Early Mornings and Other Things for Love/Hate Relationships
Early Mornings and Other Things for Love/Hate Relationships
Funding Your Business Growth
I joke a lot about hating math. The truth is, it fascinates me, especially when it goes past the basics to include formulas and patterns and complex answers to burning questions like “what is the smallest file size that will produce the quality of the image I need for my client?”
I feel the same way about finance. Maybe it’s because, in the world of small business where I live, I often hear “we just can’t afford that”. True, budgets are critical, but at the same time, everyone acknowledges the old adage that you have to spend money to make money.
That’s why business finance fascinates me.
When I was working on my MBA, I struggled through basic accounting. Boring! At least for me because it was all about making sure everything got put away tidily into the correct boxes. Cost accounting and finance, though, were much different. They encouraged “out of the box” thinking for me: essentially, ways to do more with less.
Of course, all of the MBA cases were big business examples of how to use someone else’s money to achieve business goals and maximize a profit for all.
So, how does this work for small business in the real world?
Are there different strategies for service businesses, like mine, than for manufacturing or technology companies? How do I know when to get external funding? And where should I look? Will I have to personally guarantee a business loan? Will that expose me personally to more of my business’ risk? What should I be doing today in case I need to get a business loan in the future? How much – or how little – can I borrow?
In the pursuit of answers to these and other similar questions, we have assembled a panel of funding experts ready to share their experience. Yes, I’m motivated largely by my own curiosity, but I learned long ago that if I have questions, there is always someone else with the same questions. I invite you to bring them all!!
