INTRODUCTION TO EU FUNDING

What is the aim of Community grants?

The Commission awards money in the form of grants in order to implement projects or activities in relation to European Union policies. These grants may be awarded within fields as diverse as research, education, health, consumer protection, protection of the environment, humanitarian aid, etc.

Who can request a grant?

The grant beneficiaries are mainly private or public organisations, and exceptionally individuals, chosen by the European Commission for their capacity to implement the projects concerned.

How does one request a grant?

Since grants cover a very diverse range of fields, the specific conditions that need to be fulfilled vary from one field to another. It is therefore important to consult carefully the rules of each grant programm. However, some basic principles apply in every case. Grants:

• are a form of complementary financing. The EU does not finance projects up to 100%; only projects taking place outside the European Union have the possibility to be financed in full;
• enable a given operation to break even financially and cannot lead to a profit for their beneficiaries;
• cannot be awarded retroactively for actions that are already completed.

In addition, only one grant may be awarded for the same action.

Grants are not awarded on a case-by-case basis. Instead, they are subject to annual programming. Before 31 March each year, those Departments of the Commission that manage grant programmes publish their annual work programme on their Internet site. The work programme fixes the broad outlines of the grants that are envisaged over the year (area of activity, objectives, timetable, available budget, award conditions, etc…). By consulting these work programmes you may thus already identify the fields which interest you.

Subsequently, the Commission’s Departments publish calls for proposals on their Internet sites; the calls for proposals invite candidates to present, within a given deadline, a proposal for action that corresponds to the objectives pursued and fulfils the required conditions. These calls for proposals can also be published in the Official Journal of the European Union – C series.

All applications are examined and evaluated on the basis of criteria that have clearly been announced in the calls for proposals, while ensuring equal treatment; candidates are individually informed of the final decision concerning their proposal.

Some grants are exceptionally awarded directly to certain beneficiaries without a call for proposals. This may be due to their specific competences or characteristics which meant that they are the sole beneficiaries for certain actions (situations of monopoly), or to the emergency nature of the action (humanitarian aid in particular).

As grants are made with public money, the European Commission applies the principle of transparency. Thus, by 30 June of each year, the Commission Departments publish on their Internet sites the list of the grants that they awarded during the previous year, with the exception of those awarded in the form of scholarships to individuals.

More info: http://ec.europa.eu/

15 Good Ideas For Promoting Your Company

Every successful company uses some sort of promotion to influence certain audiences - usually customers or prospects - by informing or persuading them. Reasons for promoting a business include: increasing visibility, adding credibility to you or your company, enhancing or improving your image, and bringing in new business. The following cost-effective, easy-to-execute ideas have the power to increase sales in a way conventional advertising cannot. The key is to find the methods that are appropriate for your business, marketplace, and professional style.

1. Contests. As one example, a cookware store decided to sponsor cooking contests. After sending out a press release announcing a competition for the best cookie or chocolate cake, a mailing went out to the store's customers soliciting entries. Food editors, professional chefs, and cooking teachers were invited to be judges. Both the winners and the winning recipes were publicized. Essay and design contests are also possibilities, such as a furniture store establishing a prize for student furniture design. Pie eating, pancake flipping, oyster shucking, and grape stomping contests make sense for restaurants. Dentists can hold smile contests, while video rental stores can stage movie trivia quizzes.

2. Newsletters. Another good way to promote, particularly for brokers, banks, and business consultants, is through newsletters. They demonstrate how much you know about your field and do it in a low-key, informative way. They help keep your company high in the consciousness of your prospects.

3. Demonstrations. Demonstrations are an option to attract people to your place of business, show them how to best use your product, and establish your credibility. A retail-wholesale fish outlet holds cooking demonstrations twice a week, featuring a different restaurant chef each time and attracting substantial crowds. Recipe cards are even given out. Wallpaper demonstrations, fashion shows, gift wrapping, refinishing, and computer demonstrations have all worked well for retailers selling products associated with them.

4. Seminars. Often more appropriate for business-to-business marketing, seminars are the commercial side of demonstrations. If you hold a seminar, follow these rules for success: Schedule the event at a time convenient to most attendees; Be specific in the invitation about when the event begins, and ends, who will be there, and what the agenda is.; Follow up the invitations with personal phone calls; Charge for the seminar to give it a higher perceived value; Follow up after the event to get people's reactions.

5. Premiums. Also called an advertising specialty, a premium is a gift of some kind that reminds your customer of you and your service. There are thousands from which to choose: key chains, coffee mugs, refrigerator magnets, baseball caps, paperweights - just about anything that can be engraved, imprinted, silk-screened, or embroidered with your company name and phone number.

6. Speeches. Depending on your topic and market, you might want to speak before Chambers of Commerce, trade associations, parent groups, senior citizens, or other local organizations.

7. Articles. Another possibility is to write an article for a trade journal, reprint it, and mail it off to your friends, customers, and prospects. This positions you as an expert, and is a particularly good way to promote a consulting business.

8. Bonuses. If you have a restaurant, give away a glass of wine with dinner to introduce a new menu. If you sell to retailers, give them a display fixture with the order of a gross. If you sell office supplies, give away a new pen with a sizeable purchase. If you're in the cosmetics business, offer customers a free sample blusher when they buy mascara and lipstick.

9. Coupons. For best results, the price break should be significant - at least 15 percent. This is one of the least expensive ways to develop new trade and an excellent tool for evaluating advertising. However, one theory holds that coupons draw people who only buy discount and never become regular customers, so be sure to monitor the results.

10. Donations. Donating your product or service to a charitable cause often results in positive exposure to community leaders, charity board members, PTAs, and civic groups. While consumer products are desired most, many organizations also look for donations of professional service time. If you have a restaurant or a large meeting facility, consider hosting an event for a charitable organization. This works best if volunteers for that charity are potential customers.

11. Samples. No matter what you do to promote your business, giving potential customers a sample is an excellent way to attract attention and make a positive impression. In many cases, it makes just as much sense to spend your marketing and advertising dollars on giving out your own products instead of buying advertisements, especially if cash is tight. The key is to give samples to the audience you want to reach, i.e., software packages to computer user groups or nutritious snacks to health-oriented consumers. In the food arena, where one taste is worth a thousand words, firms now exist that test-market new products for large and small companies alike through in-store demonstrations. A good demonstration company not only keeps track of how much of your product was given away, but also submits detailed reports on what people said about the product and how much of it was purchased.

12. Free Trials. If your product is too big or expensive to give away outright, why not offer a free trial to qualified customers? Try shipping it out to prospects with no strings attached. Most people will appreciate the opportunity to try the product, and hopefully many will like it enough to buy it.

13. Free Services. If you can't afford to give away products, offering your services as a way of generating new business can also pay off. For example, if you own a retail clothing business, send out a flier offering customers a free fashion consultation to draw them into the store.

14. Special Benefits, Rates, or Notices. Smart organizations go out of their way to make customers feel important and appreciated. Frequent flyer clubs are the most pervasive example of loyalty-building benefits for customers only; this method has been adapted by many kinds of businesses. Most software companies sell program updates to customers at discounted prices, and advance notices about sales, changes, or opportunities can help cement customer ties.

15. Say Thanks. One of the best ways to let customers know you value their business and encourage their continued patronage is also one of the easiest. It boils down to saying thank you in letters, mailers, surveys, statement stuffers, receipts, invoices, and in person.

Get a more marketing ideas - market and price

Over 100 Marketing Ideas

Marketing is all about satisfying customer needs. The following represents a comprehensive list of marketing ideas; use it to help better understand customer needs and ways to satisfy those needs.

General Ideas

• Never let a day pass without engaging in at least one marketing activity.
• Determine a percentage of gross income to spend annually on marketing.
• Set specific marketing goals every year; review and adjust quarterly.
• Maintain a tickler file of ideas for later use.
• Carry business cards with you (all day, every day).
• Create a personal nametag or pin with your company name and logo on it and wear it at high visibility meetings.

Target Market

• Stay alert to trends that might impact your target market, product, or promotion strategy.
• Read market research studies about your profession, industry, product, target market groups, etc.
• Collect competitors' ads and literature; study them for information about strategy, product features, benefits, etc.
• Ask clients why they hired you and solicit suggestions for improvement.
• Ask former clients why they left you.
• Identify a new market.
• Join a list-serve (e-mail list) related to your profession.
• Subscribe to an Internet usenet newsgroup or a list-serve that serves your target market.

Product Development

• Create a new service, technique, or product.
• Offer a simpler/cheaper/smaller version of your (or existing) product or service.
• Offer a fancier/more expensive/faster/bigger version of your (or existing) product or service.
• Update your services.

Education, Resources, and Information

• Establish a marketing and public relations advisory and referral team composed of your colleagues and/or neighboring business owners; share ideas and referrals and discuss community issues. Meet quarterly for breakfast.
• Create a suggestion box for employees.
• Attend a marketing seminar.
• Read a marketing book.
• Subscribe to a marketing newsletter or other publication.
• Subscribe to a marketing list-serve on the Internet.
• Subscribe to a marketing usenet newsgroup on the Internet.
• Train your staff, clients, and colleagues to promote referrals.
• Hold a monthly marketing meeting with employees or associates to discuss strategy and status and solicit marketing ideas.
• Join an association or organization related to your profession.
• Get a marketing intern to take you on as a client; it will give the intern experience and you some free marketing help.
• Maintain a consultant card file for finding designers, writers, and other marketing professionals. Hire a marketing consultant to brainstorm with.
• Take a creative journey to another progressive city or county to observe and learn from marketing techniques used there.

Pricing and Payment

• Analyze your fee structure; look for areas requiring modifications or adjustments. Establish a credit card payment option for clients.
• Give regular clients a discount.
• Learn to barter; offer discounts to members of certain clubs/professional groups/organizations in exchange for promotions in their publications.
• Give quick pay or cash discounts.
• Offer financing or installment plans.

Marketing Communications

• Publish a newsletter for customers and prospects (it doesn't have to be fancy or expensive). Develop a brochure of services.
• Include a postage-paid survey card with your brochures and other company literature. Include check-off boxes or other items that will involve the reader and provide valuable feedback to you.
• Remember, business cards aren't working for you if they're in the box. Pass them out! Give prospects two business cards and brochures - one to keep and one to pass along.
• Produce separate business cards/sales literature for each of your target market segments (e.g. government and commercial and/or business and consumer).
• Create a poster or calendar to give away to customers and prospects.
• Print a slogan and/or one-sentence description of your business on letterhead, fax cover sheets, and invoices. Develop a site on the World Wide Web.
• Create a signature file to be used for all your e-mail messages. It should contain contact details, including your Web site address and key information about your company that will make the reader want to contact you.
• Include testimonials from customers in your literature.
• Test a new mailing list. If it produces results, add it to your current direct mail lists or consider replacing a list that's not performing up to expectations.
• Rather than sending direct mail in plain white envelopes, use colored or oversized envelopes to pique recipients' curiosity.
• Announce free or special offers in your direct response pieces. (Direct responses may be direct mail, broadcast faxes, or e-mail messages.) Include the offer in the beginning of the message as well as on the outside of the envelope for direct mail.

Media Relations

• Update your media list often so that press releases are sent to the right media outlet and person.
• Write a column for the local newspaper, local business journal, or trade publication.
• Publish an article and circulate reprints.
• Send timely and newsworthy press releases as often as needed.
• Publicize your 500th client of the year (or other notable milestone).
• Create an annual award and publicize it.
• Get public relations and media training or read up on it.
• Appear on a radio or TV talk show.
• Create your own TV program on your industry or your specialty. Market the show to your local cable station or public broadcasting station as a regular program, or see if you can air your show on an open access cable channel.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper or trade magazine.
• Take an editor to lunch.
• Get a publicity photo taken and enclose with press releases.
• Consistently review newspapers and magazines for possible PR opportunities.
• Submit tip articles to newsletters and newspapers.
• Conduct industry research and develop a press release or article to announce an important discovery in your field.
• Create a press kit and keep its contents current.

Customer Service and Customer Relations

• Ask your clients to come back again.
• Return phone calls promptly.
• Set up a fax-on-demand or email system to easily respond to customer inquiries.
• Use an answering machine or voice mail system to catch after-hours phone calls. Include basic information in your outgoing messages such a business hours, location, etc.
• Record a memorable message or tip of the day on your outgoing answering machine or voice mail message.
• Ask clients what you can do the help them.
• Take clients out to a ball game, show, or another special event - just send them two tickets with a note. Hold a seminar at your office for clients and prospects.
• Send handwritten thank you notes.
• Send birthday cards and appropriate seasonal greetings.
• Photocopy interesting articles and send them to clients and prospects with a hand-written FYI note and your business card.
• Send a book of interest or other appropriate business gift to a client with a handwritten note.
• Create an area on your Web site specifically for your customers.
• Redecorate your office or location where you meet with your clients.

Networking and Word of Mouth

• Join a Chamber of Commerce or other organization.
• Join or organize a breakfast club with other professionals (not in your field) to discuss business and network referrals.
• Mail a brochure to members of organizations to which you belong.
• Serve on a city board or commission.
• Host a holiday party.
• Hold an open house.
• Send letters to attendees after you attend a conference.
• Join a community list-serve (e-mail list) on the Internet.

Advertising

• Advertise during peak seasons for your business.
• Obtain a memorable URL and email address and include them on all marketing materials.
• Provide Rolodex® cards or phone stickers preprinted with your business contact information.
• Promote your business jointly with other professionals via cooperative direct mail.
• Advertise in a specialty directory or in the Yellow Pages.
• Write an ad in another language to reach the non-English-speaking market. Place the ad in a publication that market reads, such as a Hispanic newspaper.
• Distribute advertising specialty products such as pens, mouse pads, or mugs.
• Mail bumps - photos, samples, and other innovative items to your prospect list. (A bump is simply anything that makes the mailing envelope bulge and makes the recipient curious about what's in the envelope!)
• Create a direct mail list of hot prospects.
• Consider non-traditional tactics such as bus backs, billboards, and popular Web sites.
• Project a message on the sidewalk in front of your place of business using a light directed through words etched in a glass window.
• Consider placing ads in your newspaper's classified section.
• Consider a vanity automobile tag with your company name.
• Create a friendly bumper sticker for your car.
• Code your ads and keep records of results.
• Improve your building signage and directional signs inside and out.
• Invest in a neon sign to make your office or storefront window visible at night.
• Create a new or improved company logo or recolor the traditional logo.
• Sponsor and promote a contest or sweepstakes.

Special Events and Outreach

• Get a booth at a fair/trade show attended by your target market.
• Sponsor or host a special event or open house at your business location in cooperation with a local non-profit organization, such as a women's business center. Describe how the organization helped you.
• Give a speech or volunteer for a career day at a high school.
• Teach a class or seminar at a local college or adult education center.
• Sponsor an Adopt-a-Road area in your community to keep roads litter-free. People that pass by the area will see your name on the sign announcing your sponsorship.
• Volunteer your time to a charity or non-profit organization.
• Donate your product or service to a charity auction.
• Appear on a panel at a professional seminar.
• Write a How To pamphlet or article for publishing.
• Produce and distribute an educational CD-ROM or audio/video tape.
• Publish a book.

Sales Ideas

• Start every day with two cold calls.
• Read newspapers, business journals, and trade publications for new business openings, personnel appointments, and promotion announcements made by companies. Send your business literature to appropriate individuals and firms.
• Give your sales literature to your lawyer, accountant, printer, banker, temp agency, office supply salesperson, advertising agency, etc. (Expand your sales force for free!)
• Put your fax number on order forms for easy submission.
• Set up a fax-on-demand or e-mail system to easily distribute responses to company or product inquiries.
• Follow up on your direct mailings, email messages, and broadcast faxes with a friendly telephone call.
• Try using the broadcast fax or email delivery methods instead of direct mail. (Broadcast fax and email allows you to send the same message to many locations at once.)
• Use broadcast faxes or email messages to notify your customers of product service updates.
• Extend your hours of operation.
• Reduce response/turnaround time. Make reordering easy - use reminders. Provide preaddressed envelopes.
• Display product and service samples at your office.
• Remind clients of the products and services you provide that they aren't currently buying.
• Call and/or send mail to former clients to try and reactivate them.
• Take sales orders over the Internet.

Manage your business

Successfully managing a business requires specific management skills in addition to knowledge of key business practices. Within this section you’ll learn about leadership traits, decision-making skills, and how to manage your employees. Additionally, we’ll walk you through a host of important topics to manage your business including: marketing basics, setting prices, filing your business taxes, legal considerations, forecasting for future growth, and financing options.

Lead
No man or woman is an island, especially in the business world. You need other people to help carry out your business vision; this requires the ability to lead and influence others.
Delegate
Delegating does not mean to simply hand out assignments; it means finding the best resources to most effectively achieve a task. Thus, delegating is one of the most important skills an entrepreneur can have.
Make decisions
One of the best decisions you can make is to learn how to be a good decision-maker. This requires commitment, understanding, and skill. It will be worth the effort.
Manage employees
Managing the actions of employees is a critical component of running a business. Knowing what to do with regards to hiring, motivating, directing, reprimanding, and even firing an employee is information a business owner should know.
Write effective jobs descriptions
A job description describes the major areas of an employee's job or position. A good job description begins with a careful analysis of the important facts about a job, such as the individual tasks involved, the methods used to complete the tasks, the purpose and responsibilities of the job, the relationship of the job to other jobs, and the qualifications needed for the job.
Market and price
Good marketing is critical to the success of your business. Marketing has many dimensions, including market research, customer service, advertising, targeting, packaging, pricing, e-marketing, and others. Investing in a good marketing plan will generate excellent returns.
Understand fair practice
Sometimes the Golden Rule is not always practiced. It is important to be familiar with antitrust laws so as to protect your business from becoming a victim and to avoid non-compliance. It is also important to know where to go for assistance if government regulations are unfairly impacting your business.
Get insurance
Business insurance is frequently a necessity, not an option. As a business owner, you will have many choices, some far better than others. Becoming an educated business consumer about insurance will pay big dividends.

Forecast

Maintaining your momentum means looking forward even as you focus on the present. Forecasting and planning are critical to your continued success.

Forecasting For Growth: Strategic Thinking
To be effective as a leader, you must develop skills in strategic thinking. Strategic thinking is a process whereby you learn how to make your business vision a reality by developing your abilities in team work, problem solving, and critical thinking. It is also a tool to help you confront change, plan for and make transitions, and envision new possibilities and opportunities.

Strategic thinking requires you to envision what you want your ideal outcome to be for your business, then work backwards by focusing on the story of how you will be able to reach your vision.

As you develop a strategic vision for your business, there are five different criteria that you should focus on. These five criteria will help you define your ideal outcome. In addition, they will help you set up and develop the steps necessary to make your business vision a reality.

The following is a list of the five criteria of the strategic thinking process:

• Organization. The organization of your business involves the people you will have working for you, the organizational structure of your business, and the resources necessary to make it all work. What will your organization look like? What type of structure will support your vision? How will you combine people, resources, and structure together to achieve your ideal outcome?
• Observation. When you are looking down at the world from an airplane, you can see much more than when you are on the ground. Strategic thinking is much the same in that it allows you to see things from "higher up." By increasing your powers of observation, you will begin to become more aware of what motivates people, how to solve problems more effectively, and how to distinguish between alternatives.
• Views. Views are simply different ways of thinking about something. In strategic thinking, there are four viewpoints to take into consideration when forming your business strategy: the environmental view; the marketplace view; the project view; and the measurement view. Views can be used as tools to help you think about outcomes, identify critical elements, and adjust your actions to achieve your ideal position.
• Driving Forces. What are the driving forces that will make your ideal outcome a reality? What is your company's vision and mission? Driving forces usually lay the foundation for what you want people to focus on in your business (i.e., what you will use to motivate others to perform). Examples of driving forces might include: individual and organizational incentives; empowerment and alignment; qualitative factors such as a defined vision, values, and goals; productive factors like a mission or function; quantitative factors such as results or experience; and others such as commitment, coherent action, effectiveness, productivity, and value.
• Ideal Position. After working through the first four phases of the strategic thinking process, you should be able to define your ideal position. Your ideal position outline should include: the conditions you have found to be necessary if your business is to be productive; the niche in the marketplace that your business will fill; any opportunities that may exist either currently or in the future for your business; the core competencies or skills required in your business; and the strategies and tactics you will use to pull it all together.

By working through these five areas, you will begin to get a clearer picture of exactly how your business vision can be accomplished. As your vision becomes more focused, your ideas will appear stronger and more credible. Not only will it be easier to convince others that your idea is a good one, but it will also be easier to maintain your own conviction and motivation when you reach any pitfalls or obstacles in the road.
Overall, you can apply strategic thinking skills to any area of your life. But by making a concerted effort to apply them specifically to your business venture, you will have a much better chance of bringing your vision to life. And isn't that what you want?

Use Technology
Today’s very competitive business climate demands that business owners understand and use advanced technologies. Technology is an enabler; it can help a business improve efficiencies and even expand operations. However, the use of technology should be balanced with business needs and practicality.

Finance growth
You need money to grow a business! Capital can come from many sources, including personal savings. However, borrowing money from a lender is a primary source of capital, as is raising equity capital from an investor. Many resources are available to help guide a business owner to the best options for financing growth.
http://marketingwithhari.blogspot.com/2007/11/finance-start-up.html

Finance Start-Up

Finding Capital - Raising capital is the most basic of all business activities, but it may not be easy; in fact, it is often a complex and frustrating process. However, if you have studied and planned effectively, raising money for your business will go as smoothly as possible.

Finding The Money You Need

It is important to explore all of your financing options before making a decision; several sources to consider are:

• Personal Savings: The primary source of capital for most new businesses comes from savings and other personal resources. While credit cards are often used to finance business needs, there are usually better options available, even for very small loans.
• Friends And Relatives: Many entrepreneurs look to private sources such as friends and family when starting out in a business venture. Often, money is loaned interest-free or at a low interest rate, which can be beneficial when getting started.
• Banks And Credit Unions: The most common sources of funding, banks and credit unions, will provide a loan if you can show that your business proposal is sound.
• Angel Investors And Venture Capital firms: These individuals and firms help expanding companies grow in exchange for equity or partial ownership.

Additional sources of capital include:

• Credit Cards
• Customer Financing
• Employee Stock Ownership (ESOP)
• Home Equity Loans

Borrowing Money

It is often said that small businesses face difficulty borrowing money, but this is not necessarily true. Banks make money by lending money. However, the inexperience of many small business owners in financial matters often prompts banks to deny loan requests. Requesting a loan when you are not properly prepared suggests that you are a high risk.

To successfully obtain a loan, you must be prepared and organized. You must know exactly how much money you need, why you need it, and how you will pay it back. You must be able to convince your lender that you are a good credit risk.

Types Of Business Loans

Terms of loans vary from lender to lender, but there are two basic types: short-term and long-term. Generally, a short-term loan has a maturity of up to one year. These include working capital loans, accounts receivable loans, and lines of credit.

Long-term loans have maturities greater than one year but usually less than seven years. Real estate and equipment loans may have maturities of up to 25 years. Long-term loans are used for major business expenses such as purchasing real estate and facilities, construction, durable equipment, furniture and fixtures, vehicles, etc.

SBA loan programs are intended to encourage long-term small business financing, but actual loan maturities are based on the ability to repay, the purpose of the loan proceeds, and the useful life of the assets financed. However, maximum loan maturities have been established: twenty-five years for real estate, up to ten years for equipment (depending on the useful life of the equipment), and generally up to seven years for working capital. Short-term loans are also available through the SBA to help small businesses meet their short-term and cyclical working capital needs.

How To Write A Loan Proposal

Approval of your loan request depends on how well you present yourself, your business, and your financial needs. Remember, lenders want to make loans, but they must make loans they know will be repaid. The best way to improve your chances of obtaining a loan is to prepare a written proposal. A well-written loan proposal contains:

General Information

• Business name, names of principals, Social Security number for each principal, and the business address
• Purpose of the loan - exactly what the loan will be used for and why it is needed
• Amount required - the exact amount you need to achieve your purpose

Business Description

• History and nature of the business - details of what kind of business it is, its age, number of employees and current business assets
• Ownership structure - details on your company's legal structure

Management Profile

• Short statement on each principal in your business -provide background, education experience, skills, and accomplishments

Market Information

• Clear definition your company's products as well as your markets
• Identify your competition and explain how your business competes in the marketplace
• Profile your customers and explain how your business can satisfy their needs

Financial Information

• Financial statements - provide balance sheets and income statements for the past three years. If you are starting out, provide a projected balance sheet and income statement.
• Personal financial statements on yourself and other principal owners of the business
• Collateral you are willing to pledge as security for the loan

How Your Loan Request Will Be Reviewed

When reviewing a loan request, the lender is primarily concerned about repayment. To help determine its likelihood, many loan officers will order a copy of your business credit report from a credit reporting agency. Therefore, you should work with these agencies to make sure they present an accurate picture of your business. Using the credit report and the information you have provided, the lending officer will consider the following issues: Have you invested savings or personal equity in your business totaling at least 25 percent to 50 percent of the loan you are requesting? Remember, no lender or investor will finance 100 percent of your business.

• Do you have a sound record of credit-worthiness as indicated by your credit report, work history, and letters of recommendation? This is very important.
• Do you have sufficient experience and training to operate a successful business?
• Have you prepared a loan proposal and business plan that demonstrate your understanding of and commitment to the success of the business?
• Does the business have sufficient cash flow to make the monthly payments?

Name your business

There is more to naming your business than just coming up with something that sounds good and you happen to like. Thought must be given to state and local requirements and making sure you don’t infringe upon the rights of someone else’s business name.

Legal Requirements And Implications
Picking a name for your business requires much more than just creativity and a working knowledge of your target market. First you'll need to decide which business structure you will use, since each structure has its own peculiarities. For example, many states require a sole proprietor to use their own name for the business name unless they formally file another name as a trade name, or fictitious name.
Similarly, you will need to determine whether your trade name will be the same as the full legal name of your business. Of equal importance is finding out whether your name or a very similar name is being used by another business, and if so, what rights they may or may not have to use the name in the area where you do business. Keep in mind that some businesses only file
trademarks within their locality, so it's possible that the same name can be used elsewhere.

Domain Names
For many businesses that operate on the Web, trade names are synonymous with domain names, such as Amazon.com and Monster.com. Domain names are not registered through state or local government; rather they can be obtained through numerous online businesses, most of which will allow you to conduct a name search prior to purchase to make sure your chosen name isn't taken.

Write business plan for successful business

Planning is critical to successfully starting and building a business. That’s why we’ve dedicated a section for it. Here you’ll find guidance on the tools and resources necessary to write a winning business plan. From sample plans to a business plan primer, we’ll get you started on this very important activity. Once your business is up and running, you’ll need to regularly review and update your plan to manage growth.

Writing The Plan

What goes in a business plan? The body can be divided into four distinct sections:

1) Description of the business
2) Marketing
3) Finances
4) Management

Agenda should include an executive summary, supporting documents, and financial projections. Although there is no single formula for developing a business plan, some elements are common to all business plans. They are summarized in the following outline:

Elements of a Business Plan

1. Cover sheet
2. Statement of purpose
3. Table of contents

I. The Business
A. Description of business
B. Marketing
C. Competition
D. Operating procedures
E. Personnel
F. Business insurance

II. Financial Data
A. Loan applications
B. Capital equipment and supply list
C. Balance sheet
D. Break-even analysis
E. Proforma income projections (profit & loss statements)
F. Three-year summary
G. Detail by month, first year
H. Detail by quarters, second and third years
I. Assumptions upon which projections were based
J. Proforma cash flow

III. Supporting Documents
A. Tax returns of principals for last three years Personal financial
statement (all banks have these forms)
B. For franchised businesses, a copy of franchise contract and all
supporting documents provided by the franchiser
C. Copy of proposed lease or purchase agreement for building space
D. Copy of licenses and other legal documents
E. Copy of resumes of all principals
F. Copies of letters of intent from suppliers, etc.

Start your business

Starting a business requires you to complete a number of steps and make some key decisions. Though part of your overall plan, you’ll need to select a location, decide on a business structure, and obtain the necessary licenses and permits. In addition, determining which financing options will meet your short-term needs and long-term goals is crucial. Within this section, we’ll provide information on these topics along with guidance on buying an existing business, copyright and trademark issues, and getting support from an outside expert.