need advice on financing

[blackmarket]

Hey Guys,
I need some advice on financing for a business idea I have.

first, ill be honest. I have bad credit, and have had bad credit since since I was in high school.
I was young and stupid and took the first 3 credit cards that came in the mail and just blew them with no regard.
I've been paying for it ever since.

I've grown up a lot since then but it has pretty much ruined my chance at getting a loan by myself.

So I've been looking into other financial avenues, and I'm thinking private lenders/investors may be the way to go.

How hard is it to find one? what are the pros and cons?
I only need about 25 thousand.
I have a business plan and I have a ton of experience within my market.
the only thing I think I'm missing is the credit.

Please tell me what you guys think I can or should do about financing.

[BusinessAdviser]

You have a business plan. Have you put it in front of anyone?

[blackmarket]

no i havent yet, im not sure where to go with it. thats what im asking.

[GuyBBY]

BM,

You are going to need to prove your HUGE turn around to investors. What I would do, honestly...not being discouraging or judging...

1. work hard at a paying job and sacrifice on the luxuries in life and get those credit payments off the list.
2. while doing 1. plan project and truly know your goals and give your best to that bizplan and be able to get investors to believe in your idea.
3. come back regarding questions that pertain to you now having a great business plan, projections, and viable backing that say "Hey, we will give you $$ for this"

Best,

G

[mattSantill]

Do you know your credit score?

Are friends and family an option?

[chuff1026]

i was in your situation about a year ago
bad credit, an idea and no money
and had a busines plan but the truth is, without experience, as awesome team and a track record, chances are you will not get funding
thats just the bottom line
in investors eyes, giving you money is as good as gambling
(i have been told that by a number of companies about newbies with startups)

i took it into my own hands and built up business credit and used the credit to start my business
i only needed 50K so i had that in 6 months
it took me a year of showing my plan and getting rejecting to start the business credit building process

now if you start to build business credit and also keep at it with potential investors, you will have a plan a and plan b

it wont hurt
building business credit will cost you about $300-$600 over a 6 month period depending on what state you are in and thats if you do it yourself

you can always have someone else do it for you for a little extra

[blackmarket]

Well I've got some ideas for a guarenteed quick repayment.
maybe as quick as 6-8 months depending on the terms of the loan.

what is a reasonable rate for a 25K loan/investment for roughly 1 year?

I believe in my product and market and I've had 10 years experience in it,and I currently work in the market now but im working for someone else, so everyday I look at how we could be more effective and profitable but the owner does things "HIS WAY" which to say is not very well.

I would be willing to take on a partner if that could help with financing.

Does this seem like a good idea? and if I decided to go this route, what sort of things should I watch out for?

[jasaunders]

$25,000 is small for a professional investor or any type of angel investing. This type of money should come from family or friends. If people you know don't believe enough in you to invest in your business, why would a professional investor believe in you?

If you have something to use as colateral, you can always go with a secured loan.
However, with the amount you are seeking, it will be hard to find interested investors.

[blackmarket]

$25,000 is small for a professional investor or any type of angel investing. This type of money should come from family or friends. If people you know don't believe enough in you to invest in your business, why would a professional investor believe in you?

If you have something to use as colateral, you can always go with a secured loan.
However, with the amount you are seeking, it will be hard to find interested investors.

well first, i dont think its a matter that they wont, but that they cant.
the only family i have is a grandfather who is 77 years old and retired, hes pretty set in his ways and doesnt believe in doing things for yourself.
he thinks everyone should be working in a factory for 48 years and then retiring to an uncertain financial future.

I cant except that.
maybe thats fine for some but i dont like uncertainty, especially when it applies to my future.

also i think that someone in the business of investing would know a good investment when they see it.
i can show my business plan to my friends and explain every aspect if it, but being that they are not familiar with the market, they dont know whether its good or bad.
not to mention im 27 years old and my friends are mostly within this same age range. so they are just getting out of school and paying back school loans and what not.... basically paycheck to paycheck.

so its not that they wouldnt but that they couldnt.

second,

i would think that if they could make a 25K investment and return a profit of say 40K in 6-8 months that would not be too bad of a deal.

but i dont know, thats why im asking.

also to go with the secured loan idea, thats actually what I was wanting the 25k for. I had a plan of using it to buy a shelf corp with 200K of business credit. thats one way I can guarentee the loan repayment.

[BusinessAdviser]

i would think that if they could make a 25K investment and return a profit of say 40K in 6-8 months that would not be too bad of a deal.

The problem is that every investor knows that there are no guarantees. Yes, you could return them $40K in 6-8 months, but you could also return them an "I'm sorry I lost all your money" in 1-2 months.

I'm not trying to be rude or overly critical, but just to turn the tables a bit to show you how investors think.

[blackmarket]

i understand that, but i think that if an investor were to look at my plan they would see the high profitability of the idea.
also, being used to obtain a loan it would be paid back in full plus interest as soon as the funds were released to me.

but the feeling im starting to get is that its near impossible for me to get financing.
im not going to give up but i already knew it was an uphill battle.

thanks for your time.

[markslf]

Blackmarket, what are the proceeds of the loan going to be used for? Are you purchasing any assets with the money? Of the 25K you need, how much are you investing of your own cash? What is your product or service. There are ways to do start ups with bad credit but you have to be extremely creative.

If you answer these questions for me I may be able to give you some advice.

MarkSLF

[chuff1026]

I have been singing the same song and no one seems to hear
BUSINESS CREDIT is th answer
check out Bad Credit Start Up Business Loan

thats just a small paragraph
but people must understand how powerful this tool is.

[samhyatt76]

Blackmarket,

Another question you have to ask yourself. Are you thinking big enough? An investor's main question for you is going to be. If I give you $25000 what are you going to pay yourself? What are the operating costs, etc....Basically they want to know ALL of the financials before they will sink a dime into you. You will need to find out what every tiny thing costs and if you think it is a patentable idea, you better at least get a provisional patent filed. Complete patent filings can range from $2k to $20k depending on what field you are in. Investors usually want you to have a patented item/process/or intellectual property to feel comfortable investing money in YOU, because it is not the idea they invest in, they invest in whether or not it is a good idea and whether or not YOU can make it happen. Just a couple of words of advice. Funding is hard to find. Go to TexasInvestmentNetwork.com (other states are available) Pay $299 to post your idea. I got 4 investors in one day on mine and got in front of a VC group within 3 weeks. Exposure to LEGITIMATE investors is the key...Also, try your local SCORE office. SCORE is a NOPRO setup by and ran by retired executives that know the game...They have classes, tutorials, and some of them might know someone or be looking for a small investment themselves to dabble in. Good luck buddy. I hope it works out for you. Have a great day.

Sam

[chuff1026]

pay me the 299
i will get you your funding