Cash for Impact

I gave a workshop on this topic at a small business conference I spoke at last month. It was a big hit. The workshop was 1.5 hours and this presentation is only 15 minutes, so it’s greatly abbreviated. Also, my workshops are interactive and that interaction isn’t possible here.

The topic is “Writing a Successful Financing-Focused Executive Summary“. My presentation takes a top-down approach to ensure that business owners fully understand the market (financing entities, banks, angel investors, etc.) that they are writing to. Only then does it go into the specifics of what goes into the executive summary. Put another way, I cover the why and when, then the how.

This presentation is hosted on AuthorStream.

Technorati Tags: angel investor, authorstream, executive summary, financing-focused, small business

I recently read an article in the Akron Beacon Journal about Golden Seeds, a group primarily comprised of female women investors with a few offices on the East Coast in New York city (i.e., in Silicon Alley), Philadelphia, and Boston, and one office on the west coast, in San Francisco (i.e., in Silicon Valley).  From their website, “Golden Seeds is dedicated to empowering women financially, based on a commitment that diversity in business ownership and management improves corporate performance and creates a stronger economy.”

Golden Seeds mainly invests in women-owned businesses, or rather, women-owned and women-controlled businesses. The companies they invest in have a woman at the helm as either the CEO or as a founder and CXO (COO, CFO, CTO, or CMO).  In other words, Golden Seeds invests in companies where a woman is the primary decision maker or plays a significant role in the decision-making process. This angel investor group has over 150 investors.

For more information, visit their website at http://www.goldenseeds.com/home/ . You can also check out the Sunday, April 24, 2011 “Business” section of the Akron Beacon Journal for a great article on some of the investments the group has made.

Technorati Tags: Golden Seeds, women-controlled businesses, women-owned business

I received the following conference notices by email. (If you have a small business or related conference, seminar, etc. you’d like to champion, please email me.)

* Apr. 13, 2011 – “Getting Back to Business” Atlanta Small Business Procurement Industry Fair, sponsored by the General Services Administration and the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services – http://gtpac.org/2011/03/gsa-and-health-human-services-host-industry-fair-april-13th

* Apr. 27, 2011 – Small Business Conference, sponsored by the Region 4 office of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – http://gtpac.org/2011/03/epa-to-hold-small-business-event-april-27th

Check these out. They may be just what you’re looking for. If you aren’t in Georgia, they have similar conferences in your area. Click on the link for information about those in your area.

“Lack of capital is not the real issue, although it is a much bigger issue than in 2007. Capital in 2009 is still available. The primary issue is lack of knowledge of and access to capital. The younger the entity, the fewer the sources,” says Tiffany Wright, author of the new book Help! I Need Money for My Business Now!!. “Most small and medium businesses are completely unaware of the variety of financing sources that exist for their business type or they are highly unprepared to meet the requirements from a relationship and financial packaging perspective.”

Wright contends that there are always several financing alternatives available for any small business. To access these entrepreneurs and business owners must educate themselves and think creatively. “Most business owners think of bank financing when you say debt and venture capital when you say equity. While these two sources provide a significant amount of small business funding, there is a vast pool of working capital for business and other ways to raise capital available from other entities. There are even providers of financing that looks a little like debt and a little like equity.”

Help! I Need Money for My Business Now!!:How to Access Traditional and Creative Financing for Your Business has over 25 in-depth yet succinct case study examples of what other real business owners have done to raise capital to grow their businesses. The material covers not just what is available but the how to obtain it – what works best and why for your particular business type, templates, websites. It includes everything from pursuing business-friendly community banks to forming strategic alliances to tapping supplier financing. This ebook manual shows business owners how to raise the capital they need to survive the economic downturn and grow their business. Help! I Need Money for My Business Now!! helps business owners lay the financial framework to create a viable, sustainable business to sell or pass on.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2004, there were nearly 5.9 Million firms with employees in the US and 19.5 Million firms with no employees. 2.8 Million firms had 1-4 employees and another 1.0 Million firms had 5-9 employees. Only 86, 538 companies had 100 or more employees and only 17,047 of those had 500 or more employees. Thus the impact of small businesses on the economy is huge. Wright says, “We must help more small businesses grow into larger, financially stable and viable firms. This way we ensure the return to health of the American economy.”

Help! I Need Money for My Business Now!! can be ordered from Toca Family Business Services; or online at http://www.smallbusinessfinancingresource.com/ . The price is $59.99 and is delivered immediately upon order confirmation. For more details visit http://www.smallbusinessfinancingresource.com/.

Technorati Tags: business cash flow, cash flow, small business financing resource

The 3rd Annual NASA Small Business Symposium and Awards Ceremony is coming up! This event is FREE!

Attendees will learn about the skills, resources, and technologies needed to achieve NASA’s missions, programs, and research. Participants also have an opportunity to hear from the U.S. Small Business Administration and other federal agencies, as well as prime contractor representatives.

This two-day event will culminate with the NASA Small Business Awards Ceremony, on Wednesday, December 1, 2010. The NASA Small Business Awards Ceremony will recognize outstanding contributions made by NASA employees as well as industry representatives in support of the agency’s small business program.

Small Business Advocates Awards (SBAA) will be made in four categories:

1. Small Business Specialist of the Year
2. Procurement Person (or Team) of the Year
3. Technical Person (or Team) of the Year
4. Program Person (or Team) of the Year

Small Business Industry Awards (SBIA) will be made in three categories:

1. Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year
2. Small Business Subcontractor of the Year
3. Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year

Information:
Dates: Tuesday, November 30 – Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Where: Marriott Bethesda North Hotel and Conference Center
5701 Marinelli Road
Bethesda, Maryland 20852.

Click here to register . There is NO onsite registration so please register in advance.

Yes, I have helped others access grants. But they are few and far between. The USDA offers a number of grants to facilitate rural development. These grants are attached to job creation. So if you will create 20 or 50 or 100 jobs or more you qualify. If you’ll only create 2, don’t bother.

There are also a number of grants available for green energy and other green technologies. In addition, there’s the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant for small businesses with technologies in development that can impact various federal agencies.

Check with your city, county, or state’s economic development agency. These agencies often have grants or subsidized loans for businesses in certain industries or located in specific targeted areas.

There are also grants available through private sources via business plan competitions or other competitive venues. Eileen Fisher has a $10,000 grant for women-owned businesses that meet certain criteria. Many business schools have business plan competitions, some of which are open to public participation.

For more detailed information, you can search on “grants” here in my blog where I explain some of these grants in detail and provide links.

Technorati Tags: small business, small business grant

I’m not a big believer in grants. That is to say I believe in them when they do exist. I don’t believe in their rampant availability for anyone who wants them. When I worked as a business advisor at Georgia Tech, I would often get calls about those easy-to-get government grants so often advertised on the Internet or through free conferences advertised via mail. Very few of those so-called grants existed. Lots of hot air, minimal substance.

However, government grants do exist. Typically they are for economic development, research, or smaller grants to help lift people out of poverty through micro entrepreneurship. They are not so easy to get that you simply provide your name and a brief synopsis of your business and Whammo! there’s the money. However, they’re no more difficult to get than the typical effort required to get a business loan.

Occasionally, I’ll come across grants that may appeal to some of the readers here and I’ll post them. Specifically, those that are offered by private enterprises to assist small businesses, minority-owned businesses, women-owned businesses or businesses located in certain urban or rural areas. Check back tomorrow for a few of the grants that I’ve seen that are legitimate and currently seeking applicants.

Technorati Tags: small business grant, small business grants