How to Evaluate Your Business’ Financing Needs
Business financing should be carefully planned long before a particular project takes place. The success and longevity of a business by definition will depend on its carefully chosen Financial Structure. Let’s do it one step at the time.
First you need to know exactly what you are planning to do:
Starting a new business?
Exploring opportunities for an existing business?
Buying a competitor?
The second question you should ask yourself:
Do you have enough capital or you need to obtain an additional financing for your project?
If you require financing and you want it to fit into your business structure, you need the right financing at the right time. In order to appraise your business’s financing needs ask yourself the following questions before seeking financial assistance:
Q. How soon do you need the money?
A. In order to get the best possible terms for you financing it is always a good idea not to do it in a hurry, to have a time cushion.
Q. Have you evaluated you business’ risk?
A. The more risk you have the less favorable terms or financing you will get. If you do not have enough knowledge on this topic, you can hire a financial professional to do that.
Q. What is your business development stage?
A. Start ups are more vulnerable and need more cash than established businesses.
Q. What is the purpose of this loan?
A. Start up, business opportunity, etc.-You will have to define it to any
borrower.
Q. Do you have a professionally written business plan?
A. The most important information any lender will require is a business plan (your business plan must evaluate your business and show your ability to pay back a loan).
Q. Which industry your business belongs to?
A. It is much harder to get financing for depressed than for stable and growth industries.
Q. Is your business cyclical or seasonal?
A. Loans designed for cyclical industries, such as construction, are usually issued with a longer terms than loans for seasonal industries.
Q. Can you show a strong management team that has enough experience in the industry to convince lender to give you a loan?
A. The answer should be yes, otherwise chances of getting financing is very low.
Before seeking financing please become knowledgeable on the topics above. The knowledge will help you when you work with lenders and will give you a competitive advantage against you competition.
Why Yahoo Finance Is The Best Financial Website
Yahoo Finance is the best free solution for analytical Finance data on the internet. When I was a young Investment Banker, I used to use Yahoo Finance all the time to check on daily stock prices. It is absolutely great for young poor college professionals who don’t have much money and would like to learn more about Finance. If you cannot afford expensive data services like Bloomberg and still want to conduct basic financial analysis, then Yahoo Finance is for you.
Yahoo Finance can totally help you with many different tasks. You can get all the latest news on companies that you are interested in. Simply punch in the company’s ticker and get all the latest information about that particular company. It even works for mutual and index funds. If you are looking to study macroeconomic data or country specific currency data, Yahoo Finance can provide you with exchange rate data as well.
If you are looking to do financial modeling, you can get excellent historical data on Yahoo Finance about any company or mutual fund you choose. Then you can download the data in csv format to use with any spreadsheet program of your choice. This is a wonderful feature because it provides you with the very raw data you need to make a price graph. Then, you can use the graph to figure out future price movements, trends and shapes. This is incredible for any up and coming technical analyst.
Because Yahoo is strong in a lot of different countries around the world, you can even access international data concerning many emerging economies. So, if you are studying Asian or South American economies, you can now get good reliable data about these countries as well. Also, get historical currency exchange rate data that can be of great help when charting forex graphs and predicting prices.
The best feature in Yahoo Finance is the ability to create your own mock portfolios. You can now pick companies that you think will do well and create your own portfolio. Then, you can see if you would have made money using those decisions. You can buy and sell as many shares that you want depending on chosen price points.
You even get customized news alerts for the companies in your portfolio. I would recommend that you create as many portfolios as possible to learn as much as you can about different types of investments. This is also an excellent learning tool for those people who are looking to learn more about the stock market.
Yahoo Finance can be an absolute boon for anyone wanting to start out in Finance. If you are looking to learn how to go about conducting yourself in the market, then getting to learn the ropes is a breeze on Yahoo Finance. I would recommend the site to any newbie. It is truly an excellent offering from Yahoo and it comes at a great price: free. So go ahead and register yourself, get your own user name and password and you can be off on your own Finance adventure.
Why Early-Stage Startup Companies Should Hire a Lawyer
Many startup companies believe that they do not need a lawyer to help them with their business dealings. In the early stages, this may be true. However, as time goes on and your company grows, you will find yourself in situations where it is necessary to hire a business lawyer and begin to understand all the many benefits that come with hiring a lawyer for your legal needs.
The most straightforward approach to avoid any future legal issues is to employ a startup lawyer who is well-versed in your state’s company regulations and best practices. In addition, working with an attorney can help you better understand small company law. So, how can a startup lawyer help you in ensuring that your company’s launch runs smoothly?
They Know What’s Best for You
Lawyers that have experience with startups usually have worked in prestigious law firms, and as general counsel for significant corporations.
Their strategy creates more efficient, responsive, and, ultimately, more successful solutions – relies heavily on this high degree of broad legal and commercial knowledge.
They prioritize learning about a clients’ businesses and interests and obtaining the necessary outcomes as quickly as feasible.
Also, they provide an insider’s viewpoint and an intelligent methodology to produce agile, creative solutions for their clients, based on their many years of expertise as attorneys and experience dealing with corporations.
They Contribute to the Increase in the Value of Your Business
Startup attorneys help represent a wide range of entrepreneurs, operating companies, venture capital firms, and financiers in the education, fashion, finance, health care, internet, social media, technology, real estate, and television sectors.
They specialize in mergers and acquisitions as well as working with companies that have newly entered a market. They also can manage real estate, securities offerings, and SEC compliance, technology transactions, financing, employment, entertainment and media, and commercial contracts, among other things.
Focusing on success must include delivering the highest levels of representation in resolving the legal and business difficulties confronting clients now, tomorrow, and in the future, based on an unwavering dedication to the firm’s fundamental principles of quality, responsiveness, and business-centric service.
Wrapping Up
All in all, introducing a startup business can be overwhelming. You’re already charged with a host of responsibilities in which you’re untrained as a business owner. Legal problems are notoriously difficult to solve, and interpreting “legalese” is sometimes required. Experienced business lawyers know these complexities and can help you navigate them to avoid stumbling blocks.
Although many company owners wait until the last minute to deal with legal issues, they would benefit or profit greatly from hiring an experienced startup lawyer even before they begin. Reputable startup lawyers can give essential legal guidance, assist entrepreneurs in avoiding legal hazards, and improve their prospects of becoming a successful company.