STEP 1: Post Your Plan & Get Rated

Post your business plan for FREE in front of hundreds of investors and lenders. Once your plan is posted, it will be automatically rated by one of our business plan analysts and will be placed into the Investor Gallery — of course, the highest rated plans will be seen at the top of the investor’s list. While the investor will only see your overall score (0-4 stars), you will have instant access to ALL of your rating details for only $19.95.

STEP 2: Prepare Yourself for Angels & Other Financing Sources

Did you know that only 2 out of 100 small businesses are successful when raising capital? Our goal is to increase those odds by giving you the tools and education necessary to obtain financing for your company.

STEP 3: Pitch Your Idea to Angels & Other Financing Sources

Once you have adequately prepared by becoming a 3-4 star plan, FundingUniverse can help put your plan in front of the right financing sources.

You may have noticed that being an entrepreneur and starting your own company takes up most of your time and energy. However, while you are starting your business it is important to maintain balance in your life. Why? If you are going to successfully run your business, you need to be healthy physically and mentally. In addition, if you become incredibly successful, you want to be able to share that success with the people you care about. So start now. Try to balance your life by implementing some of the following suggestions:

• Establish boundaries: Try to determine what you will do at work and what you will do at home.
• Do some sort of physical activity for 30-60 minutes a day. Studies have shown that people who are physically fit generally have less health problems. The healthier you are the more time you can spend running your business.
• Ask for help. Understand that you cannot do everything by your self. Find people who you can rely on. Delegate some of your responsibilities to these people.
• Step away from work. Every so often step away from work, completely. Turn off your cell phone. Do something you enjoy.
• Prioritize what is most important.

Michael Jones, our talented, single and very available lead customer service dude, just sent me a link to a great panel discussion hosted by Guy Kawasaki featuring panelists Alex Welch, Photobucket.com; Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn.com; and Joe Krauss, Jotspot among others.

They address issues like when to sell your company, the pros and cons of starting a tech company outside of Silicon Valley and other general tips about starting a successful company.  Kawasaki is hilarious and one of the panelists was the original programmer for Where in the World is Carmen San Diego, a game that has changed the life of many a 5th grader.

Check it out here.

• 62% of entrepreneurs in the US claim “innate drive” as the number one motivator in starting their business. –Northeastern University’s School of Technological Entrepreneurship, October 2006

• 42% of entrepreneurs say they launched their first venture during childhood (i.e. lemonade stand, paper route, etc.). –Northeastern University’s School of Technological Entrepreneurship, October 2006

• 1 in 8 businesses that pitched to angel investors received funding in 2006. –Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire, October 2006

• 77% of people use their own money or family assets for business startup funding. –US Census Bureau, September 2006

• 35% of businesses owners who have been approached to sell their business but decided against it did so because they anticipated continued growth. –GW Equity, September 2006

• 49% of the nation’s businesses are operated from home. –US Census Bureau, September 2006

• The average angel group invested $1.45 million in 2005. –Angel Capital Education Foundation/Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, July 2006

• 69% of business leaders say it’s important to have a mentor. –Grant Thornton’s View newsletter, December 2005

• 0.29% of the total adult population started a new business every month in 2005. –Kauffman Foundation, June 2006

In yesterday’s FundingUniverse weekly chat, Jeff Rust, president of Corporate Alliance, provided excellent points about the value of networking.

Jeff poised a question to the entrepreneurs listening. He asked, “At the last networking event you attended, did you gain any friends?” From each networking event, you should come away with several new friends. Jeff emphasized the importance of networking with the intent to serve the other person. As you serve these new friends, your friendship can grow into a potential partnership, which will help your business grow. If you become a great “networker”, you should be able to find the right people and business who can help you.

If you are an AngelReady member, you can listen to the chat with Jeff Rust in your archive. For more information about Corporate Alliance’s philosophies visit www.corporatealliance.net.

The Fast Company website had the following quote from Henry Ford. “If I had asked my customers what they wanted they’d have said a faster horse.”

This quote struck me. Obviously, you cannot force a customer to need your product. However, by showing the benefits or the way your product solves a problem, potential customers will be converted. If educated properly your customers will be more likely buy what you offer them. For instance, how many people really need bottled water? Water flows freely from taps and water fountains in just about every location in this country. Yet, I believe, due largely in part of the education (marketing?) from bottled water companies the industry has grown to $15 billion dollars. Who would have thought? It is just water.

Henry Ford had to educate the American people about the necessity of the automobile. You may need educate your market. They need to understand your product, to see the value of your product, to see the problem you are solving. If you can do this, you can make tremendous gains in obtaining valuable customers.

NOW, the PBS newsmagazine, in collaboration with Ashoka, the association of  leading social entrepreneurs, have announced a search for the next leading social entreprenuer.

In a press release NOW executive producer, John Siceloff, explains the goal of the competition.

“The PBS mission encourages our viewers to ‘Be More, and Do More.’ Project Enterprise is a great way to see what it takes to hatch and execute an amazing idea with a sustainable business model,This is the first time a social entrepreneur will be voted on and followed in this way, and we hope it inspires as much as it enlightens.”

To get more information or to nominate someone visit: http://www.pbs.org/now/enterprisingideas/project-enterprise.html

According to the press release, “the ideal nominee will be someone who is launching or has recently launched a project that draws on business practices as well as other innovative strategies to achieve a social mission and that has potential to lead to widescale pattern change. Finalists will be announced in August. The competition winner will be announced in September, then followed with coverage deep into 2008.”

You may have a good idea for a business. You may have thought through the opportunity. You may have created a solid business plan. This means you have a fundable company, right? Well, not quite. Brock Blake, FundingUniverse CEO explains.

“I had the chance to help judge the BYU Idea Competition. There were 10 judges analyzing around 140 business concepts and ideas. While there were some ideas that were a little wacky and others that were not very feasible, I was very impressed with most of the ideas that were presented. Our goal was not to select a winner or even decide if they are “fundable” ideas, but to decide if they are good ideas or not.

Some might say that a “good idea” and a “fundable idea” are synonymous, but I disagree. One of the main reasons that they aren’t the same is because a lot of really good ideas are not scalable. Let me explain…
When investors are analyzing an investment opportunity, they will traditionally look to see if the company will grow very rapidly in the first five to seven years, providing an opportunity for the investors to exit with a high-multiple return on investment. When I say “high-multiple ROI,” we’re talking 10-30 times their money (so if you’re looking for $500k, they are hoping for returns of $5M or more).

There are other businesses that are very good ideas, but don’t pass the “scalability test.” Most investors refer to these ideas as lifestyle businesses. Examples of lifestyle businesses may include: restaurants, real estate, local mom & pop shops, and other human-intense opportunities (i.e. consulting, etc.). These businesses can be very successful and provide a very good living for their founders, but aren’t necessarily good investment opportunities.”

While industry and work experience is an important part of what makes a good entrepreneur. Brock Blake, FundingUniverse CEO, explains the energy of the entrepreneur may sometimes outweigh her experience or lack there of.

Brock explains, “An inexperienced entrepreneur must be teachable. The last thing you want is a know-it-all inexperienced young entrepreneur. On the other hand, an ambitious high-energy businessman who is willing to learn from his/her mistakes and the mistakes of others will be a valuable asset to any team.”

Brock offered a few suggestions for the inexperienced entrepreneur.

• The entrepreneur must dedicate herself to learning. How much time do you spend each day learning new things? Are you reading the latest news, blogs, magazines, and books? If you do, this will help you to be experienced beyond your years.

• A young entrepreneur must surround herself with experienced mentors. There is (almost) nothing that can replace experience. I am very grateful for the many mentors that give me help and advice on a daily basis.

• Finally, the entrepreneur must use energy to their advantage.

What do you think? Have you invested in an entrepreneur who lacked experience but had the energy and drive necessary to succeed?

As we will be celebrating the Fourth of July this week, I found a great article called Celebrating the Freedom to be Entrepreneurs by Todd D. Stottlemyer.

In the article Stottlemyer eloquently states, “Small-business owners now account for more than half of the nation’s gross domestic product and are generating virtually all net new jobs. They don’t take lightly the gift of freedom so eloquently expressed in the Declaration of Independence and enshrined in our Constitution. Without their vigilance and without their efforts to remind legislators and policymakers of the importance of free enterprise, the laws of the land wouldn’t be favorable to those who start and grow businesses in this country, and the opportunities their efforts provide for future generations.”