Politicians continue to tell us that banks are starting to lend again. Of course, we can’t help but notice, depending on where you live, that people are buying houses again, among other telltale signs of an economy edging northward.
In my surrounding community of family and friends, I’m also noticing more and more people inspired to start their own companies. With all other variables out the window, the only things an aspiring entrepreneur needs to launch a concept are money and ambition. When banks aren’t lending, small business can’t be launched and/or grown, which subsequently means less jobs are being created.
Life, as a whole, is an ongoing risk. While you can stay indoors and never expose yourself to the potential of harm, progress exists far away from those that don’t attempt to reach out for it. In order to continue to rebound, we need more business leaders stepping out and taking the leap of faith toward entrepreneurship.
This leaves us with the discussions (or arguments) surrounding working capital. At heart, I am a proponent of bootstrapping a startup. At times, however, in the case of a big idea from a proven serial entrepreneur, loans and other types of outside injections of funding is absolutely necessary. In fact, it should be the protocol in our country since it guarantees the creation of job and almost certainly warrants imminent success.
Be forewarned, however, that taking credit before you actually start your business can be very counter-productive and stressful. California angel investors, for example, lose money on more deals than they win. In the south, we’ve witnessed bad credit loans in texas and surrounding states.
Either way, the options are available out there. The best thing to do is forecast your projections with as much realism as possible and understand the risk of starting a business. The larger you are, the harder you will fall. Proceed with caution.