How to Get the Funding Your Startup Needs Without Relying on Investors 

Nowadays, the term ‘startup’ is synonymous with ‘investors’ (especially in tech).
If you’re a startup, chances are you’ve either tried or at one point dreamed of obtaining funding from investors to grow your business.
But the problem is these days there are so many startups that investors see most startups as people with hobbies but there is a simple solution to this; just ask yourself if you had to choose something from a list of profitable hobbies does your startup fall under it? If yes, you are on the right path.
And a dream it is: Imagine someone giving you everything you’d need to build your business without any mind for budget (go all in)?
Of course, there are some serious cons to depending on funding, whether it’s venture capital from a big-time investor or many small investors through angel investing.
When someone invests in your business, they have a stake. You must answer to them and report on your progress. And if the business goes south? Well, let’s just say they’re not going to be very happy with you (and your reputation won’t be doing so well either).
But more than that, most business owners aren’t able to acquire investment capital in the first place.
So, what are you supposed to do?
Fortunately, there are options available to business owners today that help overcomes that once common hurdle to getting a business off the ground.
 

How to Get the Funding Your Business Needs without Relying on Investors (or the Bank)

The unfortunate truth is most business owners don’t have the connections or resources to receive investment capital.
Because of this, they’re left either attempting to fund their business themselves, through a family member or friend, or by acquiring a bank loan.
The problem is if you’re not one of the lucky few with a wealthy friend or family member and you don’t have the credit to be approved for a bank loan (660+ in many cases, and that just gets you in the door), you might think you’re out of luck.
And, if this were just twenty, or even ten, short years ago you’d be absolutely right.
However, the tech revolution has brought us much more than just smartphones and digital assistants. It’s also brought a mini-revolution in small and mid-sized business lending: alternative lending, including several new financial products which have been made available to the average business owner, each designed for a different business need and many of which don’t require good (or even fair) credit.
Here are just a few of those options:

• Unsecured business loan

One of the most popular types of small business loans, an unsecured business loan is different from a traditional bank loan in that it doesn’t typically require collateral such as cash or property. As a trade-off, these tend to have higher interest compared to traditional bank loans. Can be approved on bad credit.

• A business line of credit

A business LoC works like a credit card, giving you a revolving balance of credit you can tap into whenever you need. If you’re in need of a more consistent form of capital, the most notable example being a business with high seasonality, a business line of credit might be exactly what you need.

• Merchant cash advance

A merchant cash advance, also called split funding, is ideal if your business sales fluctuate wildly and you’re fearful of getting locked into a loan repayment plan. With an MCA, you pay back the loan based on a percentage of your daily credit card sales, so your payment goes up and down based on your sales, adjusting to the flow of your business.

 
If you decide that a business loan is your ideal method of acquiring business capital, take time to review your options based on how much capital you need, when and how frequently you need it, and what repayment method is most convenient for you and use that information to inform your decision.
Starting a business always has its challenges. However, with the new funding resources available to business owners today, the barrier to entry has never been lower.
If you’re ready and willing to make it happen, nothing can stop you from acquiring the capital your startup or preexisting business needs to realize growth.