Startup Capital: 5 Steps For Determining How Much Money You Need To Raise

SIBP-Blog-NEW-B-5In my last post, I explained how to determine your startup expenses. That’s an important step for determining your outside capital needs, but it’s not the whole story. To get an accurate idea of how much money your business will need to reach the place where it is generating a profit, you need to see the bigger picture.

By following these five steps, you will have a much better idea of your actual funding needs. This is the exact kind of information investors and lenders will need to see before they open up their checkbooks. Continue reading

Startup Capital: One-Time Costs and Ongoing Expenses

SIBP-Blog-NEW-B-3As you raise startup capital, one of the first questions you should ask yourself is “What do I need this money for?” It can be a tricky question to answer, as there are a lot of expenses associated with starting a business. To understand how much money you need, you need to start with your expenses.

While every startup is different, most early stage businesses share similar needs. These generally break down into two broad categories: One-time costs and ongoing expenses. In this post, I’ll explain the differences between these two kinds of expenses, and give you some general examples of each. Continue reading

4 Tips For Knowing If You’re Really Ready To Start A Business

SIBP-Blog-NEW-B-2For every would-be entrepreneur, there comes a time where you’ve done all the planning and prep work you possibly can. You’ve taken your time, you’ve asked all the right questions, and there’s seemingly nothing left to do but get started. Yet, there’s still that nagging doubt. Maybe you’re missing something. How can you know that you’re really ready to start your business?

Starting a business is a scary prospect, particularly if it’s your first time. Can you really trust your gut instincts when that same gut is also filled with butterflies? It helps to have some outside confirmation that you’re truly ready to roll.

In this post, I’ll talk about four simple tips for knowing if you’re ready to turn your well-planned business idea into a real business. Continue reading

Ep. 058 – Elementary Startup Planning For New Entrepreneurs

SIB-Blog-3What are the fundamental steps for creating a viable business? What groundwork needs to be laid before any entrepreneur can take their business plan to investors? In this episode, host Tom Ryan strips the business-creation process down to the most basic levels to reveal the core elements of a viable startup.

Tom is on the road this week, requiring a slight change of format from two-person discussion to solo show format. As a result, he’ll be taking on a variety of listener questions. Continue reading