How to attract investors for your small business

The reality is that your great idea is never going to get off the ground, unless you can find someone who can help you finance it.Without some significant financial help, no matter how great your idea, it will just die a slow death. However, with some planning, creativity and hard work, you can attract investors, (if your idea is good enough), and bring your dream to life. Here is what you need to know about how to attract investors for your small business-

• Begin by studying the competition-The media would have every potential small business owner, believing that venture capital funding is a piece of cake. In reality before you ever get the chance to pitch your idea you will be busy with paperwork filing, business-plan writing, and demographic analysis. All of these must be conducted. Potential investors may receive up to 1000's of proposals a year. You need to keep in mind that all of them are competing against your business plan for funding consideration. Statistics show that only approximately 10% of these plans are seriously considered, and 1-2% are actually picked up and funded. And worst of all this process can often take years. You need to keep in mind that in a situation like this, the smallest details (punctuation, accurate bookkeeping and sentence structure), could mean the difference between the inbox, and the paper shredder. Attention to detail is a quality that will pay off in big dollars.
• Know who are eligible-Individual investors, whether private or in a firm, have their own criteria for funding. Keep in mind that since venture capitalists are private investors and boards, they have the freedom to alter conditions in order to suit their own causes. Keep in mind that certain benchmarks must be met on the applicant's end, before funding will be considered.
• Write your proposal and then edit, and then edit again-You need to consider the sheer volume of business plans that investors weed through every year. You need to understand that it's often the low points (not the high points), that stand out. Punctuation, grammar, appealing graphics and concise writing may not bring your plan to the front of the pile, but at least it won't wind up in the recycle bin right off the bat. Remember that business plans are often 25-50 pages long, and it's easy to let a typo slip through the cracks. It is advisable that with a document as important as a business plan, it's worth the expense to hire a professional copy editor, and save on the anxiety that can happen with a spelling error that's discovered down the road. In addition, when writing a business plan, it's best not to rely on page count to determine length. Remember that the number of words is irrelevant; it's over when it's supposed to be over. What you need to do is insure that your plan has all pertinent information, and answers any questions that may arise. The bottom line is that making the business plan as thorough and clean, as possible will appeal to the investor's senses of meticulousness, and gain their trust in your abilities.
• Make your proposal the round peg in a round hole-In other words cater your business to the investor who is most likely to want to invest in it. Both private investors and venture capital firms tend to focus on one type of business or product, such as: wireless technology, health care, alternative energy, etc. You need to do some due diligence here, to ensure that you are not just wasting time and money, by sending a great idea to the wrong firm or investor.