Should raising money in today’s economic climate be the equivalent of “pulling teeth?” NO! We know. We’ve been on both sides of the fence, as entrepreneurs raising money and as professional investors. We have used our experience and built the Capital MatchPointTM to address this daunting task and make it easy for the capital seeker and capital provider to come together with common goals. That’s just the first, all important step…to get you in front of the right investors who’ll look at your deal.
Here are 10 valuable secrets as you plunge headlong down the path of raising capital that you MUST consider…
1. Who are you dealing with? Every capital provider, be they an angel, venture capitalist, private equity firm, or your favorite crazy, rich uncle, has their own set of investment guidelines they follow when making investments. You should learn as much as you can about the people you will be asking to become a part of your company. In today’s internet age everyone has a website. Visit the on-line home to potential investors to learn about them and their investment strategies. They will do the same to you. Typical rules include geographic focus, investment stage preference, lead/follow-on investor, minimum and maximum investment amount, industry focus and board seat requirements. Make sure that the strategy of the firms you are targeting match your funding needs. Use the Capital MatchPointTM to automate this exercise.
2. Get personal. If you’re cold calling, stop the insanity! It just doesn’t work. You’ll hear the expression, “Deals thrown over the transom,” more than once. It means someone just tosses their business plan over the door hoping someone finds it, reads it, falls in love with it and funds it. We built the Capital MatchPointTM to eliminate this practice by selecting quality business opportunities and matching them with quality investors. Capital providers are looking for good investments and tend to prioritize personal introductions.
3. Get to the point, will you? You’ve secured your first meeting with the person with the money. Hooray! Now, get right to the point. Time is money and if you’ve gotten this far, don’t waste their time or yours. I’ve sat through countless meetings with a capital seeker looking for money; they usually have a great idea or concept, but can’t articulate it and loses me in minutia. Be crisp. Be clear on what you do, who buys your products, how you make money, and how you plan to grow. Keep presentations under 12 slides and executive summaries under 2 pages.

4. Is your team the right team? Does your founding team have the passion you do, or does cousin Eddie think he can help because he has knows someone who knows someone? If you don’t have people on board that have the unique combination of experience, passion and who are smarter than you, it’s going to be a tough grind. You don’t have to have a complete executive team, that’s what the new money is for. Be flexible and be willing to listen and give up some portion of the deal to the capital seekers…and don’t think they’re interested in giving you a simple loan and you’ll pay them back when it gets huge, that’s for rookies. One of my old mentors, the late, and very great Hy Federman used to say, “Money is honey, use the company’s paper as wampum for trade. Never be afraid to give up equity for cash.” It’s true.
5. I’m different…I really am! If you don’t know who your competition is and why you’re better than they are, at least after funding, then save the trip. Everyone has competitors. Those that say they have no competitors are not believable. Directly present yours and the measurable difference your product or service offers. Identify them, don’t be afraid of them, and make your deal better than theirs. After all they were there first and can be picked apart for weaknesses.
6. The ROI. What is your value proposition to the customer? How does your business save time or money or both? What is the cost to the customer of not using your product or service? Show the investor how darn valuable your product or service is to the market you address.
7. The real market size may not be as big as you think. Who exactly are your customers and what is the real market you are serving? Don’t be expansive. Be realistic. What is the exact size of the addressable market of purchasers of your product or service? Don’t use “fuzzy math”. If you tell the capital provider “if we capture 1 zillionth of 1% of the market we’ll make billions!” your credibility will be called into question. The people with the money have resources necessary to corroborate or refute your claims. After all they have the money for a reason.
8. Know your numbers! How will your company spend the money and how does this all come together to break even and make a profit? Explain the key business drivers such as number of customers, sales per customer, cost per customer etc. Show a bottom-up analysis of how many customers you need to hit your numbers. Be prepared to discuss what you would do with more money and how you could make it with less, which is usually what the capital provider wants to know.
9. Tell me how I exit. These days, the public exit strategy is dead, and I mean DEAD! Don’t even go there. Assume the only way for your investors to realize a return (what this is really all about) is an acquisition of this wonderful business you are going to create. Provide tangible examples of recent and related acquisitions by at least three different categories of potential acquirers (suppliers, distributors, competitors). Be prepared to cite five companies in each category to show that there are plenty of viable of exit options. Oh, and don’t forget to tell the investor the time line to harvest his reward.
10. Valuations come last. Valuations for start ups and early stage deals are virtually worthless, so don’t get too excited. If there is virtually no operating history and financial data is spotty, be realistic. DO NOT use the words “it’s based on conservative numbers”. Early stage valuations are subjective, so get over it. Your first round of investors will probably own 30%-50% of the business.
Keep these 10 points in mind when you set out to build your business plan, build your company and seek the capital you need to forward it.

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The fifth and final part to the “50 of the Worst Business Mistakes You Can Make” deals with everything human. People are elemental to your success. They are the lifeblood of any business, so if these mistakes are not identified and addressed, you’re business will be doomed. Lets examine what these tried and true problems are.
Do not make these mistakes with your people:
1. Insularity: Detaching yourself from the people around you is an excellent way to destroy your business.
2. Unwillingness to Talk & Share With Competitors: Networking is a powerful part of business. If you fail to network effectively, you will surely crash and burn.
3. Poor recruits: Pay close attention to who you recruit and hire. Look for employees that will stay for the long term.
4. Badmouthing Competitors: You don’t have to like your competitors, but you do have to cooperate with them.
5. No Benefits: Offering benefits to your staff is the best way to keep them around. If you don’t offer any incentives, they will go on to bigger and better things.
6. Staying Informed: Stay informed with what is current in your industry, or your competitors may pass you by.
7. Keep Things Fair: Keep things fair with your competitors. Don’t steal ideas or products. Respect one another even if you are competing.
8. Cold Calling: Cold calling is not the answer to networking. Meet your contacts in person first.
9. Getting too personal: Getting to know your networking contacts is a great way to spread the good word, but getting too personal can be a deal killer.
10. Drinking at social events: Just because there is alcohol where you’re networking, that does not mean that you should drink! Stay sober.

At the Capital MatchPoint, we’re here to make sure these won’t be mistakes but addressable items that you can prepare for. Call us at the Capital MatchPoint and we’ll mentor you through the minefields and you’ll be prepared to further your business and raise the capital you seek.

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The fourth part of the series “50 of the Worst Business Mistakes You Can Make” revolves around how you get the word out for your company, commonly referred to as “advertising.” These may be the simplest areas to correct, because they’re quantitative and easy to fix because the metrics of your efforts will tell you quickly if you’re going down the right path.
Let’s take a look at these common mistakes and after I’m finished, you can take a look at your operation and perhaps ask yourself if you have problems with any of these.

1. Misuse of PPC Ads: Using Pay Per Click, (PPC), correctly is an art. Master PPC advertising or your business will initially languish until you build organic traffic.
2. Poorly Performing Offline Ad Inventory: If your ads are performing poorly, you are throwing good money after bad.
3. Poor Word of Mouth: Word of mouth is actually a powerful marketing tool. What are you doing to spread the name of your business?
4. Choosing the Wrong Advertising Medium: Advertising is everything. Choose the right medium or your business may flop. Hard.
5. Overspending in Advertising: Stick to a budget when you pay for advertising. Do not go over your budget no matter what.
6. No Tracking: If you can’t track advertising progress, you’re doing something really wrong.
7. Poor Branding: Is your brand memorable? If not, you’re doing something terribly wrong.
8. Bad Name: Your name is half of your branding. Can your customers remember your name?
9. No Business Cards: Carry business cards at all time and be prepared to pass them out at all times.
10. Poor Business Cards: Forget cheap business cards. Buy nice, legible and attractive cards.

At the Capital MatchPoint, we’re here to make sure these won’t be mistakes but addressable items that you can prepare for. Call us at the Capital MatchPoint and we’ll mentor you through the minefields and you’ll be prepared to further your business and raise the capital you seek.

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Financial Mistakes
This is the third in a series 50 of the Worst Business Mistakes You Can Make and this segment deals with the most important of all… Financial Mistakes. Over the years, I’ve found these mistakes are the most common and although not a death blow, they must be taken into account.
While starting a business can be advantageous and quite prosperous for a great number of people, there are a variety of business mistakes that new entrepreneurs can make. Some of these common business mistakes are repairable, while others are truly detrimental to the health of a company and can spell certain death.
Not Having Enough Savings: Finances are obviously a large part of owning and operating a business. If you are not prepared financially, you will sink.

1. Poor Credit Rating: You will run across situations where loans and other assistance is required, but if your credit is destroyed, your business too will fall apart.

2. Overspending: Overspending without any thinking or researching can have a serious negative impact on your financials.

3. Poor Budgeting: Budgeting is a vital part of running a business smoothly, so make sure yours is good! Poor budgeting will prevent you from getting a handle on your finances.

4. Unrealistic Targets: If your financial targets are unrealistically high and you continue not to meet them, your business will never succeed.

5. No Organization: When it comes to financials, organizing is absolutely vital. Keep yourself organized and keep your financials in order and you will succeed.

6. Dishonesty: To yourself or to your employees, dishonesty can destroy the financial standing of a business.

7. Taxes: Pay your taxes as often as you can. Work out a basic plan, stick to it and always be honest about your taxes if you want to prosper.

8. Deductions: If you want to save money every year, do your deductions right and get some money back each year.

9. Set Goals: Your business needs to have clear cut goals if you want to climb from the red to the black.

At the Capital MatchPoint, we’re here to make sure these won’t be mistakes but addressable items that you can prepare for. Call us at the Capital MatchPoint and we’ll mentor you through the minefields and you’ll be prepared to further your business and raise the capital you seek.

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The second part of my series “the 50 worst business mistakes you can make” revolves around your entrepreneurial spirit and if you’re really suited to be out on your own. These points are self revelatory, you have to take a realistic look at what you have to bring to the table from a personality standpoint.
Here we go:
1. Are You Mentally Strong?: A certain attitude is required of successful entrepreneurs. Do you have what it takes to lead rather than to be lead?

2. Do you have the ability to Analyze?: Successful entrepreneurs need an analytical spirit. Can you be analytical and even a little bit critical in order to guarantee business success?

3. Inability to Self Critique: As a business owner, you need to be willing to self critique. A business owner who is not critical of his or her self is an unsuccessful one.

4. Lack of Desire: You have to be passionate about your industry, niche or business in order to succeed. Do you lack desire for your business? Then you are destined to fail.

5. Do you have Low Motivation?: Just like desire, motivation is critical for business success. If you are lacking motivation, perhaps you are in the wrong business. Get motivated or get another job.

6. Over Confidence in Expansion: While expanding may be a necessary part of business, if you become over confident in your ability to expand, your business will surely flop.

7. Making Rash Assumptions: If you walk into your business making assumptions, you will have trouble acting on real information.

8. Failing to Take Responsibility: When you are an entrepreneur, you have to accept responsibility for failures in your business; you cannot simply shirk them off onto someone else’s shoulders.
9. Procrastination: If you procrastinate, or are lazy, or otherwise simply cannot get things done, you are NOT suited for entrepreneurship.

10. Overzealousness: Your business will not go from 0 to 60 on day one. You need to be prepared for a slow battle, and shoot for “slow and steady” business growth.

At the Capital MatchPoint, we’re here to make sure these won’t be mistakes but addressable items that you can prepare for. Call us at the Capital MatchPoint and we’ll mentor you through the minefields and you’ll be prepared to further your business and raise the capital you seek.

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I’d like to address this next series of videos to people who come onto the Capital MatchPoint’s site, call our offices or show up to discuss their business models. Inevitably they want to know what to do…I think its far more instructive at this point in discussing what NOT to do. This is a FIVE part video, so pay attention and take some notes. I know I can help you get started off on the right foot!Here are the top 50 most common business mistakes, divided into five primary categories as they apply to business.
Planning Errors No Sound Business Idea: Without a sound idea, how will you develop your business plan? Without a plan, how will you develop a successful business idea?
No Business Plan: Your business plan is the core of your business. Without a solid business plan, there is no way that you will ever be able to turn your business into a successful operation.
No Market Research: Market research will determine the viability for your product or brand. If you don’t know your market do you really know your business?
Poor Timing: There is a right time to start a new business, and a wrong time. If you roll out your business when the market is not ready for it, you may fail before you ever even get off the ground.
Poor Location: Location is everything for many businesses. Choosing your location is one of the most important decisions that you make when planning a business.
Poor Choice of Suppliers: The quality of the products and supplies that you offer is vital to the success of your business.
Underestimating the Competition: Every business and every concept has competition. If you do not recognize it, you are missing something important. Identify your competition before you launch your business.
Choosing the Wrong Type of Business: Sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC? Choosing the right business form is vital.
Failing to Seek Advice: It is important that you turn to successful people for advice in the planning process of your business; otherwise you will not be successful.
No Financial Preparedness: Simply put: If you’re not financially ready to launch your business, prepare to crash and burn.
At the Capital MatchPoint, we’re here to make sure these won’t be mistakes but addressable items that you can prepare for. Call us at the Capital MatchPoint and we’ll mentor you through the minefields and you’ll be prepared to further your business and raise the capital you seek.

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A lot of people come in to the Capital Match Point offices with a game plan. It's not so much a business plan. It's a game plan. But what I have to encourage them is that I want to see your business plan. Our investors want to see your business plan.
So, you've decided to start your new business. Congratulations, that's fabulous. But you have to create a business plan as your next logical step in this whole evolution. Smart entrepreneurs plan not because their accountants tell them or because their financial people say it's a must. They plan to give them the roadmap for success.
Sure, there are successful business owners out there who had no business plan, and they stumbled along and certainly made some money for themselves, and that's great. But I will tell you that 98% of people that walk in our doors have to have a very cogent business plan. You have to plan for your future. You need to create a road map for your success. What do you really want to get out of your business plan? It may help establish your business credentials for financing purposes. Investment by future partners? Certainly investment by the Capital Match Point investors.
So, if you're just starting out in business, the business plan is going to help you organize every piece of the puzzle, and it's going to come together to make your business grow and be a success, hopefully. Your well-established business plan is going to grow your business. If you're a larger company, it could take a business-as-usual rut and turn it right around. And if you think of it, your business plan is probably going to be the most efficient, effective, and the most important document you may ever produce.
So, we want to talk to you about your business plan. Let's help put it together for you and let's start you down the path of success.

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People come on to the Capital Match Point, and they're looking to start a business, and they'll call me up, and they'll ask me about doing just that. I say starting a new business takes courage. But as they say, courage doesn't pay the bills. Generally, I find people that want to start their own business being entrepreneurs fall into two categories.
The first group consists of people who know exactly what they want and are simply looking for the opportunity or resources to do it.
The second consists of people who want to start their own business but don't really have any definite ideas of what they like to do, and their business skills may be lacking. What I've done is I've asked a number of these people the same questions over and over. What are the responsibilities of ownership? I ask them what's involved in owning a business and what are the roles that you'll have to play? Set goals. What do you guys want from your business? If they want to succeed, how will they know if they get there? Knowing what they want out of their business permeates every other decision that they're going to make when they start a new business. It effects which business they choose, how they evaluate their business, and what their chances are for success.
I also have to ask these people, what is the impact on their every day life going to be? How can they evaluate their skills and make good judgments about whether they're ready to own their own business? Try knowledge about basic business concepts. Are you good in accounting, marketing, and finance? Do you have any experience and are you willing to farm this out? It's a good place to start if they already know that they want to start their own business.
One of the other things that I think the Capital Match Point could be of great service to them is our online resource library. They can literally plan and build a business, and groom it for potential funding by using that very valuable tool and very valuable resource on the Capital Match Point. We can help the capital seeker round out their business model and prepare for the potential funding.
So, call us and we'll be more than happy to help.

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The investors at the Capital Match Point want to see a number of things, but the thing that they want to see the most is the business plan. Your business plan creates so many opportunities for you, not only as a funding source, but as a road map for your own success.
So, you started a new business. I say congratulations to that, but you have to create a written business plan which is actually the next logical step in that process. Smart entrepreneurs plan, not because accountants and financial people tell them to, but because they understand it increases their chances for success.
There's successful people out there who have flown by the seat of their pants, and they probably succeeded despite a lack of a written business plan. But how much better would they have been if they would of had one that really made a lot of good sense?
So, I tell the entrepreneurs that come to our site, look, business plans are used for two main reasons. You can plan for the future, create a road map, or establish your business credentials so you can get funding for yourself and use that as a really good tool to hand off to an investor when they want to see what you're all about.
The guts of your business plan are so important. So, if you're just starting out in business, your written business plan can help organize every thought. It can put everything into context. A well-established business, on the other hand, trying to grow can use the business plan as a modeling tool to examine various options before committing to any particular one.
So, your business plan as they say should be treated as the most important document you may ever produce. At the Capital Match Point, we help you take a look at your business plan, make sure you're on the right path before we pass that on to our investment team. If that's the case, you're probably well down that road for funding.

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The phone rings at the Capital Match Point, and inevitably, it's one of the capital seekers, and one of the most frequently asked questions almost on a daily business is about their business plan. There seems to be a lot of anxiety. Is it long enough? Is it good enough? Does it contain the information that the investors want to see and does it really tell the story?
From my 30 years of experience and knowing what our investors want to see, plan on spending between 80 to perhaps 200 hours on your business plan. A word of caution, of course, is don't try to make it perfect. It will never happen. So, don't try to make it so.
Let's condense this into the simplest terms. The basics. How long should your plan be? What I like to see and what our investors like to see is between 25 and 30 pages. No more and certainly no less. You have to tell the story. And if you have to ask yourself who needs a business plan, then don't plan on getting funding.
Types of plans. Mini-plans, working plans, financing plans, presentation plans. But before you start anything, plan your plan. Determine your objectives. How will you use your plan? The elements of a business plan? Very simple. They don't vary much.
Executive summary, business description, your market strategies, your competitive analysis, how you're going to develop your business, operations, management, and of course, above all, the financial components.
Above all, they have to be very specific and get to the point. I've seen hundreds and hundreds of business plans over the years, and the ones that grab me are the ones that tell the story quickly and succinctly. Remember, it's quality not quantity.
So, we tell the entrepreneurs and capital seekers that when they're writing the business plan, call us at the Capital Match Point. Ultimately, we're interested in their funding success with our investors.

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