What has been the main source of your small business funding? It can seem as though the answer to that question is as varied as the types of startups springing up everywhere these days.
We asked our readers this fairly straightforward SME funding question. We wanted to see how people are getting the money they need to get their small to medium-sized enterprises off the ground.
Not surprisingly, the most common response was self-funded.
However, “friends and family” — which is one of the best ways to get money early on — was far behind. Are business owners perhaps fearful that they won’t be able to pay back people that they are close to in their life? I couldn’t help but wonder if a reluctance to go to people we know and love to fund our ideas is a reflection of our own belief that maybe our idea for a new business isn’t that great after all. Are we revealing something about our own doubts?
If we’re reluctant to approach people we care about with our business plan, it might be a good time to go back to the drawing board.
What do you think of the results? Are they what you expected? How do they compare to what most people think about SME funding?
