What is the best way to find investment?

An investors job is to invest. If they don’t invest, they don’t spread their risk and they will not make as good returns.

An Investment Seekers job is to get your company Investment Ready and make it investable for investors to invest. This sometimes means putting our egos aside and making suggested changes made by investors, to get your business in an Investment Ready place for investors.

It may seem daunting thinking about approaching investors, however by remembering that we are helping them do their job, it takes a lot of this fear and power away. Remember we are doing them the favour, as much as they are doing us a favour.

They need to invest!

I often hear a certain familiar untrue stigma amongst businesses, that says ‘Investment is hard to find‘.

I am not saying investment is easy to find, it is a time-consuming job, which often takes directors away from running and growing their companies to a detrimental effect. However, Finding Investment is not that hard, as long as you are proactive, confident and are Investment Ready. It doesn’t mean you should do it all yourselves. There are a number of companies such as Acceler8me, which can assist you in Finding Investment and help get you Investment Ready.

So where do we start looking? – 4 quick tips

Friends Contacts

If you haven’t got a network of investors to approach you need to build one. Start off by finding friends with businesses who have had investment previously. Ask your friends to introduce you to their investors? If they put up a fuss, make it financially worth their while and offer them a commission on success (Usually 5% on avg) to facilitate the introduction.

Similar Companies

Look at your competition and similar businesses on Google. Look at other businesses your business may compliment or solve problems for. Next, go onto ‘Companies House‘ and search for those companies. In the online documents, you will find paperwork stating a list of their investors. Take those names and use LinkedIn and Google to look them up. Contact them and introduce yourself! Don’t be scared – What’s the worse that could happen?

Smart Money

Find investors who can help you with your business. For example – if you are in retail and are starting a fashion business – then approach high net-worth people who are ‘fashion buyers’ or have a black distribution book (Read more about this in our ‘Smart Money’ section).

Acceler8me and other 3rd Party Companies

Using professionals like ourselves really saves you time. While we take a % commission on success, we have a network already built and know the ins and outs of the market. What could take you 3 months could take us 2 days. Never be scared to pay commission on success and never pay over 8%.

A WARNING

Always watch out for people wanting to take equity to offer introductions. These people are not always but are often sharks. Remember you are giving them a bit of your business and there is only so much to go around.

Be Careful!

Finally, I can’t stress enough how important it is to be proactive at this stage of the process.

In early-stage investments, Investors are investing in you! Confidence is key and is an integral part of Finding Investors. This is not saying you have to be over the top, but you must have the confidence to get on the phone and ask for money!

 

At Acceler8me we understand that not everyone is confident and that entrepreneurs, confident or not need a hand. We work a lot with Smart Money Investors and can introduce you to people who can give you the money, to make your businesses grow or become a reality.

 
Investment Ready

Is your company ready for investment?

 

We can help you build strong and robust Business Plans, Financial Forecasts & Models; while taking you through the step by step process of getting your business Investment Ready

Find out more

Investment Searching
There are tens of thousands of investors in the UK, all with different interests and skills.   Investment Searching is a long & laborious task that can take you away from running your business. We help you search, not just for any investors, but the right investors for you and your business

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Marketing Strategies
Acceler8me defines Marketing as a series of activities that lead to ‘Reactive’ Sales   Having a strong, tested, marketing strategy in place, with reliable ‘Return of Investment’ is crucial for the growth and future scaling of any business

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Contact Details

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For more urgent enquiries or if you prefer to speak on the phone, give Team Acceler8me a call on:

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How to Get the Most out of Your Staff & Business Partners

How to get the most out of your Business Partner, Sales Staff, Marketing Team, Investors and the Mail Man..

One of the most important aspects of business planning is developing & maintaining your relationships with your staff & business partners. In business, we have relationships with hundreds of different people. These could be with our clients, suppliers, staff, business partners and even our investors. As entrepreneurs, we are frequently reminded that ‘happy staff sell’, ‘happy businesses succeed’ and that ‘good communication = good business.’ But what does that actually mean? What is ‘good communication?’ How can we set up effective and efficient relationships with our business partners and investors, to get the best out of each other?

I found some answers to these questions in the strangest of places. I recently got married, and my wife asked me to listen to an audio book with her called ‘The Five Love Languages,’ by Gary Chapman. His theory is that a successful marriage consists of both parties communicating effectively and understanding which ‘love language’ each other speaks, and alter their communication accordingly.

The five love languages are;
• Talking and spending time together,
• Giving gifts,
• Positive affirmations,
• Undertaking acts of service and
• Physical touch.

We communicate using all five of these languages, however, we all put more importance on different languages. For example, some people appreciate a box of chocolates more than the dishwasher being emptied.

When I was reflecting on this book, I realised that there is actually little difference between a marriage and a business partnership. You spend all day with each other, five days a week. You might see each other more than your partners. With this in mind, Gary’s theory can be applied not only to your relationship with your spouse or partner but also to your business partners, staff, investors, customers and even your suppliers.

Have a look at the five languages below and try to work out which one you use to communicate with, then see if you can work out your business partner’s or even customer’s language. Challenge for this week: communicate using their language and see what happens.

Talking and Spending time together –
This can be anything from having face to face meetings, working in the same office, walking around the block or daily/hourly phone calls. So many customers and clients want face to face meetings before doing business. This is not because they want an excuse to have a coffee, it is because they speak this language and it is the most efficient way of communicating (And selling) with them.

Acts of Service –
An act of service is doing something for someone else. This could be as simple as sending invoices, proposals or updating management accounts. It could even include making the teas in the morning. Are you someone who appreciates your business partner taking care of a certain task? These are all Acts of Service.

Positive Affirmations –
This is being positive, encouraging and supportive about somebodies work. For example, if your PA attempts to design the weekly ‘mailchimp’ newsletter out of the blue, and it’s not right don’t criticize and put them down. Be positive about them trying something new and talk about ways they could improve it. This shows that you want to encourage them to grow and by being positive you will encourage them to go the extra mile again.

Gifts –
Some people particularly appreciate presents. Examples include buying a cake on staff members’ birthdays, Christmas bonuses, and sending token gifts to suppliers at Christmas. These small gestures can mean a lot to ‘gift giving communicators.’ It’s often about the thought, rather than the cost.

Touching –
This might sound strange in the context of modern business, and should certainly be handled carefully. Clear boundaries are important: they are your business partner or PA, not your spouse. However, one of the oldest and best signs of appreciation is the pat on the back or a firm handshake. People often remember if someone important took the time to shake their hand. For some people physical contact means a lot.

So this week, explore and see what language you use to communicate and what language your business partner and sales leads use. See if you can speak their language when you communicate with them and what positive results you can achieve. Acceler8me can offer hr consultancy to help with you plan, implement and monitor your company structure and staffing breakdowns.

How to Evaluate my Business After the First Year?

I work with hundreds of Directors every year that ask themselves this same question. And not just directors of start-ups, but also large SMEs turning over millions every year in revenue. There are a number of reasons why directors feel this way, especially in the world of start-ups.

Goals and Targets

What is your company’s ultimate goal/target? And what ‘mini-goals’ do you have to hit along the way to reach it? The definition of being ‘lost’ is not knowing where you are or which direction you are going. How are you meant to know which way your business is heading if you don’t actually know what the finish line looks like? Are you managing your goals and targets through a CRM consultancy?

Changing Tack

Don’t be scared to try something new. If you are hitting your targets, but still not progressing, why don’t you try something different? Maybe look at selling to suppliers instead of the end user? Whatever you do make a change before you start to stagnate. Also, don’t be too hard on yourself. If you are hitting your targets, you might be doing better than you think!

Waiting for Investment

‘We can’t progress any further without investment’ = Excuse.

About 1 in every 10 companies I speak to can legitimately say they can’t proceed without capital investment; the other 9 in 10 use it as an excuse. If you want to attract investment, you need revenue and a working model. If you are waiting for investment, make sure you are earning revenue and proving your concept – then you might get investment quicker.

Sell

It is scary, sometimes unpleasant, and sometimes feels intrusive. However, if you want your business to work, you have to sell! This means jumping in at the deep end: picking up the phone, knocking on the doors, walking the streets, and selling your product/service. Yes, you can hire someone, or take on a non-exec or an equity partner who is good at selling. However, you still need to lead by example and sell yourself. You could consider staking on a sales strategy consultant?

Business Plan

An Entrepreneurs business plan is essentially the guide on how you are going to take over the world!

A business plan is not just to get investment. They are written so when we feel lost we can read it and remember our goals and where we are in the grand scheme of things. A good plan should include a detailed Timeline of how you plan to reach your business’s goal, by setting mini goals. And how you will achieve those goals by using your Marketing Plan and Sales Plans.

A business plan is a document that will ultimately stop you feeling lost. You don’t have to follow it like it is gospel, but as long as you believe what you have written in it and believe this is how your company will grow; you can ensure that consciously or subconsciously, you will follow it and your business will grow.

At Acceler8me we love to watch businesses and entrepreneurs grow. We help by giving you the support you need to make this a reality. We get you ready for investment and find you the money you need to start your start-up. .

If you ever feel stuck, don’t forget the team at Acceler8me will always be here to help you out.

Brad Channer,

Director