Hi everyone,
I was wondering if some of you could share your experiences with the friends and family funding stages of starting a business. I have already lanuched one business with very little money (havn't made much money yet either 😀), but my next venture will require some moderate start up capital that I do not have handy right now (a few thousand dollars for a decent ecommerce website, plus other expenses). Due to life circumstances I would like to get this business started sooner rather than later, because as time goes on I will have less access to my own capital, as my student loan payments for my grad degree will be start to become due. Anyway, I was wondering if some of you guys could tell me:
-How would you recommend approaching friends/family? Phone calls, email, mailing a complete business plan? What worked for you, and why?
-How much convincing, on average, was required before your friends/family contributed?
-Did you ask for loans, or direct donations? What sort of paperwork did you draft between yourself and family, even if you got a donation with no expectation of repayment?
I know that these are questions that largely depend on individual circumstances and relationships, but in preparing for this stage of development I am having difficulty finding more detailed information and experience stories than "so-and-so raised $XXXthousand dollars from friends and family, happily ever after". Frankly, I feel like I would be taking advantage of my family members and their hard work, yet I know that outside of personal savings this is the only way to raise capital for a new business venture in this lending market. Let me know how you did it and what you wish you did differently!
I was wondering if some of you could share your experiences with the friends and family funding stages of starting a business. I have already lanuched one business with very little money (havn't made much money yet either 😀), but my next venture will require some moderate start up capital that I do not have handy right now (a few thousand dollars for a decent ecommerce website, plus other expenses). Due to life circumstances I would like to get this business started sooner rather than later, because as time goes on I will have less access to my own capital, as my student loan payments for my grad degree will be start to become due. Anyway, I was wondering if some of you guys could tell me:
-How would you recommend approaching friends/family? Phone calls, email, mailing a complete business plan? What worked for you, and why?
-How much convincing, on average, was required before your friends/family contributed?
-Did you ask for loans, or direct donations? What sort of paperwork did you draft between yourself and family, even if you got a donation with no expectation of repayment?
I know that these are questions that largely depend on individual circumstances and relationships, but in preparing for this stage of development I am having difficulty finding more detailed information and experience stories than "so-and-so raised $XXXthousand dollars from friends and family, happily ever after". Frankly, I feel like I would be taking advantage of my family members and their hard work, yet I know that outside of personal savings this is the only way to raise capital for a new business venture in this lending market. Let me know how you did it and what you wish you did differently!
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