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Article by Brian Ernst

Even the most attractive and lucrative business opportunity can be unsuccessful if you have insufficient business financing to continue on with the deal. This is really important in business acquisition since unique opportunities do not come very often. Therefore, finding business purchase financing on time is the key to scoring on such business deals. It is important to be adequately prepared when planning to buy a business establishment.

Finding funding for your prospect business Business acquisition financing generally comes in two methods:

1. Debt financing – You will rely on an outside source to acquire financing for your business.

2. Equity financing – You will sell shares or stocks of your business to some investors.

It is difficult to get approved on business acquisition financing through either method because credit market conditions are tight and investors are wary about providing financing. However, if you were a knowledgeable entrepreneur, it would be a lot easier for you to get past this ordeal.

There are few key aspects that you need to know if you want to use the first method to borrow a certain amount of money. In this approach, you will demonstrate your business skills and knowledge to prospective banks and lenders. The bank or the lender will most likely ask for detailed information on the business you intend to purchase, your collateral for the loan, and the means for you to pay the money back.

In securing business acquisition financing, there are some things you need to remember. One is to have a backup plan. It is better if you get approved by as many banks and lenders as possible, for these will be handy in situations when one backs out. Another consideration is to acquire adequate business purchase financing that covers operating costs. It is highly recommended to have a plan B in case the profit decreases. Lastly, see to it that you have a detailed business plan. Remember that this is one of the many bases of banks and lenders in approving your business financing loan.

The second option is equity financing, wherein you would agree to sell shares of your business to other investors. In choosing this option, you don’t have to worry about the risks in repaying debt, but you would be giving up partial ownership and control of your business.

Keys to successful business acquisition financing The most helpful way to secure business financing is to become inventive. You may try the easiest approach of all, which is to secure seller financing. In this deal, the seller will have to wait for a certain period of time to be fully paid off. The seller will also most likely offer assistance in ensuring your business’s profitability. However, not all sellers are willing to offer this type of setup. Even if you do find a willing seller, the asking price can go as high as 5 to 25 percent.

If a bank denies your loan request, you can try to apply for a small business administration loan or SBA loan. This type of loan offers good terms and requirements, but you won’t be getting additional funds from any other source.

There are many other possibilities to explore in securing financing for your business. Try asking for help from your family and friends to fund your business. You may also opt to draw money from your 401(k) plan. Contacting franchise financing companies is also another possible option. With a lot of choices available for you, acquiring financing for business is not difficult after all, don’t you agree?

About the Author

Get business financing at GlobalBX.com, a FREE business for sale listing exchange that provides a confidential forum to facilitate the buying and selling of businesses with over 36,000 businesses and franchises for sale.

The Worst Small Business Financing Strategy Ever?

Depending on whose stats you pay attention to, approximately 80% of small businesses fail within their first 5 years of operation.

In many cases, its not that a particular business could not succeed; there just wasn’t sufficient time to figure out how to succeed.

Which brings us to the worst small business financing strategy ever.

Here’s how it work.

The would be entrepreneur develops what they believe to be a sure fire business plan that can’t fail.

Unable to locate any form of start up capital, they start their business with credit cards as the only source of financing, and an expectation of sustainable business results within 3 to 6 months.

If everything goes well, the debt will be retired within a year and funds will start building in the bank account.

Sounds Good, right?

I mean the thinking lines up perfectly with all the get rich quick business opportunities that exist on and off the internet today where some of them even try to convince you to use your credit cards because the opportunity is soooooooo good and can’t miss.

The problem is that every business can miss.

Every single one.

And the vast majority do fail.

Have you ever spoken to someone who runs a successful small business; perhaps one that’s been around for 10 to 20 years?

If you take the time to ask one of these entrepreneurs about their start up period, what you learn may shock you.

Even some of the most successful small and medium sized businesses out there today had some hairy moments making a go of it in the early years.

And some times the difficult early years lasted for several years.

The point here is simply this.

The process of getting a business operating and successful can take many unexpected twists and turns, no matter how diligent you are in creating a thorough business plan and business financing strategy.

Therefore, to increase your probability for success you need to allow for the unknown, the unplanned, and the unfair.

A business financing strategy that cannot accommodate unforeseen events is not much of a strategy.

A business financing strategy that is based on high interest credit cards that can destroy both your cash flow and your personal credit is also not much of a strategy.

To improve your odds of small business success, here are some tips for developing a solid business financing strategy.

>>> Invest Your Own Cash

If you have some of your own cash penciled into your business financing strategy, it will immediately increase your likelihood of getting some sort of start up loan.

The more “skin” you have in the game, the more interested a lender will be in approving your loan request.

There is also something to be said about the psychological incentive of losing your own money and the motivation it creates for you to work harder to keep it.

>>> Create Contingencies in Your Cash Flow

Whatever you estimate your working capital requirement to be, double it. At least increase it by a factor larger than 1.

Things can and will go wrong, so give yourself a fighting chance and develop a business financing strategy that allows for less than perfect results.

>>> Use Credit Cards Wisely

Used properly, credit cards can be the cheapest form of working capital that you have at your disposal.

Some business credit cards provide 40 days of interest free financing. If you pay off the entire balance every month, you have an extremely low cost of working capital financing.

But if you start carrying large balances without paying them down monthly, you will go from the cheapest source of working capital to one of the most expensive, and you will likely also destroy your credit rating in the process.

>>> Make Timely Government Remittances

Small businesses are by default tax collectors. And the taxes collected can sometimes wind up funding the business for longer periods of time than they were ever intended.

Using government remittances as a business financing strategy is basically a bad idea.

Government agencies that are assigned to collect from you have large budgets and enough broad sweeping authority to create plenty of grief for you if you are too slow in paying.

If you apply for a business loan while you have an overdue balance with a government tax agency, your loan request will likely be declined.

Even after the balance is paid up, you may have burned your bridge with the lender as a history of overdue government remittances can brand you as a bad credit risk.

>>> Watch Spending Closely At Startup

One of the things you can control early on is how much you spend and what you spend it on.

This is going to change in time, but if you can spend wisely in the beginning you may be able to avoid a cost cutting exercise further down the line.

While its normally true that you have to spend money to make money, you can still be smart about the spending process.

There are literally millions of women business entrepreneurs and the numbers are growing daily. These women business entrepreneurs own and operate businesses of every kind, from sales to service to home-based businesses ranging from computer services to agricultural enterprises. In 2005, there were over 10 million women-owned businesses in the US. and women business entrepreneurs start new businesses at twice the rate of men.

Although more women business entrepreneurs are starting businesses than are their male counterparts, they have more difficulty in getting original financing. There are several sources of financing, however, for women business entrepreneurs. Some state and local development departments can offer some assistance if approached with a good plan. The National Association of Women in Business will also assist beginning women business entrepreneurs. Community banks are sometimes a source of initial funding for women
business entrepreneurs, but may require previous credit and a sound business plan to consider offering some financing for startups.

The existing 10 million plus women-owned businesses now in the US represent 28% of all businesses. In the years from 1997 to 2002, businesses operated by women business entrepreneurs grew well over 50%. An interesting statistic concerning women business entrepreneurs is the number of businesses owned and operated by Hispanic and Asian women business entrepreneurs. This is the fastest growing segment of such businesses, increasing during the cited period by around 65%.

Among small women-owned businesses, many receive initial funding from family and friends. This is possibly true among the Hispanic and Asian communities which could be accountable for the faster increase in women business entrepreneurs in these groups.

Not only in the US, but around the world, women are increasingly founding their own businesses. In developing and under-developed countries women often start a home-based business in agriculture, where these women business entrepreneurs may be able to start cultiating a garden or raising pigs with as little as $800 initial financing. There are organizations through which one can contribute to help women business entrepreneurs in struggling countries worldwide.