Lesson 4: Access to Capital
What You’ll Learn: The old adage that “it takes money to make money” is as true today as it was when JP Morgan was building his empire. Whether its startup capital to get your idea off the ground or bridge funding to get you through slow times, money can be a make or break the proposition for any business. We’ll walk you through some of the options and help point you in the right direction.
Access to Capital (continued)
Assignments
- Use Commerce’s SizeUp tool to make initial projections for your business, if you haven’t done so already. This will help you model cash flow and perform profit and loss projections.
- Talk to other entrepreneurs and small businesses in your area about how they financed their business and how well their projections matched the realities of starting a business.
- Research upcoming business plan competitions to see if any match your business idea. Check out past winners and see what they did to win the competition and what they are doing now.
- Visit a nearby Startup Center or Small Business Development Center to discuss your business idea and capitalization. These centers offer consulting, mentorship and resourcing to help you get your business up and running more quickly and with more confidence.