Setting up your new business is a rewarding, exciting, if not stressful time of your life. You’re about to launch something that could completely revolutionize your life, and you’re finally able to work for yourself rather than for someone else’s company. Getting started is probably one of the hardest parts of being a business owner. You’ve got to try to work two jobs at once – unless you can take a break from a full-time salary. You’ve got to create a business plan that can withstand intense scrutiny. You’ve got to find ways to attract customers. You need to plug any skill gaps and work out whether you need contractors or in-house employees.

Most importantly, you need to work out where the money’s coming from. If you’ve had chance to save up, then you can rely on that. However, for the majority of new business owners, you won’t have that available. So, here’s some ways you can consider getting funding that you might not have explored yet.

Loan alternatives

If you don’t want to take out a standard bank loan, then you should look at getting a merchant cash advance instead. You’ll get a lump sum of money in a fast turnaround time, and it can be much safer than taking out a loan. You won’t need to put up any credit or collateral as a guarantee, meaning you don’t have to risk your credit rating getting affected. A merchant cash advance is regarded as a sales transaction, so has nothing to do with your credit. Getting funds this way is easy: applications tend to be straightforward, and there isn’t a huge amount of paperwork to do. Plus, the approval rates are high, and you only have to pay back when you start earning money. It’s all revenue based, and your repayments will change depending on how much money you’re making.

Investors

If you’re idea is something really special, you could look at pitching to a venture capitalist. If your business idea is solid, you’ve got a great business plan, and a spark that sets you apart, then you might get on very well with using a venture capitalist. Likewise, you could look at bringing a partner into your company, if they’re willing to invest a certain amount into your company. You’ll need to be careful if you go down this route: you don’t want to lose control over your company, and feel like you’re working for someone else.

Grants and bursaries

Many grants and bursaries are given out every year to new businesses. They’re usually given out to those pioneering something new; those focusing on certain sectors; or those owned by certain people. Even if you’re not sure that your business will tick the right boxes, it’s still worth having a look at what’s available, and whether you could qualify for one. Sometimes grants and bursaries are part of schemes, and you might be expected to give up some of your time to help the community or your peers in return.

By Eddy

Eddy is the editorial columnist in Business Fundas, and oversees partner relationships. He posts articles of partners on various topics related to strategy, marketing, supply chain, technology management, social media, e-business, finance, economics and operations management. The articles posted are copyrighted under a Creative Commons unported license 4.0. To contact him, please direct your emails to [email protected].