For the small business owner or founder, money is everywhere. Angel investing, venture capital, business loans, and online resources that offer business solutions can help you get off your feet.
According to data from research firm CB Insights, “Venture capital investments rose 19 percent, to $21.8 billion in 2010 — the first annual increase since the downturn.” And it looks like this kind of growth will continue. Rep. Renee Elmers informs us that “Venture capital participation will increase by nearly 45%.”
Angel investing has also become much more accessible over the past couple of years. CEO and founder of UBER, Travis Kalanick, attributes this change partially to social networking: “How you get angel funding has substantially changed because we know who to go after. It’s very clear because they’re all blogging and tweeting out their interests on angel investing and their thoughts on it … Now, it’s much, much quicker to get these deals done.” So not only is it easier to find investors, the deals can be made faster than before. These angel investor bloggers and tweeters also make it clear how or when exactly to approach an investor. Because of social networking, the hazy “grey area” of funding has become virtually nonexistent.
Even if you know very little about starting business, resources like business accelerators are spreading across the U.S., aiding entrepreneurs in their pursuits by investing around “$25,000 for a 6 percent ownership stake.” Working as mentors, these business accelerators teach entrepreneurs how to build products and learn business skills. It’s time to take advantage of all the resources at your disposal.
Author Bio: James Kim is a writer for Choosewhat.com. ChooseWhat is a company that provides product reviews and test data for business services and products. Their goal is to help small companies make informed buying decisions on business solutions that help their business.