Learning how to raise capital for your business idea is often difficult for many otherwise very capable would be entrepreneurs. Raising finance, be it from a bank, a venture capital firm or a business angel, has a lot to do with being able to sell your business idea, and less about how good that idea actually is. The best business idea can get nowhere if you cannot convince your prospective investors of its potential as an investment and your ability as a business owner of making it a success. You should keep the following key points in mind when trying to raise capital for your new business idea.Prepare a business planWriting a business plan is often a lot of work and distracts you from doing what you want to do, which is running your business. But you won’t get any funding without a solid written business plan. Telling an investor or your bank contact that they should give you money because you had a great idea is just not going to cut it. A business plan will explain exactly what you plan on doing with that money, why you need it and real numbers proving your business idea potential. Among other things, you’ll need to be able to prove that you know your audience and the size of the market you plan on targeting, your marketing plans, your expected cashflow for the first few years and how will you deal with risks such as another competitor entering the market. If you are unsure about how to write a good business plan you can also hire a consultant to help you prepare it, but make sure you know exactly what’s in it, since the consultant won’t be with you when talking to the potential investors.Practice your pitchLooking for investment is like selling your business idea to somebody who knows a lot about what makes a good, profitable business. While a good business plan is the basis for your pitch, you will still need to deliver it the right way. It’s worth investigating your potential investors, and adapting your pitch to that information. For example, a bank is often conservative and would be more interested in you showcasing how your business idea is a safe bet and has a solid base, without extravagant expenses or high risk taking. However, an investor with an existing portfolio of cutting edge technological business may be more interested in listening to how your business is highly innovative and will use the money to create the next big thing online. Do not go into any meeting with your investors without researching all you can about them and their style, since they will have no doubt researched you to see if you, as a person and a businessman, are likely to succeed.Plan for threats and weaknessesRemember when at job interviews people asked you to name your weak points? Your investors are going to do exactly the same about your business idea. While it’s clear that you wouldn’t be asking for investment if you didn’t believe your business idea has a high potential for success, you should also be aware of what things could make it fail, and be able to plan for it. Do not say “Nothing can go wrong, I have everything covered” because at best you’ll get a reality check from the investors about the many things you had not considered, before politely being shown the door. Being secure of yourself is great, but realism is highly appreciated in business.Know your USPWhat makes your business idea unique, and so makes people choose you over anybody else to buy from? Your unique selling point, or USP, will be key to your marketing strategy since it’s the reason why people will buy from you. A generic business with no unique selling point is not likely to make venture investors interested, because if anybody can do it, it’s probably not going to be very profitable. Investors want a high return on investment, and that means that your business should grow and not just be good enough for you to make a living. On the other hand, a bank may be less demanding with your uniqueness, as long as you are using a proven business model on a niche that has room for new players, but a bank knows that they’ll get their payment through your loan interest so they are satisfied with you just breaking even and paying your loan.Show that you the right person to lead your businessThis is another challenging issue when trying to get finance, and a question that few investors will ask you directly so you need to show it by your actions and your sales pitch. Some people are great at having ideas, but are very bad at making those ideas into a real business and managing the day to day of said business. As a business owner, you’ll need many skills that aren’t directly related to your business core idea. Even if you are technically the best developer in the world, and the person who can best implement your idea, you may not be the right person to actually manage it and many investors will notice that unfavourably. Make sure you come across as a savvy businessperson, and not just a great inventor or a proficient salesman.
CPA Advertising – A Better Choice For Low Budget Online Advertising
Just like any information medium, the internet cannot survive without the advertisers. Most websites and online services are fueled by advertisement. For business newbie’s, the internet is one of the most cost-efficient ways to reach a larger number of potential customers and to increase sales.Cost-per-action (CPA) advertising is an online marketing process where the advertiser only pays whenever an action that is indicated in their advertisement has been made like sign up a registration form or buys a product. For instance, a client is asked to sign up a form with their e-mail address and zip code, when they submit the form, the client will be paid by the advertiser.Unlike the traditional cost-per-click (CPC) model for marketing where an advertiser has to pay for every click or view of their advertisement without the assurance of getting a lead or if a product would be sold, CPA is a much better choice for low budget advertisers.CPA advertising is strictly a performance-based advertising. There is more assurance that the money that an advertiser pays for advertising will be converted into profit unlike assuming that a product will be sold by just seeing the advertisements.In CPA advertising, a return of investment is also assured especially for an up starting company or individual who is only starting to build a business. It is also an effective way of reaching out to a larger number of prospective customers without expanding the limits of a business’ resources.A CPA network takes charge of the CPA advertising. The network pays out affiliates in exchange for their traffic from the agreed fees from the advertisers for the cost-per-lead or cost-per-sale. Conversions-meaning conversion of advertisement to leads (visitor to a site that discloses personal information in order to be approached for a product to be sold) or sale of products-are dependent on the traffic while at the same time; the network is dependent on conversions. More conversions mean larger revenues for both the network and the advertiser.It is best to take note that an advertiser must make sure to provide a high quality product to produce high-conversion rate for the product or service being sold. In this way, a CPA network will immediately approve an advertiser’s application especially when one is new in the business.Because a company or businessman can save in this kind of advertising, more likely, they can save more for their online advertisement campaign and use their savings for other aspects in their campaign.Because this kind of advertisement is also being utilized by major branded corporations, it can also be used by companies as testing grounds for the effectiveness of their advertisement before launching into a major advertisement campaign.Whether an advertiser relies on CPA advertisement or not, the success of a high rate of sold products by advertisement does not rely on the mode of advertisement but on how the product is packaged for the consumers to buy the product. Keep on track and see if what’s best for a business’ advertising needs.
Implement Highly Competent Telecommunication Systems for Optimum Productivity
Today’s business interactions have evolved from the ages of conventional communication methods to high-tech and interactive mobility solutions. Large scale business sectors to the recent SOHO cluster, all of them now rely on automated messaging and reply system for real-time productivity and customer support. If you want a fully customized and responsive business communication for your company, then you must select the best Telecommunication Companies. There are certain factors to consider when it comes to opting for the best telecommunication solution packed with industry oriented features and customization for future needs.The evaluation factorsYou need to identify the exact requirements of communication in your organization. If you do not have a clear idea of how you will utilize this service for achieving a responsive and interactive Business Telecoms system, then you may face trouble in selecting the right vendor. For a simple overview of a particular telecommunication solution, you can use the limited period and featured free plans. This is like a software demo that you are familiar with. While going for a new web-based communication solution, you must check its compatibility with all the network carriers operating in your area. You may even look for the features like audience response system integrated with the zero disruption communication solution.Attractive tariff plans When it comes to sending and receiving multiple text messages for an efficient customer feedback system and in-house Business Telecoms, you must be concerned about the rates that your business communication service provider is charging. Without an economic plan, you will not be able to meet up with you annual budget allotted for this service. Always go for the economic tariff plans. You may need to invest more for such plans initially but it is the most cost effective service in the long run. The affordability factor acts as a decision making factor when you are evaluating multiple vendors for similar services.Easy customization and maintenanceTelecommunication for business requirements varies according to the features you need out of the system. The Telecommunication Companies should be able to offer you extensive customization options for future upgrades and easy maintenance. Almost all the similar communication features and services are cloud based today. So, you do not need to worry about on-site maintenance and upgrades. It is very easy to implement new features just by subscribing. However, it is you sole responsibility of checking the array of features that your communication service provider is ready to provide upon your requirement.Business interaction has evolved to new heights with the latest cloud based mobility solutions. You should perform a careful check on the features that your telecommunication service is offering you. Get a highly efficient communication solution with an economic tariff plan. There are many factors to consider summing up you actual communication requirements. Inadequate analysis of requirements can lead to improper communication solution that affects your company’s core competency. You should not welcome such situation at will. You can get professional assistance from a fully customized communication service provider. You can search online and collect detailed information on present day business communication system. Try to go for the trending communication technologies and features to make your company communication future ready. There are many expensive and inexpensive methods of communication. You must select the best economic plans and future proof communication solutions.