Ways to raise cash for your business

What is corporate finance?

It's a question that a new entrepreneur might ask when they first start to consider the possibility that they may want to take their company public in the future. Sure, some people hire an expert in corporate finance, but if you're new, here is a simple explanation.

Think of the movie trilogy, Star Wars. You may wonder what Star Wars might have to do with this comparison, but it will become clear in the end. In the Movie "Empire Strikes Back", the Imperial Forces under the command of Darth Vader, are seen as people with money, but essentially have no ideas or time so to speak.

These we will refer to as "Investors". Then you get Emperor Palpatine (Darth Sidious) who is Darth Vader's mentor and the general 'evil villain' of the entire story. We will refer to him as the 'Company' since he has ideas and time, but no money to back him up. So it starts with the Investors. They invest in the 'Company' and from there, it will lead to numerous projects. Once again think of the 'Death Star' that was under construction in 'Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'.

The construction of the Death Star will be the project, and later this in turn will lead to 'Coupon payments, Dividends and Stock Purchases.' Here you can imagine how the construction of the Death Star is used as a terrifying icon that will persuade rebels and other worlds/organizations that it's best to stand with the Empire in the long run.

The Emperor has manipulated everything from the start, but by recruiting Darth Vader and getting Darth Vader to see his side of things, he could build an Empire feared by everyone.

So you have the investors that are people with no ideas and little time, that invest in the company. This in turn leads to projects and later this leads to dividends, stock purchases and coupon payments.

However, things can be complicated by taxes and needing cash flow so you would have to take some of your project's proceeds and reinvest so the operation of your company could continue.

So how can you raise money for your business?

Once you start to think of raising capital, you realize there are long-term investments like getting machinery or physical assets. You may want to brand your company over the long term as well. Then you also need to consider your short-term investments like the day-to-day running costs of your business, the staff wages that need to be paid or the buying of stock.

If you have evaluated your company and decided it's the right time to move forward, I can suggest that one way to raise money is by taking your company public. It would help here to sit down with an experienced 'Go Public' firm that has an extensive list of investment bankers that can help your company in the long run.

Another area to consider is by getting a good business plan together and going through venture capitalists. But keep in mind they are quite selective with who they offer the capital to as they hear so many pitches in a month or year, that it's quite a steep competition.

There are other less common forms of financing which involve loans, and using your credit cards, but there is a genuine chance to get some money for the business if you take your company public. The advantage is you can advertise to the general public and investors would be more interested, than if you were a private company.