Any potential investor wants to see a highly readable and believable business plan with a summary, a management team overview and financials but after submitting your plan many people think funding will just arrive when in reality it can take time. By following the steps below you will be able to avoid some of the most obvious mistakes when raising funds for your project

One – If you are a company that has brilliant technical knowledge and no real sales expertise do not advertise it. Information on your web-site including the management team biographies will clearly state the management teams background including their technical expertise, their degrees, their patents and such like but amazingly their go to market strategy in the business plan is usually incomplete and sometimes missing. The solution, make sure you have a credible go to market strategy with a credible sales leader. Nobody will invest if you don’t.

Two – Make sure your website is stunning. Too many companies think that running a business is all about product and the abilities of the technical team – frankly it isn’t. This may be true but today investors will always expect to see more. They want to be convinced and when they will go straight to your web site they are wanting to be wowed! Unfortunately, so many people provide what looks more like a school project. Make sure your website is utterly brilliant and that it doesn’t look cheap. Ask a variety of people if it looks modern, if it looks appealing, particularly the photos and ask if it is easy to navigate. Also please ensure that it is relevant – it’s not about how wonderful you are it’s about how you and your company will solve their challenges.

Three – If you are raising money through a prospectus or private listing make sure that your brochure stacks up. Many people do not place enough time and effort with the visual appeal of a Private Listing Brochure and again you don’t want to provide a sub-standard document that will fail at every level. Spend some time and money to ensure that you convey your messaging in a professional, crisp business-like manner and that it is logical and easy to read. Also don’t use random un verifiable facts – make sure that you underpin everything that you state will be possible with the latest research etc.

Four – don’t use jargon. Anyone who goes to your site or who takes a look at any promotional material designed to answer questions won’t stand for jargon which usually means nothing to them. If you must use jargon or acronyms, make sure there is an explanation – people won’t ask they will vote with their feet! A well written website and brochure is music to the ears of potential investors

Five – Make sure that on your website and all other materials that you have the same font. Make sure that the supporting marketing material looks great and make sure that the stories you tell are verifiable and relevant. Lastly please don’t be controversial People will make their mind up on quality and this includes the look and feel, the overall professional approach. If you can use proper references form proper companies. Don’t add something for the sake of adding something as it has to be contextual and relevant!

Follow these tips and life on the road to raising funds will be much easier.

There are now many options for small and medium sized businesses for getting funding they need. If you’re wondering where to get a business loan, your options are no longer limited to just banks and the SBA. Just check with some of the many alternative online lenders and funding solutions. The downside is that there are always scams and that you must always be very careful that you don’t fall prey to cyber criminals.

Here are a few things to look for when evaluating the reliability of an online business loan:

• Check with the accreditation first. Make sure that any potential lender is accredited in the US. Read reviews as well from various sites and sources to find out what others are saying. If there any complaints, try to find out if those complaints have been addressed and resolved. If there are too many negative reviews, it’s best to stay away.

• Make sure that a lender you are considering offers the type of funding you need. An important part of knowing where to get a business loan is to have a financial plan in place. What do you need the funding for? Working capital? Equipment financing? Vendor financing? Have as detailed of a business plan as possible before applying.

• Check with the application process to find out how easy it will be to actually apply. Your chosen lender should not have a long, drawn-out, difficult application process. You shouldn’t be required to turn over document after document after document. It should be clear from the start what documentation you will be expected to hand over.

What Else to Consider When Searching Where to Get a Business Loan Online

• Another thing the ideal lender should do is guarantee a speedy approval process and that you’ll get the funding as quickly as possible. Some online lenders provide fast funding that takes no more than 24 hours. In contrast, some traditional banks can still take several weeks to give out the funding.

• Try to get flexible loan terms, if possible. There are a variety of flexible loan products offered by different lenders, whether you end up getting an unsecured loan, merchant cash advance, lines of credit, etc. Even if your credit scores aren’t the greatest, you’ll still want fair rates and reasonable repayment terms.

• While there are always crowd funding options, you’ll really need to come up with a good marketing campaign that includes viral material if you want people to be interested enough in your message that they’ll want to donate. This process can take a long time.

So, if you’re still wondering ” where to get a business loan “, just head to US Business Funding and look over all of their funding services and loan products. The application process is fast and easy.

The ongoing credit crisis has made it much more difficult for investors to qualify for an institutionally funded (bank, broker, insurance company) commercial mortgage loan. Underwriting standards have become significantly tougher and loan parameters have tightened. Very few deals are being accepted by the banks, and even fewer are actually closing.

 

Many good loans that should receive financing are being rejected out-of-hand. We call this situation the “funding gap.”

 

Recently many hedge funds and private equity companies have recognized that opportunity exists for firms that can help fill the funding gap by offering private commercial mortgages to quality borrowers who have been shut out by their banks. Over the last 18 months money managers have committed hundreds of millions of dollars to the commercial real estate finance sector. They are buying distressed mortgage paper directly from troubled lenders and they are very willing to write new loans against commercial buildings and development projects.

 

But before commercial real estate investors seek a loan from a hedge fund or other private lender there are some important things they should know.

 

Private commercial mortgage lenders are opportunistic investors; a hedge fund is in business to earn high returns for its investors in a timely and efficient manner. The loans they offer will be short term in nature (rarely more than 36 months) and will carry significantly higher interest rates and origination points than a bank or Wall Street broker would. Further, hedge funds will be very aggressive in foreclosure situations; they will take your property if you fail to perform.

 

Funds and private lenders that we work with are currently charging 10%-15% annual interest with 3-4 points. This means that borrowers can expect to pay a 13%-19% APR. On top of that, borrowers are responsible for the cost of any third party reports that may be required such as appraisals, environmental assessments and feasibility reports.

 

On the positive side, there is capital available for these private commercial mortgage loans and deals can be closed very quickly. Most funds prefer income producing, investor owned commercial buildings like apartment complexes, office buildings or self storage facilities. They will generally lend up-to 65% of a properties value and underwriting is equity based not credit driven. They will lend for both purchase and refinance, but private loans are “bridge” loans and a viable, realistic exit strategy needs to be in-place. In-other-words they will need to know exactly how they are going to be paid back.

 

This credit squeeze has been devastating to the commercial real estate industry and the problems are not going away. As we all wait for the situation to improve private lenders, including Wall Street hedge funds and private equity firms, have cash and are willing to lend it.

1. During the past decade, the size of seed rounds has remained stagnant and number of deals have decreased. To the untrained eye, it seems that there is more competition for seed dollars. Below the surface, however, startups are recycling founders experience. The reason why the number of deals has decreased is that teams are better prepared, are more financially savvy, have access to better-priced support, waste less time and resources, are using other forms of funding PRIOR to seed rounds, and are pivoting or deciding to get out earlier -at the pre-seed stage. (Founders will jump into exploring new opportunities).

Founding teams are recycled

2. More firms seeking seed rounds already have sales, expression of interests, and some form of market validation as a result of the circular economy of entrepreneurial mind and action. Firms that seek seed rounds are more advanced than 10 years ago. Founders are using other ways to get funded (as they should! Because seed funding is very expensive!), AND they are also recycling the experience of founding, co-founding, advising, and/or being early employees in previous firms. This is creating a circular economy of entrepreneurial experience. Not just serial entrepreneurs but a large pool of people who have experienced startup development (failed, successful, and everything in between, in so many roles!).

Supplier of funds are recycled

3. More investors are getting into each round, and seed rounds have become more collaborative. More and more small funds, angels and angel groups are co-investing. That means more eyes are evaluating deals (GOOD) but also BAD deals are getting through because the impact of each deal in the overall portfolio is lower, and the FOMO (fear of missing out) can get that signature! Think Theranos (ouch).

TIP: Nobody talks about the herd mentality and there will be some lessons to learn going forward. Because of the cycling and recycling nature of funding, early investors are able to scan deals early, with lower amounts, and, if they want to play in future rounds, they need to get in early and with others: pay to play.

Founders and funders’ recycling is also changing the exits:

4. Exits are being recycled too! Companies are being acquired, taken public, broken into pieces, resold, privatized, re-public’ed, and there are many emerging opportunities for exit. This is actually an area ripe for disruption. Welcome to the world of recycling exits.

And the funding process has become more interesting and complex.

5. As both entrepreneurs and funders become more comfortable navigating many options of funding startups or grownups, new funding options are emerging: there is better knowledge about crowdfunding, cryptocurrencies, hybrids (safes/convertible notes), and SFI-types (can we call this special funding instruments?). Capital suppliers are borrowing mechanisms from SPV, SPE, and SVI. I can’t wait to see what new options sprout of this.

All of these recycling and repurposing has an impact on ROI and capital markets

6. Cycles are longer: It takes longer to climb a larger mountain, especially if, along the way, there have been some quasi-exits, pivots, more and larger rounds. This is having an impact on the way we negotiate funding going INTO the firm, because there is light at the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel is getting much longer. Combine this with the uncertainty of how investors get OUT. Again, this is an area ripe for disruption and I can’t wait to see new options emerging. With longer cycles, the return on investment decreases, so firms are pushed into finding new and disruptive ways to excite investors and NEW investors who supposedly are more risk-averse and adventurous, but in reality are reckless.

Longer roads need more resources,

But the supply of capital does not exist in a vacuum

7. Public markets are shrinking, and investors -especially institutional investors- are navigating through a rollercoaster of political insanity. Mostly derived from the surprising interest in protecting borders than in having healthy global economies, financial and economic illiteracy is permeating the political arena where decisions are reckless and financial managers are focusing on reducing stupid (gasp) risks instead of creating and supporting new wealth.

Overall, a combination of healthy recycling of talent, capital, and technology is fueling the economy despite mistakes made by politics.

For investors the signals are clear: Get in early, support many startups, learn and collaborate.

For entrepreneurs the signals indicate: Use many forms of funding, use dynamic funding, ask investors for support (not just money), and create dynamic teams.

Oh, and for small business owners that think “small is beautiful”, now, more than ever, my famous quote of 100% of 1 is 1, but 1% of 1000 is more, is more valid than ever. Get in line, ditch the illusion of a “safe” and embrace the “growth” mindset. If we stop growing, we start dying. Small IS beautiful, it is just not sustainable.

For Government and Economic Development Agencies, the puzzle is getting more and more complex… Hang in there!

We really don’t know what we are doing, but we are doing!

Many people get into business with a plan of what they want to do and how they are going to do it. The biggest thing that holds them back is money.

Through out our business lives and personal lives, cash-flow is always the biggest concern we have. In business without cash-flow we are short lived. I want to address today four of the biggest threats to our cash-flow. I call them the Four F’s of funding a business. Remember with all of these you will need the help of your professional team to make sure you cover your basis correctly. So talk to you your attorney, banker, accountant, insurance agent and financial advisors before you do anything. This is not advice, just things to consider.

The first F is what all want to achieve but fail to fund—FLOURISH. In more instances than one would believe it is the rapid growth of a business that kills it. The business is successful beyond what one expected but did not plan for rapid expansion; they have no how-to guides to train new team members; they have no plan or budget for how to compensate team members, they are forced to react. Too often they enter into a business as an experiment, they are going to try it out, because they don’t know if it will succeed. When it does they are totally unprepared and find themselves facing their worst fear, failure. When one enters into business one needs to plan to flourish.

The Second F is FINANCIAL DIFFICULTY. This is the equivalent of your business becoming disabled. Maybe the business owner has health or personal problems and cannot continue to pull all the weight. Maybe the business loses a key employee, or maybe the facilities suffer a fire, flood or other catastrophic loss and the business can not operate. How do we deal with these situations? Business owners need to prepare for catastrophe. You must have your plan B’s in place. Plan B’s need funding and you must plan to fund plan B.

The Third F is FINISHED. In this situation the business owner is ready to leave the business, she wants out. It could have to do with the product or service becoming obsolete, the age or the health of the owner or a partner or the business could just fail. A good real estate investor will tell you that you have to know how you are going to dispose of a property before you buy it. A business should be the same way; you have to know your exit strategy. A business could be sold in its entirety or just the assets in the case of a bankruptcy or other failure. A poor exit could do great damage to the cash-flow of your family that you so diligently provided through the business.

The Final F is FINAL. This is where the owner or a partner dies and thus the business must end. This of course can be the most financially devastating to the most number of people. Unless proper plans are prepared and funded, the death of one partner could financially ruin all the partners’ families. Most partnerships, corporations and LLC’s establish buy/sell agreements or address the situation in their by-laws, oftentimes however they fail to plan the funding of these plans. We must take care to protect our families and the families of those involved in the business.

So as has been seen there are essentially four outcomes That need to be funded in business,-Flourishing, Financial Difficulty, Failure and Final. Failing to fund any of these could be devastating to your business, your family or both. The plan for flourishing needs to be kept up on the most. The others can be taken care of with a relatively small investment and some wise counsel from your professional team. Don’t be afraid to plan, be afraid of failing to plan, because this will lead to failure.

As businesses continue to source overseas suppliers and open up new markets for their products, the impact on cash flow cannot be underestimated. Companies are now looking beyond traditional bank financing such as an overdraft to more creative methods that allow funding to be provided off the back of existing trade cycles. Businesses can then release capital which can be used to offer customer discounts or extend credit terms resulting in a competitive advantage for their company.

Tracey Davenport, Relationship Director with a leading European commercial bank, encounters this regularly. “Businesses realise they cannot support their suppliers and wait for customer payments from across the globe while taking care of daily operations all from their overdraft. With companies entering import and export agreements in countries like China or India, they need a way to manage these relationships while not putting pressure on their operational cash. The challenge is educating businesses there’s a better way to finance trade than through a limited and potentially expensive overdraft facility.”

Companies continue to outsource their supplier relationships in traditional areas such as the Far East, but new markets such as Poland, Turkey and Eastern Europe offer a lower cost base alternative and faster access to finished goods. The problem many businesses find is having the support of their local bank to provide finance against bills of exchange, letters of credit and trade documentation.

Mr Davenport commented, “Companies expanding into new countries – either through supplier or customer relationships – need to make sure the bank in that respective country is financially sound. The problem many banks have is their corresponding bank network can be very limited which has an overall negative impact. Businesses that look to bridge their funding gap through trade finance have to review the partner banks their suppliers and customers use then find the right bank to work with in their home country.”

Trade finance services can be tailor-made to individual business requirements resulting in enhanced financial management and improved cash flow. For example, by raising finance against documentary credits – companies may be able to benefit from funds being released immediately. With Import Documentary Credit advances, it may be possible to negotiate discounts from suppliers which can help improve gross margin for the business. For an established import/export business, a trade finance solution could provide a low cost non-recourse fixed rate form of finance along with enhanced sales opportunities.

If your business is considering a new business partner or new export country, trade finance is a way to reduce your risk and help improve your profits in the future.

Why not think about funding the construction and operations of a substance abuse treatment facility or other health care-related project through EB-5 Investment funding? Although the majority of EB-5 projects have involved hotel and hospitality industry projects, the time may be right for a new emphasis on health-care related new commercial enterprises. Substance abuse treatment centers are an especially attractive industry for EB-5 Investment financing.

The addiction treatment industry in America had revenues of over $34 billion in 2014, an increase of 55% from 2005. The vast majority of that spending — nearly 80% — was underwritten by public funding, and the remaining portion paid for by insurance or private fees. There are more than 11,000 addiction-treatment centers in the United States, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. However, this number of substance abuse facilities can only treat a very small proportion of those in need of treatment services.

In 2014, an estimated 21.6 million persons aged 12 or older were classified with substance dependence or abuse in the past year (8.2 percent of the population aged 12 or older). Of these, 2.6 million were classified with dependence or abuse of both alcohol and illicit drugs, 4.3 million had dependence or abuse of illicit drugs but not alcohol, and 14.7 million had dependence or abuse of alcohol but not illicit drugs. Overall, 17.3 million had alcohol dependence or abuse, and 6.9 million had illicit drug dependence or abuse.

In the wake of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), healthcare financing in the United States is at a crossroads. The ACA contains numerous provisions to reduce healthcare costs, improve quality, and expand coverage. In addition, the ACA offers states the opportunity to expand their Medicaid programs, which will increase the pool of individuals covered by Medicaid.

The provisions of the Act also require substance abuse treatment to be put on the same level of treatment as other major disease categories and this parity requirement means that there is an expansion of treatment coverage under Medicaid and private insurance. These changes are filling the system with new payors and clients.

In 2014, the ACA established 10 mandatory “essential health benefits” for newly eligible Medicaid enrollees and most individual and small group health plans. Substance abuse treatment is among the required benefit categories. According to HHS, new laws and regulations will allow 32.1 million individuals to access substance abuse benefits for the first time and expand behavioral health coverage for 30.4 million individuals with existing behavioral health benefits.

Wall Street and other players in the investment arena are taking notice. In 2014, American Addiction Centers, the first public company whose business is primarily focused on substance abuse treatment, raised over $65 Million Dollars in its initial public offering (IPO). Since its IPO, this company’s stock price has remained strong, and the company has grown from 480 beds to a projected 1,200 beds by the end of 2016. Other large providers in the industry are buying up smaller independent treatment centers and consolidating the industry with similar IPO goals.

The substance abuse treatment industry offers other business advantages as well. Although regulated by state agencies, the medical and professional staffing of substance abuse treatment centers is limited compared to conventional medical facilities and labor and COG factors are very manageable for a start-up business.. The creation of full-time jobs and economic stimulation in surrounding areas are easily achieved by an abuse treatment center construction project. This factor also makes them attractive for EB-5 investment.

Consider using EB-5 Investment Funding for a substance abuse treatment center or other health care industry project such as an urgent care or assisted living facility. The EB-5 Investment funding process is available and a viable funding alternative in may different industries.

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When it comes time, for someone to consider, buying, a home, of his own, and achieving his part of the so – called, American Dream, and becoming a first – time homeowner, it is important, to understand, and appreciate, from the beginning, some financing options. Since most people, especially, when one doesn’t own, a previous house, which, selling, provides significant funds, needs some sort of additional sources, for the necessary funding. It is wise, therefore, since, to the vast majority of people, their personal home, represents, their single – biggest, financial asset, to discover, and understand, financing/ funding options, and decide, the best, course of action, for their personal needs, and situation. With that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, 5 ways/ options, to fund your house – purchase.

1. Conventional: The most common method, is using the conventional approach. This means qualifying, and using a mortgage, for these needs. In order to be prepared, it’s essential to, at least, six months, prior to beginning one’s search, to examine, review, correct, improve, and enhance his Credit Report, and rating! These are, generally, available, either from a bank, mortgage banker or broker, or some other, lending institution.

2. Friends/ family: Some people find it, more advantageous, to turn to, either, their friends, and/ or, family, for some sort of loan, etc, to acquire one’s home! Obviously, only a few, fortunate people, can take advantage of these types of sources, because most of us, don’t have, either the contacts, with these types of funds, or any willingness, to lend you money.

3. Owner – financed: There are several occasions, and scenarios, when an owner may be willing to assist in, or fully finance, a purchase. Sometimes, it’s because, the house, may have been on the market, for a lengthy period, while at other times, it’s because, holding the papers, may, in some ways, benefit the existing owner of the property! This approach, may, either be, for the primary, or secondary, sources of funding!

4. Balloon loans: It may, either be necessary, or advantageous, to use some sort of balloon loans, rather than a conventional one. This type of funding, is, usually, interest only (rate may vary), for a specific, somewhat – short, period, and after that period, you must, either pay – off, the principal, in full, or acquire new funding/ financing.

5. Combination: It is not, at all, unusual, for someone to use, some combination of these approaches/ methods. For example, one, who lacks enough funds, for the down – payment, but otherwise, has excellent credit, may rely on, owner – financing, for some of the necessary funds, and a conventional source, for the first mortgage.

If owning a house, is meaningful to you, discover your options, and know, the best way, for you, to proceed. An educated buyer makes the finest decisions!

Besides having a coffee shop business plan, you need to have your funding source(s) defined when starting a coffee shop. There are many options available for you, but we will talk about the most common.

SBA – So many sources push SBA loans, SBA LOANS, SBA LOANS! Let me first say, the Small Business Administration loan program is awesome, if you can get approved. Although they have loosened up some of the requirements lately, it is still somewhat tough to get approved.

First of all, the government does not loan the money. The standard program is a bank loan though there are some micro loan programs available that use funds from capital groups. Most of these loans are normally collateral loans, and they are backed by the US government similar to HUD and FHA home loans. What that means is that if you should happen to default on the loan, the government will reimburse the bank for certain percentage of the loan amount. That is good for the bank, and good for you if you can qualify for one of these loans. They are tough to get I’ll say again, and there is a lot of paperwork to fill out and file. You also have to have good credit, very good assets, low debt to income ratio, and unencumbered collateral.

Some SBA loans can take some time to get approved and then funded, but if you are approved, they usually have up to a 7 year repayment period and a favorable interest rate. It’s best to talk to an approved SBA lender for particular details, as the bank calls the shots, the SBA only backs the loan. You can work with a local SBA office as well for details or go to http://www.sba.gov

Personal – This is the easiest form of financing, but less likely for most people. Try to put all you can into this venture from your own pocket without ruining your marriage, family or jeopardizing your home. If you do get financing, you will be required to pitch in at least 25% of the total you need to start your coffee shop anyway. The more you have in, the more the bank knows how serious you are and more likely they are to fund you. They also know the more you have in personally, the less likely you are to run when the times get tough.

Cash is king. Liquid assets are a great source of funding. Liquid assets are assets that can be converted to cash quickly like stock, bonds, or a 401(k). I only recommend any retirement plan as funding as a last resort. This is what I did when I ran into capital problems and could not get a loan because I was maxed out. It’s best though to leave this money alone and search out other options.

Real estate equity – This is a good source of funding if you have enough equity in your home or another piece of real estate. The interest rates are usually favorable as well.

Friends and family – if you cannot put in as much as you need to, friends and family are a good way to raise additional capital. Just be sure it’s clear how you structure the money deal: are they investors, partners, both? Are you issuing them stock in your corporation? Whatever the deal, get a contract attorney to draft the paperwork to make it legal. It will cost you about $500-1000 or so for this service and when it’s done, you will be glad you did it. Spell out all details.

I once saw a guy invest in a restaurant and the owner wanted a loan only, so they had a repayment plan but not any written contract stating what was what. The investor assumed he was now a ‘partner’, as in part owner and started showing up daily, scheduling meetings, wanting to rearrange the store and making menu change suggestions. That was not a pretty situation!

Investors – most high dollar investors want to see success before they pony up cash to someone they do not know. However, it can happen at the beginning though. You need to surround yourself with PWM: People with Money. This can also be the friends and family route. Ads online and in the paper are ok, but will most likely bring you more weirdoes than real investors.

Join local business organizations, talk with the Economic Development Corporations and chambers of commerce in the areas you are looking to open and ask them for investor referrals. A lot of investors shy away from seeding food and beverage related businesses unless it is a liquor establishment but they are out there.

Non-traditional lenders – aka private equity firms, capital groups fall into this category. Their guidelines are less stringent but again, most want existing businesses looking to expand. They also are not normally looking for food industry investments because the risk is too high and search out tech type companies that have a higher return. However, this is again certainly not the law.

Banks – traditional lenders, they are tough ones to get on your side if you have NO money to kick in or marginal to bad credit, and no collateral. Sometimes just a lot of work, a lot of talking and an awesome coffee shop business plan may just be the thing you need to get them to help you. A banker on your side that believes in you, and you have established a relationship with could be what stands between you and a funded loan. Treat them like gold.

Credit Unions – usually most do not do much in the way of business financing, but for those that do, their guidelines are slightly more relaxed than a traditional bank, like those for personal financing but you will still have to qualify.

Credit Cards – I am not recommending this option! If you do use them, be sure they are a very low interest rate, even 0% with some of the introductory rates some banks give. You may want to have back up cash in case you run into problems with one.

Be careful, however because after the intro period is over, the rate may go higher than you think if you are still carrying a balance. Also, if you are late one time, you run the risk of getting rate-jacked. That is when the credit card company jacks the interest rate to the default rate, as high as 29%! Yes it should be illegal but unfortunately for us, it is not. They can also raise the rate whenever they want regardless if you are in default or not. It’s in your agreement with them; i.e. the fine print. Once the rate is up there, it is very difficult to get it lowered again. Chase is the most famous for this. Just be careful!

Credit cards are good for purchasing however, if you get the rewards points or airline miles programs. I have several I use for purchasing and have gotten several airline tickets and thousands of dollars in gift cards for using the cards and getting points. Besides that, you can effectively buy more time for your accounts payable if you plan the billing dates correctly.

So whatever source(s) of funding you choose for starting a coffee shop, be sure you know what you are up against. Do your research and talk to the people that can help you. Stay focused, and well informed regarding your planning stages. Be sure your prospective lender gets a copy of your coffee shop business plan. All lenders will want to be sure you know what you are up against! Good luck.

Writing grant proposals can be an intimidating process. Some people never undertake the challenge because they assume they need specialized technical skills in order to win grant funding. That assumption is false. Though grant writing can be a labor-intensive task, the most critical aspects of writing a winning proposal are not technical secrets available only to professionals. They are tools and techniques available to anyone willing and able to prepare the necessary groundwork, take advantage of available resources, and follow some basic but often neglected strategies for success.

Because technical writers work primarily in information technology-related industries, they need specialized capabilities and knowledge which may be beyond the skill set of the typical grant writer. However, good technical writers are also experts in less technical areas critical to those pursuing grants. Developing those common areas is something you can learn — that’s the “science.” By also honing your skills in areas specific to the “art” of grant writing, you can greatly increase your odds of winning a grant.

Common Areas (The Science):

• Technical writers and grant writers must thoroughly understand the purpose of their document.
• Both must understand that they are communicating to a specific audience for a specific purpose.
• They must communicate information in a clear, concise way that can be easily understood. Good grammar, correct spelling and organization are critical in both cases.
• Their writing must be “presentational” – i.e., they should use appropriate headings, bullets and layouts that make their documents easy to read.

Grant-Specific Areas (The Art)

• In addition to understanding the purpose of your document, as a grant writer you must also understand and convey a compelling sense of purpose for your organization. The most successful grant seekers are “purpose driven” and clearly communicate that in their writing. Be sure you are clear about the problem you are trying to solve.
• The grant writer must know far more about the audience, or grant maker. Beyond knowing who the audience is, you must be very aware of what is important to that audience, what drives them. Grants are offered for very specific purposes; the needs you are addressing must be important to the grant maker.
• While the technical writer follows basic rules for organizing data, the grant writer must absolutely conform to the grant maker’s specifications. There are no exceptions to this rule. Even if you think the grant maker’s guidelines are nonsensical and irrelevant, those are the guidelines you must follow if you wish to be considered.
• Be clear about what you are trying to achieve and specific about how you will measure success. Most importantly, communicate how your proposed plans and programs will transform lives. You are asking a grant maker to give you money; be sure your reader can see the impact that decision will have.

In summary, some technical writing skills can help you write a stronger grant proposal. Learning the skills specific to grant-writing, however, will have a major impact on your success. We have touched on major areas here; many free resources are available to give you more insight and help you obtain grant funding.