You want your project funded. Are you prepared?

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It is almost frightening to see how many requests are posted here for financing, when the vast majority of them are not even remotely ready to deal with a qualified Investment entity when one may actually contact them.

There are some postings here requesting financing that just simply should never have been posted. There are some people who seem to think that all they have to do is send an executive summary to begin to receive financing, or start the process of obtaining financing. There are others who practically “threaten” any potential investor, by demanding contact and financial information of them, to prove that they have money, before the principal is even willing to tell them what type of project they are asking to get funded, or even if they have one at all. There are still others who give the impression that they are “fisherman” who are just trying to find out the contact information of ANY Lender to use to their personal advantage, to market that information on their sites so that they can say they have “direct contact with a Lender”. Some people actually may get contacted….and they ruin that opportunity because they do not have any idea of how to deal with a qualified Investor, or what information any Investor requires to move forward. Is it any wonder that many folks here seem frustrated when they do not get a response?

There is a reason for that: Investors are not stupid, and YOU are not prepared. Here is a “key” word for you when you are looking for an Investor: INCENTIVE. You have to find a way to have your project stand out from the crowd, and give the potential Investor an incentive to even consider your project. Posting figures of potential returns without being able to back up a statement like that, or posting a statement that says “information will be sent after a Letter of Interest, or a Letter of Intent is received” does not excite an investor.

YOU need to be prepared to send information to the Investor for a proper review. Not the other way around. Any qualified Investor that reaches out to you, will have a way for you to verify that they are a real Investor, such as a website, or other ways of verifying their existence. If they do reach out to you, at the very minimum, you will need:

– A Full Business Plan
– A Pro Forma listing every possible expense and Income stream to the project.
– Evidence that you have a Contract for the sale of the product or service you are creating, or “undeniable” proof that you can obtain one.
– Evidence that any and all Permits required to operate that facility are either in place, or have been applied for and backed up with a letter from that authority stating that they are in process.
– Evidence that a qualified contractor has been selected, and has agreed, in writing, to construct your project.
– Evidence that proper Insurance Policies are in place, or a letter from a reputable Insurance Company that those policies can be obtained.

That is what you need to have on hand to START. No qualified Investor is going to spend months with you helping you get your business plan together, or otherwise spend time “educating” you on the industry. They want to deal with qualified Principals that understand their project and their industry. You cannot expect that they will want to waste their time with someone who does not have a full understanding of their project, or does not have the information necessary for them to make an informed decision.

And one other thing: DO NOT post a request for someone to fund your “time” to create your business plan, or otherwise pay for costs to put your plan together. You will NEVER hear from a qualified investor.


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