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Studying Abroad ? Great way to kick-start superior phase in your life

If you are planning to study abroad, then the first thing that may scare you or (on the contrary) thrill you is the thought of adjusting to a new culture. In any case, students have every reason to venture for a mission of studying abroad. A quality course from foreign university can literally redefine your approach towards education, career and life as a whole. Following are some benefits that a student can gain from an overseas course.

Flexibility of character – Studying abroad can help you gain effective cross-cultural communication skills. Students at internationally acknowledged colleges and universities come from different backgrounds. This gives you a rare chance to mingle with representatives of different cultures. Ultimately, it inspires you to exchange your values and cultural characteristics with others, which further increases your flexibility as a person.

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Command on other languages – This is another great benefit that you can gain from studying abroad. If you are planning to learn a foreign language, then nothing can be better than pursuing a course from a country that speaks the language. It provides you with first-hand learning experience. Moreover, you do not have to spend some extra dollars for that. For example, if English is your second language, then studying in countries like Australia, England, US and others can pay dividends for you in the long run. The ambience itself will help you to learn the language easily and quickly.

Better job opportunities – One can expect increase in job opportunities after completing a course from a foreign university. If you can earn a foreign degree or certificate which has proper accreditation, then you have every chance thrive well in your desired field.

Unbiased self-realization – The more you travel and mingle with other cultures, the more balanced will be your analytical skills. After studying abroad, you can view yourself and your nation from an international perspective. One can truly become a citizen of the world after completing a course from any foreign country.

There are several other advantages of overseas education and one can make the most of those to pave way to success in his or her favorite domain. Students from all around the world often cross the boundaries of their nations to enroll in quality courses in countries like US, Australia, UK, India and others. In some cases, there are colleges which create scopes for students to study further in other parts of the world after completing basic education from their own country. As a student, you can capitalize on this opportunity.

UK Business Development Loans

It can be difficult to find a business development loan in the UK, particularly in the present economic climate. This article reviews the main sources of business development loans and how to access this type of funding.

Bank Support

The main starting point for most businesses when thinking about borrowing is to approach their bankers.

Banks will normally be seeking some form of security to back up a loan of any size to an owner managed business or SME. If sufficient security can be provided and the bank is satisfied with the proposed plan and projections then this sort of funding should still be available from most banks.

If there is not sufficient security available but the project would otherwise fit the bank’s criteria, then in theory use of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme may be appropriate. Under this, and its predecessor, the Small Firms Loan Guarantee scheme, the Government will provide the lender with a partial guarantee of the loan in place of their normal security. Unfortunately however, many lenders appear to have been reluctant to use either scheme as they have been perceived as bureaucratic, and critically, the guarantee provided is only a partial one so the lender remains at risk for part of the loan.

Publicly Supported Funding

Publicly funded support can come in the form of soft loans at favourable interest rates or repayment terms, equity investment channelled through development agencies or outright grant funding which has the great advantage of not needing to be paid back if you comply with the conditions attached to it.

Most public funding of this type is targeted at business development projects of one sort or another. Sums awarded tend therefore to be linked to projects such as training, new product development, or investment in plant and equipment, particularly where this will help reduce your carbon footprint.

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Whilst the sums that can be raised are substantial, and can involve both support for purchase of plant and equipment, and wage subsidises in respect of jobs created, secured or saved, obtaining any form of public funding can be a time consuming and frustrating process starting with the basic question of what you may be entitled to apply for.

There are literally thousands of different schemes across the country administered by everything from local authorities and Regional Development Agencies through to non-government organisations such as the Prince’s Trust; and quangos such as the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) or the Carbon Trust.

Each funder has its own objectives and application process and there are therefore specialist consultancies active in helping businesses identify the schemes that may be open to them and to manage the application process on their behalf so as to give the best chance of raising funding.

This type of funding also has its own particular characteristics which you need to be aware of. Little funding is awarded retrospectively so you need to complete the process and secure your award before you start your project. Very few schemes will provide 100% of the funding required so you will also still need to have raised the balance elsewhere. Worse still, as the claims payment process is usually a retrospective one, you will usually have to fund the full cost of the project from your existing resources, before being able to seek reimbursement of the funded element.

Cash Flow Loans

Cash flow loans where a lender provides a facility solely on the strength of the forecast cash flows are rare in the SME and mid-market sectors, where as discussed above, other than at very small levels, banks will usually want loans to be supported by assets as security.

Asset based lenders or ABLs such as factors and invoice discounters have been giving some cash flow facilities, usually in relation to buy outs or other transactions by way of loans repayable over two or three years, or through temporary facilities by way of an ‘over advance’ on the ledger.

The practice of ‘block discounting’ which involves providing an advance against a future stream of contractual cash flows is now restricted to a very small number of funders, although there is a strong source of finance for this type of situation at levels of £10m and over.

A small number of VC firms are also prepared to provide high interest loans on a cash flow basis, either for business development or to deal with distressed situations. These sources provide an alternative to business angel equity and so, despite the high cost of the money involved, they avoid dilution of the owners’ equity. They are quite specialised however and the number of deals done is relatively small so you will need to speak to your professional advisors if you think this may be of interest.

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Some Secrets to Raising Capital for your Business

Raising capital is one of the most critical activities in getting a business started, for obvious reasons.  It is one of the largest hurdles development stage and microcap companies have to overcome.  Raising capital through private investors is one of the best ways to get a young company off the ground.  Raising money this way provides your company with more exposure to your best customers.  Getting equity from family and friends has many advantages over other types of financing.  The course offered at  www.RaisingCapitalSecrets.com is one of the most comprehensive guides available for raising the capital you need to start a business or to grow an existing business the world of raising capital.

Small businesses are a major part of our economy, in fact one of the most important resources we have is the small entrepreneur. We need to keep this resource active as part of our economic growth.  To fund the business and keep a roof over one’s head, the entrepreneur must maximize assets, minimize expenses, and use credit judiciously.  By having a strong business plan, you will be able to effectively present your concept to potential angel investors, venture capital firms, banks for SBA Loans, or Business Loans.  They can provide your business extra working capital that can be used for marketing, purchasing of property, purchasing of another business, or for just about anything else for the growth of your business.  The investors want to see in depth information on how much money you need to run your business, and they also want to see how that money will be spent.

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Luckily, there are still options for funding new companies, but finding and securing the cash will take careful research, good negotiating skills, and, above all, an unflagging commitment to launching your new business.  When raising capital privately, your offering memorandum is the disclosure document you must present to communicate the benefits for your business model – and warn potential investors of the risks inherent in your business.  Small business lenders want to hear the good and the bad, the need to understand all the risks involved. Whether your business is struggling, or making money hand over fist, it’s important that both situations be communicated to a lender.  Find an Angel.  Angel investors will not only share their money; they’re also great sources of knowledge for fledgling businesses.  Keep it clean. Make sure your agreements are in writing and legally binding.  Cleaning up mistakes made in a securities offering is expensive, time consuming and can shut your business down.

One of the most important things to keep in mind: Raising capital takes more time than you think. Expect the capital raising process to take anywhere from a month to six months once your business plan is complete.  Even then, capital raising activities are likely to continue long after operations have started as you seek additional funding to expand your business.  It’s important not to waste your time (or theirs) pitching you business where there isn’t a good match to begin with.  You will likely pitch your business to many potential investors before all is said and done.  Private placement successes often involve businesses offering products that improve the environment, niche online communities, or a unique service concept.

We encourage you to read articles regarding raising capital and how best to do it.  To prepare yourself for raising capital, you should create documents that support each stage of the process.  Raising capital from family and friends has many advantages over other types of financing.  Raising Capital Secrets is the definitive guide for entrepreneurs and growing companies that need to raise capital, whether from friends and family, angel investors, or venture capitalists.  The course provides a huge selection of checklists, charts, sample forms to expedite the capital formation process, and the author relates eye-opening “”war stories”" and perspectives from the investor’s side of the table that will help you avoid pitfalls and guide your business confidently through every growth stage.  One word of advice, the duration of raising capital could last a few weeks, or it could last several months.  Finally, the last and most important rule of all is be tenacious, there is no substitute for absolute commitment to growing your company by raising capital.

To Get more information on how to raise capital visit www.raisingcapitalsecrets.com now and get your free report on the 1 sentence business plan.

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WHERE START-UP FRANCHISORS CAN FIND CAPITAL

There are three major investment groups that provide funding to small businesses including new franchisors. Each of these groups has certain unique features. Regardless of which investment group you intend to pursue be sure you have a well written business plan and executive summary. The financial projections must be realistic and sound. Finally, be sure to learn about these investment segments by attending workshops and networking groups, many of which are available for a nominal fee.

 

 

Angel Investors

 

An angel is a high net-worth individual who invests his or her own money in start-up companies in exchange for an equity share of the businesses. Angels typically invest between ,000 and 0,000 per transaction individually, and from 0,000 to 0,000 as a group. Angel investing represents a significantly large and growing portion of early stage capital available to startup companies.

 

Facts about Angels:

 

 

Usually receive a high equity value due to early stage investments
Due to risk, Angel investors usually seek returns of 10 times their original investment
Total investments in 2009 were US.6 billion, a decrease of 8.3% over 2008.
The total of Angel investments is larger than investments by private equity groups.
A total of 57,225 entrepreneurial ventures received angel funding in 2009, a 3.1% increase from 2008.
Post-seed/startup investing represented 62% of investments, an increase from 2008, indicating angels’ increased interests in the early and expansion stage.

 

    If you’re interested in pursuing Angel Investors be prepared to bring the following attributes:

 

They look for high-quality entrepreneurs with a track record of leadership and performance – either in the company’s specific industry or in prior entrepreneurial ventures.
Have a product or service that fulfills a need for a large market that will produce revenue.
The invested funds must be used to add value to the company not to instantly reward the owners or retire debt.
Have a competitive edge through a proprietary product or service. Investors will want to see entry barriers for your potential competitors.
Be able to demonstrate that your company can have substantial growth and increased profits.
Have a clearly articulated exit strategy

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Small Business Investment Companies

 

Created by Congress in 1958 the mission of the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program is to improve and stimulate the national economy and growth of small businesses by supplementing the flow of private equity capital and long term loan funds. This multibillion dollar, government-sponsored group of funds invests long term capital in privately owned and managed investment firms.

 

 

 

Facts about SBICs:

 

Administered by the Investment Division, US Small Business Administration
An institutional LP, managing .1 billion in outstanding leverage and commitments
An investor in 311 private equity partnerships
400 licensed SBICs in operation
Only, companies defined as “small” (net worth is .0 million or less) are eligible for SBIC financing
Most SBICs concentrate on a particular stage of investment (i.e. start-up, expansion or turnaround
361, or 24% of SBIC financings went to companies less than 2 years old
1,477 companies benefited from SBIC financing
SBIC financings totaled .8 billion

 

For those seeking to contact a SBIC and make a presentation for funding go to sba.gov where you can navigate to a directory of SBICs by State. Be prepared to follow the same attributes that are outlined above for Angels.

 

 

 

 

 

Business Incubators

These programs are designed to assist the development of companies through an array of business support resources and services, developed and orchestrated by incubator management and offered both in the incubator and through its network of contacts. Incubators vary in the way they deliver their services, in their organizational structure, and in the types of clients they serve. Successful completion of a business incubation program increases the likelihood that a start-up company will stay in business for the long term. The BI can choose to serve select clients compared to SBDC that are required by law to offer business assistance to any company that contacts them for help. 

 

 

Facts about Business Incubators

Designed to accelerate the successful development of entrepreneurial companies
Chapters in most major cities
Entrepreneurs who wish to enter a business incubation program must apply for admission.
Help with business basics
Marketing assistance
Help with accounting/financial management
Access to bank loans, loan funds and guarantee programs
Access to angel investors or venture capital

 

To find a BI in your area go to the National Business Incubator Association at nbia.org. The site includes a directory of business incubators in the United States.

To summarize: For franchisors looking to obtain investment capital the preceding three groups focus on working with smaller companies. Take advantage of these resources and as a reminder be persistent and be willing to persevere. It can take from 6 months to a year to finally get you money.

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Finance And Business? Two Sides of A Coin

Every person and every business needs to be aligned with the professional and functional departments of their trade correspondences in the ways that provides them with best of the productive value in terms of associations. This is imperative for fetching the market potential and authenticating their processes in the competitive environment in which they operate.

Of them all, finance to business is something that really needs to be very much accurate and comprehensive. It is the function which paves the ways of business in varying formats and verticals most proficiently. Planning in finance is the instrument that works most favorably for any organization to create worth and attract investors and venture capitalist funds.

Scores shows it all and with fairly complimenting accounting books it’s possible to grip the potential of competitively thriving in the business environment we have today.

Though it is always most likely for business owners to try and learn about property investment on their own but it is always a sensible idea to speak with a professional whose core competency is highly associated in the field and who deals with a no. of resourceful ideas of financial planning on regular basis.

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In this notion of benefits we would find great value enhancers in form of tax advisors and professional accountants incorporating solutions that acts thoroughly imperative to the organization’s unique need.

Because we all deal differently, our orientations are different and the way we are connected to the value propositions and the volumes and verticals we deal in we always need expert solutions for our business finance which is being dynamically dealt and reacted upon by the outer environment in which we operate.

Besides knowing what is important for the organization in terms of financial support functions which is effectively done by the professional accountants our business also needs to be fed by important feedbacks form time to time in different business investments.

Be it any level of execution, to increase the functional worth of any firm and adapting to most prolific trade ventures business needs best of the knowledge in the field of tax law which is effectively catered by the professional tax advisor who is a financial expert in the law of taxes.

To plan, implement, allocate and execute best combinations of tax strategies and recommend best of the way to deal with different financial adversities, tax advisors play an imperative role in shaping the business processes in the way it provides optimum value to the business.

It’s always about the movement and rotations of business factors and business capital which decides how productive would be the churned our value through different multifaceted financial frameworks of business.

An insightful and wise move towards financial investments and business accounting forms the base of value and the potential through which the value can be created.

 

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Money alone won’t buy your business growth

 

How many business owners have cried..”if only I had investment then I could really become a big player”. Of course finance is a key element of business growth but unless there are other actions and plans in place it is unlikely to deliver the big vision on it’s own. 

The challenge for many small companies wanting to be big is how to adjust to a larger corporate world. As your business expands so does the demand on your management skills and time. Running a family based and highly motivated team of 10 is a lot different to managing a diverse workforce of 100 plus who don’t necessarily share your sense of motivation. If you secure equity investment you also have a whole new set of owners who will probably be much more demanding than your original friends and family who may have supported you with cash in the early days. 

None of these challenges are difficult to address if you plan them well and ensure that you have the right structures and advice in place at key points in your development. 

I have found that one of the biggest obstacles for business owner/managers is knowing when to let go and start to delegate a whole host of tasks to other ‘better qualified’ people. As your business grows it may seem really exciting to be involved in all aspects of the organisation from finance to sales, operations and IT but pretty soon you will run yourself ragged and not really be able to add any real value to these specialist areas. 

Also, as you grow you have to ask yourself some tough questions such as…” am I really the right person to be Chief Executive of a £50M turnover company when all of my experience has been in small businesses?”. Self awareness and knowing how to analyse your strengths and weaknesses can be vey helpful in leading you to pick the best people to drive your business forward. 

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A key first step is to have a vision of where you want your company and you ( and other shareholders)to be in the next five years. Perhaps you want to have sold all or part of your equity by then and just retain an interest in the company with a seat on the Board or you’re much younger and you see yourself at the helm of a major conglomerate that will float on the Stock Market. Whatever your thoughts write them down and share them with others who are impacted by your decisions – once you’ve crystalised your thoughts into a sentence or two keep this written statement in view on your desk so that you are constantly reminded of where you’re headed.

As a company expands and perhaps thinks about the next step of floating on PLUS, AIM or the full Stock Exchange they will need to look to their corporate governance to demonstrate they are well run and regulated. Having a well rounded Board of Directors in place is an essential component and a good company secretary or governance manager will ensure that all legal and financial duties are adhered to. 

Of course all of this takes money and while we would hope that most of this is funded by your natural expansion you will probably need help on the way, particulary in the beginning. There are many options for finance depending on the amounts required and the duration of the investment. Each investor will have a different set of criteria on which to base their decision and here are a few of the likely ones:

High Net Worth investors – they are looking for above average returns within 3-5 years and often looking to double their money in that period on a start up or other potentially risky venture. 

Angel investors – generally high net worth individuals who have experience of your business sector and enjoy being part of your operation and growth plans – they can be quite hands on and personal chemistry between an Angel and business owner is pretty important.

Venture Capitalists – they are there to achieve excellent returns for their investor funds and will have highly sophisticated modelling tools and experts who will be looking hard at your business to see how it will perform in delivering the VC a really good return – again their time span is around 3-5 years and they will want one or more seats on the Board and require regular progress reports.

Going public – if you decide to raise capital through a share listing there are a number of options from PLUS, a marketplace for smaller companies to AIM for medium sized companies and of course the London Stock Exchange ( or indeeed one or other of the many other Stock Exchanges around the world). Once you are in the public league you need to have an FSA registered adviser and the entry costs can be quite high to cover all of the administration and governance arrangements before you float. 

Debt finance – if you don’t want to give up equity then debt finance is an option but your business must be capable of repaying the loan on sometimes demanding terms. It’s surprising how much can be generated via this route but the leders will need security and personal guarantees so it’s not for the faint hearted. 

If anyone would like to discuss any of these issues please contact me on; paulv@corporate-plus.co.uk  or visit our website at: www.corporate-plus.co.uk