#Smallbizchat podcast live is a monthly video chat where small business owners can get their questions answered.
The #Smallbizchat Podcast LIVE focus is on ending small business failures by helping participants succeed as their own bosses.
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Brooke Daniels has over 10 years of experience in technology, startups and VC, and is Director of Salesforce Ventures and CEO of Daniels & Co. Daniels & Co is a business strategy firm supporting entrepreneurs focused on maximizing profits and scalability. Brooke’s passion is to support entrepreneurs and stave off business failure with her signature Ready Aim Launch system that helps companies level up from entrepreneur to seasoned enterprise.. She has held corporate positions at Salesforce, Intapp, AT&T, and BMW Financial Services. For more information: www.thebrookedaniels.com
SmallBizLady: Why is access to financing important for business owners?
Brooke Daniels: Financing is important for business owners because it costs money to make money. To grow your business, you need access to start-up and working capital. It’s very difficult to start a business with just your personal cash savings, and it’s generally not a good idea to put all your savings into a business idea for retirement or for your family. 49.7{ea2cba5bdf6fe62bbe85e24807814144a71e77d3ae7311fbc27a008558d1372c} of her businesses fail within her first five years. Two of the main reasons for this are poor cash flow management and lack of capital or funds. Successful entrepreneurs understand this and have identified several financing options that are suitable for their business and available when needed.
SmallBizLady: What types of financing are available to entrepreneurs?
Brooke Daniels: There are various approaches to fundraising. Step 1 is to identify the funds you actually need. You should have a business model with projected costs and revenues for at least 18 months to 2 years to get the runway you need to get your business off the ground and grow your sales. This is what helps business owners within Ready. target. On sale! program.
From there, depending on the number, you’ll have a range of options, including venture capital focused on high-growth, highly scalable businesses worth $1 billion or more. In this scenario, the investor provides capital for a portion of your business ownership. If your business isn’t growing (which is fine), you have many options, including applying for an SBA loan or grant. SBA loans are good because they have low interest rates and in some cases offer programs and services to support founders. Grants are generally lower in amount, but free money does not have to be repaid.
If you have a startup business, it is important to have good personal credit. That means it’s Day 1 to rebuild it. Personal credit is very important when starting a new business. They look at this to determine your money handling and bill repayment performance. Even SBA will draw personal credit if you qualify for one of its loans.
SmallBizLady: How will founders know when funding is ready?
Brooke Daniels: I meet so many founders who think they are ready to raise money when they are still in the idea stage, but they are not! , you must have identified how you will make money to repay the funds you owe for your business. This includes understanding the market, competition and how the business differentiates, doing some market testing to get feedback from potential customers, and solving problems the way the business deals. This includes confirming whether you will actually pay to do so.
Melanie Greenough is CEO and Founder of She’s Creation An Empire™ and the brainchild behind The CEO’s Way and CEO Business School, helping women create profitable online businesses they love. increase. Breadwinner, coach and inspirational speaker. She is a best-selling author and a popular business strategist and consultant. Known for her leadership and her record-breaking sales performance, She has been featured in publications such as Success from Home and My Business From Home, just to name a few. After overcoming addiction, abuse, and a difficult past, Melanie has learned the strategies and mindsets necessary to help others survive and thrive, both online and offline. It focuses on teaching middle-aged women how to take advantage of their Inner Millionista. For more information: www.shescreatinganempire.com
SmallBizLady: Your story is great, and I’d love to hear how you went from being a homeless single mother to teaching a woman how to build multiple streams of income.
Melanie Greenough: When I was put in a position to have my home and everything I had taken away from me, my financial health was clearly in someone else’s hands, so I didn’t want it to happen again. So I embarked on a journey of self-discovery. I learned how to keep my schedule flexible so that I could increase my income and raise my daughter on my own without having to rely on daycare or someone else. I created several revenue streams until I had 15 streams and found a mentor who was open to doing it step by step. Once you learn the formula, you can scale it however you like.
SmallBizLady: How do I add an additional income stream if someone is just starting out?
Melanie Greenough: When you start, you should identify one or two ways to increase your income. It’s a low barrier to entry, low risk payoff, and really sets lifestyle goals. So, for example, if you decide you’re willing to spend 5 hours a week on a secondary source of income, you can do affiliate-style marketing that you’re not in charge of, like having an online store. Instead of developing and delivering, you can generate the thoughts you are looking for by connecting a customer to a company, paying a fee, and allowing her 5 hours to be used for profit-generating activities. It’s important to identify your lifestyle goals and income goals and develop a plan to take them step by step so that you can build 2-4 streams of income in a year.
SmallBizLady: What was the biggest lesson on your entrepreneurial journey?
Melanie Greenough: My biggest lesson so far is that if you dare to dream it is achievable and failure is a learning process. Or having a mentor was the best way to get the results I wanted ASAP!
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