How to find investors for your business

One of the biggest challenges facing anyone who is trying to start a business is raising the necessary capital. This leads many prospective small business owners trying to attract investors in order to gain enough cash to open their doors.Once you have managed to tap into your own capital and that of your family and friends, the second-tier of financing usually lies with angel investors. But where does a prospective business owner find angel investors?Here is a list of possible sources of information about how to locate angel investors for your small business start-up.

• Talk with executives at your bank- Your bank does more then just make loans.Most business executives there know financial professionals in the community. It is highly likely within the bank (if there is a network of angel investors in or near your community); they will know a contact person. This strategy has a double benefit if you are currently doing business with the bank since they want to support viable business entities to grow their own banking business as well.
• Contact your local Chamber of Commerce-Every business owner should visit their local Chamber of Commerce.These are the people who are highly likely to have a list of local angel investor associations or venture capital networks that you can contact. In addition your local Chamber of Commerce will have valuable information for several types of business resources in your area.
• Find out if you have any business incubators in your community-Either your Chamber of Commerce or a local college or university can let you know if your town has any business incubator associations operating in your area. If do you have a business incubator nearby, they undoubtedly will have access to networks of angel investors.This is one way they help the firms in their incubators attract financing. Do not hesitate to contact the association of business incubators and go talk to them. Let them help you make contact with the angel investors they know.
• Contact your accountant and your attorney that you already do business with. It is important to remember that your accountant and your attorney are valuable resources. As professionals in the community, it is likely that they may know of networks of angel investors. At the very least, they may know of others to refer you to that may be able to get you in touch with angel investors.Remember that you are paying them not only for their services but for their knowledge and expertise as well.
• Check out universities and college that are in or near your area-If there is a university in or near your area, it can be a valuable source for finding angel investors. This is especially true if it has a program in entrepreneurship or small business management. If so, it may produce high levels of new businesses and have affiliated angel investors. Talk to the people in these departments at the university and they can possibly get you connected with an angel investor. The Small Business Development Centers, located at local universities, are another valuable source of information about angel investors. Make an appointment to talk to the director of the local Small Business Development center and you may be able to get in touch with the local group of angel investors.
• Contact regional and state economic development agencies-You should also check out your regional and state economic development agencies. The main focus of their jobs is to increase small business development activity. There is a very good chance that they know the networks of angel investors and venture capitalists in your local area and state.