5 Alternative Financing Options for Startups

Lack of funding is one of the biggest hurdles startups face. Banks are reluctant to lend to a brand-new business – or even an established business. Even loans from the Small Business Administration can be tough to secure.

Alternative financing options

If you’re struggling to get the capital you need for your startup, consider these four alternative financing options.

1. Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding can be an extremely effective way to raise capital. Platforms like Indiegogo and Kickstarter have helped countless startups get up and running.

The idea behind crowdsourcing is simple: everyday people make small investments in your project, or business.

Maybe you have an innovative new product.…

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How to Market Your Start-Up Political Consulting Company

If you’ve had dreams to help make a difference in the political landscape of the country, then there is a good chance you’ve been working hard to make it happen. For many people, the answer is an online degree in political science through a well-respected school such as George Washington University. An online masters in political science can open the door to all kinds of careers in politics.

Political consulting

Now, if you’ve gone ahead and decided political consulting is the route you want to take, and you’re ready to open the doors of your start-up company, then these marketing tips are bound to help.…

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What Makes Up a Development Finance Funding Process?

One of the major problems with property development lenders is that it can be a little awkward to stay abreast of all the different nuances, developments and changes.

Constant comparison and monitoring can prove a tall order, but it can be rewarding in the form of insights into the different lenders’ pros and cons, and getting the cheapest deal. Most importantly, you need to understand how the lenders operate, so here’s a breakdown when it comes to property developer finance.

Property developer

Pre-Approval

Standard property lending is calculated via a percentage of the property value, with the value dropped to 80%, to take into account repossession and low resale value risks.…

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How Your Employees can Increase the Risk of Cybercrime

Businesses these days face a number of risks that could have a seriously damaging effect on their operations and reputation. One huge risk is cybercrime, which has become rife over recent years. With businesses becoming more and more reliant on technology, cybercriminals have more opportunity than ever to cause chaos for companies.

Employee causes cybercrime

It is important to invest in online security for your company.  Due to the critical nature of it, you might need to use financing options, such as looking into working capital loans for small business enterprises.

However, it is not just security software and hardware you need to invest in.…

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How to Avoid Network Latency that Costing You Money

It’s one of the oldest phrases around – “time is money” – and as the CEO of a small business, you’re probably more aware of that than most others.

In business matters, dealing with the hours, days and weeks usually suffices in relation to achieving targets – but what if we told you that increments as small as milliseconds could be impacting your business in ways you hadn’t even considered? Network latency is measured in these tiny fractions – and it can mean the difference between good and bad customer interaction.

Network latency

Why milliseconds count

In our modern world, we’re still happy to wait 20 minutes for a meal, 5 minutes for a taxi or a couple of minutes for our latte to arrive – and when questioned, it’s because people say they perceive the physical item and can understand and appreciate the process required for it to arrive in front of you.…

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How to Expand your Business into China

China is the world’s second largest economy, and is due to continue expanding, so it makes sense that businesses want to capitalise on the investment opportunities the country presents. With a population of over 1.3 billion, breaking into the Chinese market is attractive to almost every business, but there have been a number of famous companies that have tried, and failed, to expand in China.

This could be due to a lack of knowledge in how to localise and launch a business in China, or it could simply be because there simply isn’t a market for the company. According to the program director at Chinacelerator, a company which helps startups bridge the gap to the east Asian market, Oscar Ramos: “Ninety-nine per cent of companies who want to access China as a foreign company, shouldn’t.”…

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Let’s Bust Some Common SEO Myths!

If you’re just learning about the SEO world, you may find it daunting to try to sift through all of the information to determine what’s true and what’s false. Our friends at Kamil Web Solution, a premier provider of SEO in Dubai, bust some of the biggest myths about SEO.

Search engine optimization

Myth #1: If you’re not first, you might as well be last

Many sources will tell you that if you can’t land yourself a first-place spot on the Google rankings, there’s no point in using SEO services. These are usually the same companies that will promise you first-place rankings, incidentally!…

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5 Things Your Accountant Should be Doing

Is your accountant giving you more than just tax advice? If not, it may be time to find a new one.

Happy accountant

Your accountant should be helping you with these five important things:

1. Helping You Prepare for Tax Season – Well in Advance

Most business owners hire an accountant purely for tax purposes, although they can offer assistance in other ways as well.

Ideally, your accountant should be helping you prepare for taxes well in advance, so there are no last-minute surprises. He or she should be helping you understand:

  • Which credits to claim
  • Which deductions to claim
  • Tax laws that can maximize your write-offs

Tax opportunities, like the R&D credit, can help reduce your tax burden, and your accountant should know if you qualify for such opportunities.…

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How to Keep Making Money When You are Injured at Work

Getting hurt on the job is a terrible way to find more time to spend at home. If an injury does occur, it is good to have a backup plan. Your financial responsibilities do not simply stop in life when you are injured, so you have to find another way to bring in money.

Injured employee on a crutch

Workers’ compensation will only pay so much of your life’s expenses. If the case gets complicated, you may even need to obtain a workers’ compensation lawyer. There is no guarantee of a speedy reimbursement, so here are a few ways to make some extra scratch from the comfort of home.…

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Marketing and Selling Your Own Health-Conscious eBook

No matter what anyone tells you, looking good and feeling good are always in vogue. This is great news if you are interested marketing and selling your own health-conscious ebooks or merchandise online. Consumers of all ages regularly purchase diet plans, health books and gym memberships to keep themselves fit. The diet and weight-loss industry was estimated to be worth more than $20 billion.

Healthy eating

This represents a huge opportunity for ecommerce vendors and social media entrepreneurs. If you know more than a little something-something about healthy cooking or working out at home, producing ebooks for online stores could prove lucrative for you.…

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