Chapter Fourteen
Small Business Finance: Using Equity, Debt, and Gifts
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Sources of Financing for Small Businesses
The number one source is from the owners themselves.
Other major sources include family and friends, credit cards, trade credit, banks, and other commercial lenders.
Less used sources include grants, angel investors, government programs, community financiers, stock sales, and venture capital.
Sources of financing are either debt, equity, or gifts.
Debt can take many forms of debt equity, such as borrow money from banks, agencies, governments, or individuals.
When you sell part of your business, the money received is equity capital.
Assets or money donated without obligation to repay is a gift resulting in gift equity.
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Financing with Equity
Personal equity.
The amount you contribute depends on your personal worth.
Not all personal wealth is easily available.
You need to know the amount and type of wealth you have.
Outside equity.
Outside equity is money from selling part of your business to people not involved in the business, called outside equity investors.
This is only possible if the business is organized as a partnership, a corporation, or a limited liability company (LLC).
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Financing with Debt
Debt is a claim on the value of a business’s asset but unlike equity, debts are legally enforceable to pay back.
Secured debt provides a lender with the right to seize specific assets if the loan is not paid.
Unsecured debt does not give the lender the right to seize any specific asset.
Lenders must use court action to collect unpaid unsecured debt.
Though debt is easier to obtain than equity, avoid it if possible.
There are repayment obligations.
Lenders can enforce payment regardless of your ability to pay.
The amount of debt financing you can raise is limited by your personal wealth, your business’ wealth, and your debt history.
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Financing with Gifts
Few are able to obtain gift funding for a start-up.
Available to a few established businesses with several years of successful operations.
Even then, a small business will get a grant if, and only if, the business operations meet some desirable societal goal.
Virtually all gift financing comes either from governments or private foundations.
Few foundations exist to support small business and none exist to specifically provide start-up or working capital funding.
Remember that gifts come with strings attached – even grants require periodic reports detailing how the grant is being used and its impact.
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Financing with Equity:
Getting Others to Invest in Your Business
Small businesses get started because the owners want to make money.
Investors want to make money, too.
Lenders exp.