How can I raise capital for my business?

Lets say I have a few thousand dollars saved, how can I raise a lot more money to open a business?

If you need money, you will need to apply for a loan. No lender will talk to you unless you provide them with a valid business plan. Go to http://www.sba.gov , http://www.score.org or http://www.bplan.com for sample business plans and instructions on how to write a business plan.

Then, go to http://www.score.org/ and in the upper left hand corner, enter your zip code. On the next screen, you will get information on the nearest SCORE chapter. Call them and arrange for a free meeting with a SCORE counselor to review your business plan and discuss various loan options available to you.

SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth and success of small business nationwide. SCORE is a resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

SCORE has 389 chapters in locations throughout the United States and its territories, with 10,500 volunteers nationwide. Both working and retired executives and business owners donate time and expertise as business counselors.

Put an ad in the newspaper under "Financial". Say "venture capital wanted". See who responds. Remember, it won't be free. You have to offer them something like a piece of the profits or interest on the money you get.

There are many ways to raise money for your business, here are some ideas:

1. Borrow money from your friends or family, this is so far the simplest and yet the fastest way to raise money for your business. You could offer shareholding to them or offer them an interest paid on the amount borrowed.

2. If you have a great ideas for business and have a good write up on the business plan, then you can get a venture capital to finance your business. Of course you got to follow their terms and conditions.

3. If you have a good credit rating, then you can apply a few credit card to finance your start up. Please understand that there is a high interest charged by the credit card company, so you must make sure that the business you generate can cover those charges.

4. If you have some assets like share, or car, or house, then you can do a financing on those assets, there are financial institution who will be willing to lend you the money by using those assets as security.

Hope this helps

Invest it into stocks, mutual funds, or CDs first before you go into business. Especialy while you're doing the planning and research for it.