5 Steps to Get a Loan for your Design Agency
The biggest problem with starting a new business is often the funding needed to move forward on your million dollar idea. They always say that money makes more money, but how much is needed to really get your business growing? I would evidently say that is up to you. Whether you think you only need $10,000 or $100,000 aim for double your guesstimate. Why would I say that? Well, because we always try to be conservative when it comes to asking for money.
You shouldn’t be. Be confident and make the person or people you are pitching believe in your idea just as much as you do. Whether you go for a big loan from the bank, medium sized loan from an investor or a fast small business loan, Dealstruck may be the best option for you to checkout if you’re based in the United States. If you’re based in another country, you could find your equivalent for a small business loan.
So how would we go about getting this loan for your business, idea or product? Let’s look at the five steps listed below.
1. Evaluate your idea
Everyone some point in their lives believe that they have stumbled across an idea that could potentially make them rich. Why don’t they act on that idea? (That’s the one thing that I haven’t come to understand about the human race. We don’t like to work hard in order to get something done…well most of people any-case.) I reckon the case is that people don’t believe as much in their own idea as they should and therefore they don’t worry about pushing forward with it.
Your instructions for step one though isn’t to give up or sit back. I want you to get out and evaluate your idea. Ask people around you what they think about purchasing product X or Y and what they would pay for it. Please don’t just ask your uncle or your aunt because they might likely give you a number that might sound good to you, but isn’t realistic. You shouldn’t just ask your family, ask friends and survey others.
Make sure that there is a need for your idea, product or service. Make sure that it solves a problem in your community. Once you have enough responses and believe there is a need, move on to step two.
2. Create your business plan
This is a very important step for any business. It helps you define clear goals in your business to motivate growth and scalability in the future. It also helps the people you approach for a loan better understand your business, your mindset and the way you work. They will then also then better understand whether your goals are reachable and will be able to help you define a set investment plan for the capital they will be pushing towards you.
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3. Pitch your business to a bank or investor
Now that your business plan is created, you are ready to move forward and setup some appointments with your bank, investor friends or loan agents. Remember that you have to believe in your business in order to persuade someone else to believe in it too. You have to live and breath your business to the outside world. Once you’ve setup appointments, make sure that you prepare thoroughly for your meetings in order to stump your investors with any questions they might have. You need to know exactly whatever there is to know about your business. The insides and outsides, the good and the bad. Be honest, be humble and pitch it like you mean it.
4. Setup your Long Term Goal Planning
Now that you’ve secured funding, you need to make sure that you setup a long term goal sheet. You need to keep track of these goals with weekly or monthly reviews and setup milestones in order to reach these goals. Milestones could be daily, weekly or monthly tasks that you need to complete in order to facilitate your progress towards your end goal. You need to be sure that your end goal is realistic for the time frame you’ve set up and that you’re milestones are attainable. Remember that anything you do now determines the success of your newly funded business and you still have a loan to pay back. The quicker you pay back your loan, the better too.
Whenever in the future you need money again, the entity that gave you a loan won’t hesitate to do it again. Believe in yourself and work hard towards your goals, because they are hanging in the balance of you and success.
5. Track progress with a Mentor or team
My best advice would be to get a mentor or solid team behind you after your funding has been secured. They will help keep you accountable in your progress towards success. The benefit of having a team around you is that they have different perspectives towards the business and the functionality thereof. This helps you gain a broader perspective of what people like and don’t like. Make sure that you keep track of what you do in your business and make sure that you change things that don’t work.
Conclusion
Make sure that you believe in your idea and product. Because if you don’t believe, how can you expect someone else to believe in it? That’s basically how I want to end this article. I want to say that you better work hard and do what you love and don’t just do it for the money. Do it for the purpose of helping people solve their problems.
Good luck!
Featured Image: People on Shutterstockan
