Pretty much every business out there has growth as a goal. Increasing the size and scope of your business improves its financial health along with your own, personal income. However, before you can pull this off you need money up front to invest in growth tactics, and often this will require you to seek an injection of funds from elsewhere.
There are a number of ways to pull this off, and one is to seek investment. This could come from private investors, or specialist funds and grant-giving schemes which have the specific aim of helping businesses to achieve growth. However, in order to do this you need to present your business well and in a way that will encourage them to decide that your business is worth their investment. There are a few steps you can take to increase your chances of successfully attracting funds.
Have a Business Plan
A business plan details exactly where your business is going and how it intends to grow. It shows that you have thoroughly thought things out and have a clear plan for how to pull off your objectives. It is therefore a vital tool in persuading potential investors. Whether they are individuals investing for profit or a fund providing small business grants, they want to be as sure as possible that you know what you are doing and will use their money well. If you are able to provide a detailed document which demonstrates that you have thought in detail about exactly how you are going to grow the business and have a clear strategy for pulling it off, then this will be a huge reassurance for potential investors and therefore a big boost to your chances of getting funding. Your business plan should also demonstrate that you have properly thought about the risks to your strategy, and have an idea of how you might mitigate these risks.
Have Financial Figures
Ultimately, a business is a financial entity and is designed to make money. Potential investors will therefore want to see how well your business is doing at the moment from a financial viewpoint in order to better assess its future potential as an investment. So as to get an idea of how well-placed your business is to support your efforts to pursue growth and to assess how well it has been doing so far, most potential investors will want to see clear facts and figures that demonstrate its financial position. These may well be included in the business plan, or could be presented separately. Your accountant will be able to help you prepare an accurate and comprehensive set of figures, and work out how best to present them as a summary of your business’ current position for the eyes of would-be investors.
