Many Small business owners find it difficult to access business funding for their business because they do not know what to do to make their businesses to be eligible for funding.We will be discussing how to make can you make your business to be eligible for funding and well as the different forms of funding that you can access.
The first thing that you need is to get your business to be eligible for funding and now we will share with you all the things that you need in order for you to qualify for business funding and then lastly we will share with you were to get the funding.
1. You must get your statutory documents in order This is the most straight forward point yet there are lots of entrepreneurs missing it. You will find someone saying they want business funding yet their company has outstanding returns with CIPC their company is deregistration process or even worse it has been deregistered. Or you hear someone saying they want business funding to distribute Diesel and yet they are not registered for a petroleum license. Therefore the first basic step is to make sure that your statutory documents are in order and you have all the required licenses. You can post your questions to Bonmas Consulting to find out about the statutory documents and licenses required for your line of business. And we will answer your questions for free. We also provide services to help you with registrations needed for your business.
2. Banking and Cash Management If your business is already in operation you must have a good banking record and this will help to increase your chances of getting funding. Your banking record will help to inform the funders that your business can be in position to repay them as well as the interest. Especially if you want your loans instead grant. You may need Professional Accountants to help you to manage
3. Founders’ Credit Records As a start-up business owner your business will always be linked with you until it grows and stand on its own. Therefore the way you handle your personal finances will somehow give an indication as to how you will handle the business finances. If you have negative credit listings on your name you have to fix that because it may affect your business potential to get funding. You may also be required to sign as surety when your business if given credit. That is why as Bonmas Consulting we always advise our Monthly Accounting clients to draw salaries from their businesses.
4. Management Profile They always say that the business success it 50% Leadership and 50% the idea. Poor management is able to turn the most brilliant idea to a failure while good leadership is able to turn the most common business into a very successful business. Most funders knows that hence the management profile may be important for them to fund your business To increase the prospects of business getting funding you may want attract people with good resumes to your team especially if your business is operational and showing prospects of growth
5. Good and Scalable Business idea This is one of the business most important requirements to business funding. There many funders who are willing invest money in funding brilliant scalable ideas. However you must produce a proof of concept for your idea. You must be able to prove that your idea works, it solves a problem and that is scalable
If you are just starting up a new business and require funding for that business, you need to solve a problem in the market instead of copying exactly what someone else is doing because #Metoo businesses are just not going to get funding. You need to identify a problem in the market, create a proof of concept and make it scalable then with you a bankable business plan from Bonmas Consulting you will definitely get funding for your start business.
6. Produce bankable business plans and/or FinancialStatements Your business plan can set you apart and get your business funded. There are lots of business templates on the internet and we believe they will not get any funding because they are not customized to your business concept and the kind of funding you looking for.
It is better invest a small amount of money and get quality bankable business plan rather than wasting time filling in templates which are not going to get you funding. From as little as R3500 you can get a quality bankable business plan from Bonmas Consulting instead or running around from one funder to another with a poor business plan.
If your business is already operational you may need to produce Financial Statements as well as management accounts. These should be prepared by an Accountant like Bonmas Consulting. Our Financial Statements have record of getting finance approval from different funders and all major banks.
Now let’s take a look at where you can get your business funds. These are the top 5 ways to get your business funding in South Africa.
1. Grants and Development Funds There incentives available for businesses in South Africa from government and other businesses Cooperative Incentive Scheme (CIS), Black Business Supplier Development Programme (BBSDP) and Enterprise Development finance. Enterprise/Supplier Development finance – in order to comply with B-BBEE larger company are forced to develop both black and white small businesses by providing assistance to them. This can be in a form of Grants, Loans, covering your operational expenses and etc. You will need to have your B-BBEE to benefit from this CIS. These are businesses registered as cooperatives the cooperative Incentive scheme is a 100% grant from government given to only cooperatives. BBSDP- this is a grant for black owned businesses amount to R1m. The business should be operational and have a turnover R250k to R35m and you must also be VAT Registered
2. Bank Finance Banks these days are willing to make finance available to SMMEs (Small medium and micro enterprises) if you meet their stringent requirements of cash flow, Financial Statements and business plan.
To increase your chances to be financed by the bank either with loans, asset finance or overdrafts you will definitely need professionals to help. BONMAS CONSULTING has helped several businesses to acquire bank finance Measuring your business against banks requirements for funding may take your business a long way.
3. National Empowerment Fund This is accessible to black owned businesses. Startup businesses can access up to R10m in funding from NEF while larger can get funding up to R75m You will need to have your solid business plan and/or Financial Statements to apply for NEF funding.
4. SEFA (Small Enterprise Finance Agency) This is accessible to all small, micro and medium businesses. You will need to have a viable business plan in order to apply for SEFAs funding. SEFA offers loans of up to R3m to businesses.
5. Venture Capital The venture capital funding is the best way to assess your business growth potential. Venture capitalists invest into your business by acquiring stake in your business generally with an objective of selling it later. Most businesses that made a huge impact in the world recently were funded by venture capitalists to kick-start or expand. Companies like Google, Uber, Facebook, Amazon and Netflix and many others.
We believe that if you want to build a success business build the one that venture capitalist are willing to fund because they have very stringent requirements and they are only willing to fund businesses with high potential or high growth potential.
There are other forms of funding accessible to businesses but these are the 5 most simplest ways to get your business the funding it needs. Now go out there and start you business if you need nay help remember that Bonmas Consulting is here to help you get the funding that y