Environmental Business

Business Loans, Angel Investors, Venture Capital and Start Up Capital for Environmental Businesses

Grants from the Federal government are given only to non-profit organizations and those that are set up as educational institutions. You may be able to find grants available at the state or local level. Obviously these will differ from one area to the next and you will need to look into what grants are available. If you have not already started your business, you may consider the nature of the business as certain industries are favored. These would include things like child care, green technology or tourism.

Even though you will not be able to find a Federal small business grant, you can often get a grant at the state level that will be dependent on you matching the amount of capital that they put up or somehow securing a loan to obtain the rest of the capital.

Many places will advertise that there are millions of dollars available in the form of many kinds of Federal small business grant. Whenever something sounds too good to be true, it likely is. This is the case here. Money rarely comes for free, and even when you get a grant at the state level there are usually many stipulations that you will need to adhere to.

Something that you should look into is getting backing from the Federal or state government for a low interest loan. They may provide this support or venture capital financing assistance so that you can get your small business up and running. It may not be as enticing as a Federal grant but it may still allow you to get your business started and that is really the most important thing.

You should check with the Small Business Administration to see what is available for you and it would not hurt to talk to other small business owners who have recently been in the same situation that you are now. It may help you to avoid people that are only looking to take your money.

For more information on a federal small business grant, Go to http://federalsmallbusinessgrantsandloans.com

Author: Susan Amato
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Make PCB Assembly

So you’re thinking about starting a social business (i.e. a business that helps a social or environmental cause in some way), or adding a social business element to your existing business? Awesome! And congratulations. If you take action on that intention, you’re well on your way to financial freedom and making a positive impact on the world.

Writing a business plan is one of the first tasks on your list. Well the, what makes a great social business plan? It’s both an art and a science, and there are hundreds of books, websites, and other resources on business plans in general. Here are nine great tips specific to writing social business plans, tips that you won’t find in any traditional business plan how-to.

1. Tell your story. How will your company benefit a social or environmental cause? Why start this particular business, why now, and why you? Do this in the synopsis and subtly throughout the whole plan. As a social business, this story is where you can really shine.

2. Keep it brief. No one wants to read a 50 page business plan, and in fact, no one probably ever will, no matter how special or amazing your cause is. Ideally, keep your plan to ten pages, and most certainly under 20.

3. Continually update it. A business plan is a living document that must be reviewed and adjusted on at least a monthly basis. As your company and your cause grow and change, your business plan should evolve in lockstep.

4. Include a brief Envisioned Future section. What will your company look like in 20 or 100 years? How will the world have benefited from its existence? Your business is an organization with a good cause, so spell out your vision. It will help you keep your eyes on the prize in hard times, and the visual will also help sell the idea to investors, bankers, donors, employees, customers, and everyone else.

5. Show how and why you will be competitive and profitable in a market that doesn’t really care whether your products are made of recycled materials or if you’re empowering poor women beekeepers in Africa. If everything else is equal (i.e. price, brand recognition, quality, shelf location), you might have a slight edge because of your cause. But probably not. You’re providing a product or service to the world, and you must make a profit doing so. Use your plan to legitimately prove that you will. Remember: you can’t help anyone if you go bankrupt.

6. Don’t get too crazy with the use of words like sustainability, green, social business, good cause, fair trade, and so on. Unfortunately, many traditional business people have negative connotations for all those words, left over from extreme environmentalists of the 70s (think off-the-grid communes and lack of deodorant). Unfair images, but we all still have to deal with that for the time being. Use those words when you must, but keep it to a minimum. If you can, use words like “efficiency,” “improved safety standards,” and “increased profit” instead.

7. Do ample research. As a social business, your company will likely undergo more scrutiny from everyone involved than a traditional business model would, which is unfair but true. Back up everything you say with piles of credible research, some of which you may even include in the Appendices to your plan, where appropriate.

8. When compiling your financial projections, make sure to include a Social Return on Investment, or SROI. Explain how you plan to quantify, measure, and analyze your SROI. Quantification is how you will show the world the good things you’ve done, and how you can decide what your biggest and best levers for change are.

9. Use a template business plan to get started. No need to reinvent the wheel. There are lots of free or cheap business plans out there that can help you write your own amazing plan. Granted most of them are not specifically geared to social businesses, so you may have to improvise a bit.

Or, you could just click here:

http://SocialBusinessCentral.com

to download a social business plan template/how-to manual from Social Business Central, possibly the single best resource for small business entrepreneurs with a conscience. You’ll also find loads of other resources, a social business blog, and much more. It’s a really great website.

About the Author

Matt Sparks is a successful entrepreneur, both offline and on, having launched over 25 businesses (some notable successes and some colossal failures, both of which are important). He is a small business mentor and counselor for SCORE-a division of the Small Business Administration (SBA), Micro-Business Development, and other organizations. He has written books, articles, and blogs about social business, small business, real estate, finance, New Urbanism, and sustainable cities.

(c) Copyright – Matthew R. Sparks. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Author: Matt Sparks
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Wordpress plugin Guest Blogger

The Problem

So the United States economy is struggling. Everyone is trying to figure out what will pull us out of the current recession.  In February 2009 U.S. Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also known as the stimulus bill. Its purpose was to provide a stimulus to the U.S. economy in the wake of the economic downturn. I don’t agree with everything our Congress and the Obama administration is doing. But I trust they are getting wise counsel. Hopefully people / advisors who are well versed in the field of economics. But we are sailing in uncharted territory. Academics won’t reveal the solution, only the tendencies and trends. Creativity applied to financial wisdom and judgment will bring about and / or accelerate our recovery.

At the business level, the struggle is similar. The business challenge is how to increase revenues and reduce costs. (The government is apparently not concerned with the cost reduction side. We already had a budget deficit before the stimulus bill.)  So what can companies do to survive? Marketing in uncertain times has to continue, so the business can be positioned and in the minds of its customers and clients when the recovery happens. Sales people have a unique challenge, when prospects and customers are dealing with tight and contracting budgets. The initial sale and the add-on sales is more difficult.

Who is Spending?

The one sector that is spending money is the federal government. Much of the money allocated in the Stimulus Bill / Recovery Act is targeted at governmental entities. So there is a layer of government involvement in between the money source and the business community and also individuals. Apart from the Recovery Act, the government has been and continues to provide money for many projects. The federal government buys just about every product and service. The military does the same. There is money for green initiatives. But how does the business community get access to this money and funding?

Businesses can get on GSA schedules to do business with the government. Some state and local governments are also making use of the pre-approved vendors on the federal GSA schedules. There are special programs and set asides for businesses which qualify for the 8(a) program or for those in minority owned, woman owned, veteran owned and small business categories.  To get access to this money and these contracts, the business must respond to requests for proposals and requests for quotations.

An Alternative

There is one more alternative: grants. For the most part these are for governments and non-profit organizations. But, there are instances where for-profit businesses can apply for and receive this free grant money.

Want some free grant money for your business? I’d like to invite you to claim access to your *FREE* Report, “Grants For Profit: 5 Steps For Successfully Getting Business Grant Money”, by visiting http://www.GrantAndProposalExpert.com

Sandra Noble, President and CEO, Noble & Associates Consulting offers expert proposal and grant writing. We help you create successful responses to bids and RFPs. We help you apply and receive government grant money. Get started with your grant application today. Get government contracts by responding to RFPs and bids today. Stop what you’re doing and call the grant and proposal writing experts at 404-374-3384 or visit http://www.GrantAndProposalExpert.com right now!

Author: Sandra Noble
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Guest blogger

I am not suggesting for a moment that all Green businesses are bad investments, but I am suggesting that whenever a bubble appears or to there is much enthusiasm for an idea, that a number of the businesses ideas sold to unquestioning investors will turn out to serve the middle men far more than the money men.

As the investors, the business angels, we need to be on our guard.

There appear to be two dangers with the current alternative or green energy fad.

The first is the classic investment risk taught by Benjamin Graham and discussed in his book The Intelligent Investor. Graham, the mentor of Warren Buffett, took apart the reasons for investing in the 1950s boom industry – the airlines.

His analysis has been proven to be right as Buffett now claims that in 50 years, airline investors taken as a whole still have not had a return on their money.

However, Graham did spot that a large number of companies supplying the new industry did make a lot of money for investors. Airports, retailers and caterers have done well.

Graham’s conclusion was that it is far better to supply a growth business sector than to be a part of a great swam of investment as inevitably too much money will be invested too easily squeezing the profit margins of good ideas.

The second risk is that climate change will turn out to be a Malthusian idea that solves itself as population growth, mutually assured destruction and other apocalyptic scenarios usually do.

This is illustrated by the increasingly skeptical scientific community which is beginning to raise its head against the slavish commitment to all forms of greenery.

I and my fellow investors are not scientists, but it is worth noting their scientific concerns as it could up-end a few business models and a lot of start up ideas.

Firstly, there is a generally held view by the (admittedly few) academics that I know that if a scientist wishes to receive funding for research he is well advised to research ‘the affects of climate change’ and that research into ‘climate change – the myth’ isn’t currently being funded. By making the assumption that climate change is real, researching get money, if not then not.

Therefore, the scientific literature being published is already biased by the incentives of the research grant process and therefore, can needs to be viewed as biased in favour of climate change. The latest report from the IEA (International Energy Agency which made the front page of the Financial Times) might be a good example as it take it as proven that global temperatures are rising).

Next, dissent is beginning to break out in normally green magazines such as the UK’s Big Issue (sold on the streets by UK homeless) as well as larger circulation magazines such as The Economist.

In fact, a recent letter to the Economist by Horst-Joachim Luedecke, retired professor of physics, Heidelberg set out three reasons to be skeptical of green alarmists.

1. There has been no discernible increase in storms, hurricanes, floods or droughts according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change.
2. Rises in sea levels of 1-2mm per year have been occurring for many centuries and therefore this is not evidence that sea levels are rising as a result of any climate change factors.
3. Mean global temperatures have actually declined since 2001 and the research scientist, Professor Mojib Latif of University of Kiel, predicts further declines over the coming decades.

Let’s not enter the green / not green arguments here.

Let’s simply take this as a warning and a reminder that green start-up business are at greater risk of hype and hyperbole, rather like dot coms in 1999, and therefore each idea needs to be scrutinized much more closely.

Or indeed, that if you are not an expert on this sector, simply do not allow yourself to be drawn into it on the promise of easy winnings.

Read more like this at iBusinessAngel http://www.iBusinessAngel.com.

Author: Neil Lewis-Vahl
Article Source: EzineArticles.com

photo credit: Tambako the Jaguar

In order to consider investing, angel investors must believe that the company has great potential to achieve a liquidity event, and one that enables them to earn a significant return on their investment. The following factors imply that a company has this potential.

The first criterion is scale or the potential for the company to achieve significant annual revenues. If a company expects to raise venture capital after the angel round, it must have the potential to earn annual revenues of $50 million to $100 million within five years.

Conversely, an angel investor, when no follow-on capital is required, might be willing to invest in a restaurant or website that has the potential to generate hundreds of thousands or a few million dollars as long as a clear path has been laid out regarding how they could get a sizable return on their investment.