your office and business. You can easily get finance for any kind of business plan; either it is a small or a big one. You will be required to show your new business plan while applying for these loans. Your business plan must include the type of the business, size, the total estimate amount required and manpower etc.

These loans are available as secured and unsecured. Secured new business loans are the best options if you want to avail substantial funds for longer repayment term and at lower interest rate. For getting these loans you have to place your valuable asset as collateral. You can borrow an amount ranging from £50,000 to £300,000 for a term of 5-25 years.

Unsecured loans don’t require any collateral. For entailing these loans you don’t have to pledge your valuable asset. The loan amount ranges from £1000-£25000. The repayment term is small and varies from 1-10 years. Also they carry relatively higher rate of interest because they are unsecured in nature.

Bad credit borrowers can also apply for new business loans. If you are facing bad credit like CCJs, IVA, late payments, arrears, defaults and bankruptcy can easily qualify for these loans.

New business loans can be applied online as well. To apply online you just have to fill up a simple. You can even search for lower rate deal with attractive terms that may benefit you. With a little research and by comparing few loan quotes you can easily fetch a deal that fits your conditions.

New business loans can be easily grabbed to solve your financial problem. With the finance you can easily lay the foundation of your business and fulfill your dream of owning a business.

Michael T.Brian is the author of this article. He is Masters in Business Administration and expert in finance. He writes about various finance related topics. To find new business loans, low rate business loans, commercial business loans, online business loan, bad credit business loans, secured business loans visit http://www.find-business-loans.co.uk/

photo credit: teresawer

There has been a recent wave of websites and TV shows about people starting their own business and following that path from bright idea and individual entrepreneur to small business start-up and then potentially to multinational, depending on the product or service. But what kind of audience are they broadcasting to? Well, it turns out a lot of us Brits want to start up our own small business. According to Business Link, over 10 million of us would like to start up our own business at some point.

So the encouragement is there and let’s face it, a lot of us like to be the boss. However, the whole process is easier said than done. The people who took part in the survey were asked what the main obstacle to starting up their own company was. Many cited financial concerns, be it the current UK financial climate or perhaps their own overdrafts, mortgages and debts. How would they cope if they started, but couldn’t generate enough initial funding to keep it going? After all, they’ve got the idea, the business plan, the desire, and maybe even a few colleagues. But how do they find the right people?

Well, for most of us non-millionaires, the main thing we need to do is to generate capital for the business. Since start-up companies have no established brand name and no financial records, loans are pretty much impossible. This means the entrepreneur needs to look at other ways of finding potential investment. This can be done via venture capital funding, courtesy of private investors that can run the business with you (basing their funding terms on how your business performs in the early stages of investment) or with business angels, also known as angel investors, who are usually individuals or groups of people that provide the investment in exchange for partial ownership of your company.

Where can we find these people? Well, several websites have made that gap a lot smaller. Sites like the Angel Investment Network allow UK entrepreneurs to post ideas for start-up businesses, along with details such as which market sector (be it within the UK or globally), industry niche, and what sort of investment you are looking for. The network also allows angel investors (both in the UK and abroad) to browse through entrepreneurs’ proposals based on their own investment criteria and interests. Business partnerships and new start-up companies are evolving on a daily basis, and the Angel Investment Network database now has over 60,000 members.

Mike Lebus works with UK entrepreneurs seeking investments, via the Angel Investment Network, which has since expanded into a worldwide network of websites that help entrepreneurs connect to angel investor groups around the world.

photo credit: A. www.viajar24h.com

You’ll almost certainly need to raise money to start up your company, unless you already have sufficient capital yourself. The typical costs of starting up are in obtaining premises, manufacturing your product if you have one, buying materials, stock or equipment, marketing and fees for external consultancy such as legal help, accountancy etc. Then when you’re off the ground, you’ll need working capital to keep you afloat in the gaps between paying your own invoices and receiving payment from customer invoices.

Again, your business plan is essential at this stage of setting up your business. In it you will already have scoped out what your money needs are and how you plan to raise the capital, and you’ll be using it to persuade potential investors and lenders of the benefits of funding your company. Your financial calculations in your business plan therefore need to be thorough and accurate and presented with confidence.

Everyone expects that they’ll be able to stick to their plans and only need to borrow the absolute minimum, but more often than not something unexpected crops up to throw a spanner in the works. It therefore makes good business sense to include a contingency element in the amount you request. It’s better to do that now and have the extra cash as a safeguard than it is to have to return to your lender or investor not far down the line to ask for more money. If it wasn’t in the original plan they are likely to be concerned about your financial ability and your request may be rejected.

How much money should you request? This question worries all start-up business owners. You want to make sure you have enough to keep you going without struggling, but how much will your investors or lenders be prepared to give? Most experts would advise that you should pitch somewhere in the middle – don’t leave yourself short by requesting the minimum, but at the same time don’t be greedy (and lazy) in asking for too much. You want to keep costs to a minimum and invest your money wisely in your company, while still having the security of a little extra for backup if required. What you borrow should give you a realistic challenge for your business but should not be too risky. And back up your calculation with evidence in your business plan – it has to be credible.

People raise money for their company in many different ways, not always from professional business investors or high street banks. How you raise your capital will depend on your business needs and your own circumstances. Here’s some information on various different sources of funding.

Your own money – if you have enough cash to spare, putting up your own money for the business means you don’t have to be in debt to anyone. It will also give you full freedom over the running of your company as you won’t be responsible to any other interested parties. On the other hand, you’re risking a lot personally by investing your own cash and you could lose it all – and not just your business, but perhaps also your home if you obtained the money by taking out a secured loan or increased your mortgage, for example. You should also be aware that personal borrowing rates often have much higher interest repayment rates than business deals.

People you know – if they have anything to spare, family and friends are often more willing to give you cash than external lenders or investors. Again, though, there is a high level of personal risk, both for your family or friends who could lose money, and for you – it can cause relationship tensions. If you do take money from family or friends, treat it as a formal business arrangement as you would with external funding and agree clear terms and conditions. You want to protect both your interests and ensure that there are no misunderstandings.

The bank – high street lenders usually have a variety of different packages and there’s usually something to meet everyone’s requirements. You’ll have to do a sales pitch to get your money though, and depending on financial circumstances you might also be required to find a guarantor or provide some sort of security. Don’t just go to your own bank – look around for a good deal and do your pitch to various lenders. If nothing else, it will give you good practice! If you think you might have more of a chance of obtaining money from your own bank where you already have a strong relationship and good financial history, then don’t put it first on your list of visits – present your case to a few different lenders first to hone your presentation and persuasion skills to a tee!

Even if you can’t find a lender to give you money, there is a government programme that may be able to help. The Department of Trade and Industry offers a Small Firms Loan Guarantee, in which it offers three quarters of the borrowing amount to the lender as a security guarantee. In return, you must pay an annual fee (which will be a small percentage of the remaining loan amount) to the Department of Trade and Industry. Up to quarter of a million pounds can be borrowed over a maximum 10-year period.

Outside investors – often referred to as ‘business angels’, private investors are rich professionals, often successful entrepreneurs themselves, who are able to offer a great deal of capital in return for an expected large profit and dividends when the company starts to make money. The advantage of obtaining finance from an investor rather than a lender is that they will not expect any financial returns until your business is turning a profit. Also, as successful business owners themselves, they can be a valuable source of advice to guide you in the right direction with your company. A combination of investment and lending might be a good option. Your business will seem a much more attractive and secure prospect to lenders if you already have a sum of capital to back it up. Investors will no doubt have a level of influence and decision-making power in your company, though. Most will want to be kept informed of what is going on – they will want to protect and develop their investment, of course, so you will have a responsibility to them. Also, when you start to turn a profit, it will be divided among everyone who has invested so you won’t get the full whack. Finally, you’ll need to put forward a very good business case to attract an investor – these are very wise, shrewd and experienced entrepreneurs.

Government schemes – there’s a whole raft of options available to small business owners from the government and local authorities in the form of low-cost loans and grants – in fact far too many to mention here. Your local business enterprise centre, chamber of commerce or local council will be able to advise on what options are available for your type of business. The loans are usually offered at very reasonable rates and grants are of course non-repayable (although competition can be tough). Such incentives are often given to certain types of businesses in certain industries located in certain areas, particularly in areas that are being regenerated and in fields such as science, research or engineering.

In conclusion, the key message is that however you get the money you need for your business, you’ll need a very strong business plan – and you’ll need to practise your skills of presenting to ensure you make a good impression and a convincing case.

The presentation of the document itself is also important. Keep it clean, crisp and sharp. Use a business-like typeface, use colours sparingly and use spreadsheets to create neat graphics. Have someone else look over it for you when it’s done to check for mistakes. Print it on good paper and hold it together in a presentation folder or comb binding.

Don’t just plan to read out your business plan – people can do that for themselves. Turn it into a slick presentation with a strong argument for your case. Write down what you want to say and rehearse it several times – in front of a mirror at first and then to family or friends. Confidence is key and this will come with practice. Ensure that you know the details of your plan inside out, including the figures. You don’t want the facts to trip you up. It’s also a good idea to consider what questions investors or lenders might ask and how you can answer them confidently and convincingly.

Author: Benedict Rohan
Website: http://www.mortgagenation.co.uk
Benedict Rohan works as a freelance finance writer. Commercial Mortgage, Homeowner Loans, Remortgages

photo credit: sergeant killjoy

Do you treat your patents as a fence or a tollbooth? If you wish for your start-up technology company to obtain investment from or acquisition by a bigger player, you had better understand the difference.

Most start-up technology company entrepreneurs and CEO’s understand that patents can be key to establishing the value of a new business idea. Typically, entrepreneurs and CEO’s such as yourself will engage patent attorneys to build an IP portfolio that protects the start-up’s technology and products to the fullest extent possible. The motivation for this effort and expense is, of course, to to protect your start-up’s idea from use by others. As management of a start-up you may be seeking to build an ongoing business around the patented technology, but often the goal of building a solid patent portfolio is to make your business an attractive target for investment or acquisition by a larger company.

As an intellectual property and business strategist, I believe that such an inwardly focused patenting strategy is a misguided approach for companies that wish to obtain investment from or be acquired by larger companies. Why do I think this? Let me use a simple analogy.

Let’s say you have worked diligently for several months of weekends to get your yard perfect–and it is perfect. When you finish the yard, you realize that if someone walks on your lawn, perfection will be lost. So you put an expensive fence around your lawn–and it is the best expensive fence you can buy: a virtual masterpiece. But what good is the fence if no one wants to walk on your lawn anyway? You wasted all that money on the fence.

The great majority of patent seekers (including those at otherwise sophisticated large companies) believe that patents are best used to keep others off their “technology lawns”. As such, patents are generally focused inwardly–that is, on the patentee’s own technology or products. This is known as “defensive patenting”. Defensive patenting is a tried and true patent strategy, but it can be a poor choice for companies that wish to obtain investment from or be acquired by bigger players. Like the example above, if these bigger players have no interest in walking across your technology lawn, your defensive patent fence is a wasted expense.

So how does a technology start-up company such as yours get the attention of these big players? It is quite simple–by putting a patent fence around the big company’s technology lawn. When properly formulated and executed, this strategy (which is not surprisingly called “offensive patenting”) makes technology or products patented by your company an attractive target for a bigger player. Your company’s patent(s) will reduce or prevent the bigger player’s free movement in its desired business space. Such a savvy offensive patenting strategy effectively requires the bigger player to ask your start-up company for permission to play on its own technology lawn. Your start-up company can provide that permission in the form of a licensing of the patent(s) at issue or by sale of your company to the bigger player. Either way, the your start-up company is benefiting financially from this smart offensive patenting strategy.

Of course, if offensive patenting was easy, smart entrepreneurs and CEO’s such as yourself would already be executing on it in droves. In truth, however, offensive patenting can only be effective against big players through use of expert competitive patent and business intelligence. Such techniques have unfortunately not been readily accessible outside of the large corporate and investor environments.

This is changing, however, as more intellectual property professionals with corporate business experience, such as myself, are entering the consultancy business. I have been able to work with clients using patent filing data analysis to identify where a large company was likely going to be focusing its technology or product efforts in 3-5 years. Together, the clients and I will brainstorm a “next generation” improvement to that technology or product. We then will work with the client’s patent attorney to draft, file and prosecute patent applications that are directed toward reducing or preventing the large company’s future ability to freely compete in that business or technology space. The objective is to end up with the client owning patent(s) that would be infringed by the large company’s future business plans. Rather than change its business plans, the large company will pay a patent “toll” in the form of a license or acquisition of the client.

Admittedly, offensive patenting is a bit like looking into a business crystal ball. However, the information needed to successfully execute on this patent strategy is out there and, when collected and analyzed by the right person, it is actually hiding in plain sight. Experts believe that those who collect and act on available data are more likely to be successful in today’s data-driven economy. I believe that smart entrepreneurs and CEO’s of startup companies can achieve the investment or acquisition they want for their companies by collecting and analyzing patent filing data to make it necessary for big companies to pay for permission to play in their desired business spaces.

So stop thinking about patents as a fence, but instead as a toll booth. One can usually walk around a fence, but if the toll booth blocks the only road to a big company’s business destination, the toll is likely to be paid.

Jackie Hutter is Principal of The Hutter Group, a leading provider of IP (“Intellectual Property”) business counseling and competitive analytics to forward-thinking organizations that seek to maximize firm asset value by capitallizing on the power of intellectual property. She has over 13 years experience counseling innovation-driven companies, universities and business development and investment professionals in maximizing their firm intellectual asset value. Jackie was named a SuperLawyer(R) in Intellectual Property in Georgia in 2004, and she has been a frequent speaker on IP issues to her fellow lawyers. Jackie was formerly Senior Patent Counsel at a Georgia-Pacific LLC, where she had sole responsible for Dixie(R) patent matters and, later, the company’s Chemicals business.

Prior to joining Georgia-Pacific, Jackie was a shareholder at the prestigious IP firm of Needle & Rosenberg, PC (now Ballard & Spahr), where she represented mulit-national companies, universities and innovators in protecting their IP to create maximum asset value. Jackie has also been a patent and IP litigator, which gives her a unique perspective in how to maximize firm IP value by avoiding litigation. Prior to attending law school on a full academic scholarship and where she graduated with honors, Jackie obtained her M.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences and she spent several years as practicing chemist at Helene Curtis (now Unilever). She is a named inventor on one U.S. patent. Jackie lives in Decatur, Georgia, in a groovy mid-Century modern house with her husband, 2 daughters and several pets.

photo credit: A. www.viajar24h.com

The Banks

2008 was a bad year for banks. Given what you hear on the news, most of us would think things were calming down. They are not. If anything, they are worse. For instance, are you area that regional banks are failing at a rate of more than one a week? How about the fact the federal government cranked $165 billion dollars into the 8 biggest American banks, but they still lost $418 billion in value? The latest estimates place the total capitalization of all banks in the US at 1.8 trillion dollars. That’s not bad until you realize the latest estimate of bad debt in the industry is 3.6 trillion dollars.

The facts spell out a fairly predictable path for banks in the coming months. The entire system appears to be insolvent. The federal government is the only entity with any money. It can’t let the banking system fail. The obvious choice is to nationalize the banks, close those that can’t be saved, recapitalize those that can and then launch the banks again as private entities traded on the stock markets. Taxpayers will take a bath, but there appears to be no other choice at this point.

Trade Protection Wars

The United States is the great consumer nation. By consuming like mad, we drive the world economy. Well, there is one problem. We are no longer consuming. Americans are worried and holding on to every penny they have. The cut back in spending is killing companies in the United States and causing massive job losses. The same is occurring overseas for China and other countries that import to the United States.

When a cycle like this starts occurring – reduced spending, job losses, more spending reductions – one thing always happens – protectionism. “We need jobs! Why should we be shipping jobs to India? China?” If you thought the immigration debate got people riled up, wait till this movement gets moving. If politicians fall in line with this way of thinking, then we can expect trade wars to break out.

The Good News

Unfortunately, there is a dearth of good news at the moment. Still, there are some hints that things are beginning to bottom out. Housing sales were up in December 2008. Financial gurus were surprised by this, but should not be. It was inevitable. The increase in sales signified a collective view that the bottom of the market has either been hit or is getting very close. How do we know this? Most of the buyers are investors. They are in the business of making money on property. When they start moving into the market, it is a signal that demand is going to increase. Is it a sign of a massive turn around? No, but it is a sign things may be stabilizing.

As predicted by many, 2009 is shaping up to be a rough year. If you are in financial straights or worried, it is a time to live frugally. 2010 should see a rebound, so getting there in as good a shape as possible should be your goal.

Stephen Teak writes about economic news for FactoringCompanyInformation.com – find a factoring company that will solve your small business cash flow problems with small business factoring.

photo credit: Kenn!

The prospect of raising additional equity earlier than expected and at a much lower valuation than anticipated was a chilling thought for Berman and his board.

Just as things appeared to be headed downhill, the company’s CFO broached the idea of obtaining $ 1.5 million in venture leasing. Roughly $ 600,000 of this financing would be used to finance existing equipment. The balance could be used for upcoming acquisitions of computer workstations, servers, software, and test equipment.

A colleague had introduced Jamal Waitley, the company’s CFO, to Jerry Sprole. Sprole heads Connecticut-based, Leasing Technologies International, a leasing firm specializing in equipment financing for venture capital-backed startups and emerging growth companies. It took Waitley less than a month to get the financing in place. Cash from selling and leasing back existing equipment along with a leasing line to add new equipment allowed Berman’s firm to operate three extra months without additional equity. When the firm finally completed its $ 20 million equity round, the pre-money valuation was at least $ 5 million more than it would have been otherwise. Venture leasing had literally created millions of dollars for Berman’s shareholders.

Like Berman’s firm, a growing number of venture capital-backed startups are taking advantage of venture leasing to build equity value faster and to expand infrastructure. What is venture leasing and why has it become so attractive to venture capital-backed startups’ How are savvy entrepreneurs using venture leasing to increase shareholder value’ To find answers, one must take a closer look at this important financing source for venture capital-backed startups.

The term venture leasing describes equipment financing provided by equipment leasing firms to pre-profit, early stage companies funded by venture capital investors. Like Berman’s firm, these startups need business essentials like computers, networking equipment, software, and equipment for production and R&D. These firms generally rely on outside investor support until they prove their business models or achieve profitability.

Where does venture leasing fit into the venture financing mix’ The relatively high cost of venture capital compared to venture leasing tells the story. To compensate venture capitalists for the risk they take, they generally receive sizeable equity stakes in the companies they finance. They typically seek investment returns of at least 35% on their investments over five to seven years. Their returns are achieved via an IPO or other sale of their equity stakes. In comparison, venture lessors seek a return in the 15% ‘ 22% range. These transactions amortize in two to four years and are secured by the underlying equipment. Although the risk to venture lessors is also high, venture lessors mitigate the risk by having a security interest in the leased equipment and structuring transactions that amortize. Taking advantage of the obvious cost advantage of venture leasing over venture capital, startup companies have turned to venture leasing as a significant source of funding to support their growth and to build equity value faster. Additional advantages to startups of venture leasing include the traditional leasing strong points — conservation of cash for working capital, management of cash flow, flexibility, management of equipment obsolescence, and serving as a supplement to other available capital.

How do venture leasing firms evaluate transactions’ Venture lessors look closely at several factors. Two of the main ingredients of a successful new venture are the caliber of its management team and of its venture capital sponsors. In many cases the two groups seem to find one another. A good management team has usually demonstrated prior successes in the field in which the new venture is active. The better venture capitalists have successful track records and direct experience with the types of companies they financed. The best VCs have industry specialization and many employ individuals with direct operating experience within the industries they finance.

After determining that the caliber of the management team and venture capitalists is high, a venture lessor looks at the startup’s business model and market potential. During this evaluation the lessor considers questions such as: Does the business model make sense’ Is the product/service necessary’ Who is the targeted customer and how large is the potential market’ How are products and services priced’ What are the projected revenues’ What are the production costs and what are the other projected expenses’ Do these projections seem reasonable’ How much cash is on hand and how long will it last the startup according to the projections’ When will the startup need the next equity round’ These, and questions like these, help the lessor determine whether the business plan and model are reasonable

The most important question facing a leasing company financing startups is whether there is sufficient cash on hand to support the startup through a significant part of the lease term. If the venture is unable to raise additional capital and runs out of cash, the lessor stands to lose money on the transaction. To mitigate this risk, most experienced venture lessors require that the startup have at least nine months of cash on hand before proceeding. Usually, startups approved by venture lessors have raised at least $ 5 million in venture capital and have not yet exhausted a healthy portion of this amount.

Where do startups turn to get venture leasing’ Part of the infrastructure supporting startups is a handful of national leasing companies that specialize in venture leasing. Like the Connecticut-based lessor introduced to Waitley, these firms have experience and expertise in structuring, pricing and documenting transactions, performing due diligence, and working with startup companies through their ups and downs.

Most venture lessors provide leases to startups under lines of credit so that customers can schedule multiple takedowns during the year. These lease lines typically range from as little as $200,000 to over $ 5,000,000, depending on the start-up’s need, projected growth and the level of venture capital support. The better venture lease providers also assist customers, directly or indirectly, in identifying other resources to support their growth. They help customers acquire equipment at better prices, arrange takeouts of existing equipment, find additional working capital funding, locate temporary CFO’s, and provide introductions to potential strategic partners— these are all value-added services the best venture lessors bring to the table.

While Craig Berman’s story is only an illustration based on an actual financing, many venture capital-backed startups are discovering that venture leasing can leverage venture capital to boost shareholder value. These startups are then able to use their venture capital for growth activities that build enterprise value, like product development, bringing in management talent and expanding their marketing efforts. Since venture leasing is more cost effective than venture capital, requires no board representation or loss of management control, and usually results in little or no equity dilution, this rapidly growing financing for start-ups is reaching the radar screens of many savvy entrepreneurs.

George Parker is a Director and Executive Vice President of Leasing Technologies International, Inc. (‘LTI’), responsible for LTI?s marketing and financing efforts. A co-founder of LTI, Mr. Parker has been involved in secured lending and equipment financing for over twenty years. Mr. Parker is an industry leader, frequent panelist and author of several articles pertaining to equipment financing.

Headquartered in Wilton, CT, LTI is a leasing firm specializing nationally in direct equipment financing and vendor leasing programs for emerging growth and later-stage, venture capital backed companies. More information about LTI is available at: http://www.ltileasing.com.

photo credit: Sweet One

often meet local business owners who say they want more international business but aren’t doing anything about it. When I ask them why they aren’t taking any actions to actually get more international clients there are basically two reactions:

* They insist they are doing all they can
* They make excuses based on potential barriers in the future

And yet, if the desire for international business expansion is real enough all it takes is setting up a simple action plan and repeating it until you get the answers you need.

This takes little time.

A persistent effort is all you need.

With curiosity.

Curiosity means questions.

Persistently ask questions. Don’t keep your questions to yourself. Look up and around you, ask questions all around. And follow up on the responses you get to ask more questions.

If you don’t get any response, look further afield, try changing your communication channels. Use the phone first, email, write a letter, go to places where you might find someone who can answer your questions, or who knows someone who can.

And then continue to ask questions.

Soon you will find the right person, or persons, to give you the answers to your questions. Maybe one answer at first, but the answers are out there.

This is business networking. This is market research in the field. And it works. As you continue to ask questions and talk to different people you will find the answers to all of the barriers you encounter along the way.

Small businesses or online businesses do not often take the time to set up a simple action plan to get more international clients.

Are you committed to speeding up your international sales cycles?

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Cindy King is a Cross-Cultural eMarketer & International Sales Specialist, aligning businesses with different cultures. She has over 25 years field experience in international business development and helps mid-sized business owners create international business development strategies that shorten time to profitability.