Small business loans/ friends and family investing/ Thoughts, recommendations?

It is not the best idea to mix personal relationships and money. In most cases, things don’t work out, and friends/relatives never talk to you again. This may work on the closest relatives, like parents, because they’re always on your side. However, I can’t suggest trying this with friends, because it is easy to lose them. Suppose you believe firmly in the success of your idea, then you could just borrow money from the bank. Or find some investors who could get a part from your success later. This option Is a bit better because you won’t owe money if it doesn’t work out. However, finding people ready to take risks for some ideas is hard. More ideas here https://www.doughroller.net/investing/how-to-invest-50k/
 
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Sorry, but you should be prepared for rejection. As far as https://joywallet.com/article/bingo-tour-review/ is concerned, a few years of business financials are required before any bank considers you. Last year, while in the process of purchasing an existing business with solid financials, I was turned down by multiple banks, including my own bank, due to my lack of expertise. I've been with them for 20 years and have a mortgage, HELOC, checking, and savings account. All they could offer me was an unsecured loan with interest rates comparable to credit cards. I had to borrow from family and personal resources, which is typical for first-time buyers.
 
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I figured I should address this, I took the widespread and loud advice and did not borrow money from friends and family. My dad had helped me invest in my business when I started college, and that remains the only source of external funding.

Beyond that every cent of my business started with capital I made at summer jobs in highschool and college and profit from the business poured back in. I decided to move towards a model of faster turnover, especially for my large and rare pieces of inventory which was a great way to generate larger cash flow.

I think my idea to borrow money was a little out of character to myself, as I'm an incredibly prudent person about my finances and hate the feeling of owing debt. But the advice was well heard, my business continues to grow, and I appreciate the clear advice that helped me not make what would have been a poor choice.

Thank you guys.

Ben Greenberg
Greenberg woods
 
I'm happy for you, and am a supporter of yours to the small degree I can be. You made a wise decision, and one that is counter to the overwhelming assumption that debt is required to achieve success in business. That is a false premise that is perpetuated by those with direct and indirect financial interests in selling debt. Discipline, focus, a sound business plan, and the ability to course-correct (by relying on the first three elements) is a better recipe for longevity in business than getting yourself on the wrong side of leveraged money.
 
The folks around here seem pretty nice, but do you really think it is a good idea to put your business information on a public forum? The questions you were asking are much more appropriate for individual private messages than for public discourse.
 
Greenberg Woods said:
I figured I should address this, I took the widespread and loud advice and did not borrow money from friends and family. My dad had helped me invest in my business when I started college, and that remains the only source of external funding.

Beyond that every cent of my business started with capital I made at summer jobs in highschool and college and profit from the business poured back in. I decided to move towards a model of faster turnover, especially for my large and rare pieces of inventory which was a great way to generate larger cash flow.

I think my idea to borrow money was a little out of character to myself, as I'm an incredibly prudent person about my finances and hate the feeling of owing debt. But the advice was well heard, my business continues to grow, and I appreciate the clear advice that helped me not make what would have been a poor choice.

Thank you guys.

Ben Greenberg
Greenberg woods
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Back from overseas?
stubbornforge said:
The folks around here seem pretty nice, but do you really think it is a good idea to put your business information on a public forum? The questions you were asking are much more appropriate for individual private messages than for public discourse.
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If I may provide my opinion? I see and understand your point and normally would agree with you. However, Ben's business was basically started here, has grown exponentially, here and often with support, suggestions and advice from the membership, here. I see it as not just his personal business advice but public information for other members starting a business as well. There's a lot of kinda learn from my mistakes and experience in this thread and its kinda what this part of the forum is about.
 
stubbornforge said:
The folks around here seem pretty nice, but do you really think it is a good idea to put your business information on a public forum? The questions you were asking are much more appropriate for individual private messages than for public discourse.
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While I hear your point, I do honestly feel differently. It could be that I'm of a younger generation, but I think sometimes finances are something that should be talked about more openly. I think a lot of people find it rude or uncomfortable to discuss money to openly, which leads to a lot of shame and misconception and leaves people confused in their own little bubbles of misinformation.

The advice I've always given to other young people who want to start their own business is to focus on profitably as soon as possible. Without rambling too much I think the popularity of rapid scaling tech companies has convinced a lot of people that losing money is an important step in business.

I do appreciate everyone's advice, as for the privacy of the matter, beyond that I started out here as a high school student hawking cut offs, I don't think I've shared any terribly useful or revealing secrets.
 
Horsewright said:
Back from overseas?

If I may provide my opinion? I see and understand your point and normally would agree with you. However, Ben's business was basically started here, has grown exponentially, here and often with support, suggestions and advice from the membership, here. I see it as not just his personal business advice but public information for other members starting a business as well. There's a lot of kinda learn from my mistakes and experience in this thread and its kinda what this part of the forum is about.
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Yeah, I just landed back from Vietnam. Had quite a productive trip. I've managed to start setting up some contacts in Laos, ans my girlfriends family introduced me to some other interesting suppliers.
 
Greenberg Woods said:
Yeah, I just landed back from Vietnam. Had quite a productive trip. I've managed to start setting up some contacts in Laos, ans my girlfriends family introduced me to some other interesting suppliers.
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Good deal! Enjoyed your IG posts on your trip.
 
Greenberg Woods said:
I do honestly feel differently. It could be that I'm of a younger generation, but I think sometimes finances are something that should be talked about more openly. I think a lot of people find it rude or uncomfortable to discuss money to openly,
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Ben, I do agree with your comments there. I LOVE to know the cost of things, not to the dollar what you paid, but in the general range. I find in other cultures the idea of talking about money, salary, costs, etc are not near so taboo as in this country and are one of the pleasures I've had traveling in other places. I think this came from the English aristocracy (and taken over by our "old money" folks where it was considered "bad form" to even work for money. In those ideas it was much better to have "inherited" money rather than "earned" money. Me - I like "earned" money.
 
For pete's sake, my comment was not about the politeness of talking finances. it was about putting personal financial information on a public forum that can be scraped by scammers. I would have thought someone from the 'younger generation' would dig that. apparently not. While you may not have revealed any specifics, the information you posted along with About Me on your website is more than enough for a scammer to start. There is even a term for it- privacy hygiene.

Possibly more to the point, grounded effective advice about business debt and loans for a particular business does require revealing specific financial information that is (I don't care how Profanity Removed young you are) not appropriate for a public forum. If you want specific advice on business loans, reach out to the SBA or an aggregator website like SmartBiz. Otherwise you are getting suggestions that might or might not be useful to your specific situation which lands you right where you started--in the dark.
 
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stubbornforge said:
For pete's sake, my comment was not about the politeness of talking finances. it was about putting personal financial information on a public forum that can be scraped by scammers. I would have thought someone from the 'younger generation' would dig that. apparently not. While you may not have revealed any specifics, the information you posted along with About Me on your website is more than enough for a scammer to start. There is even a term for it- privacy hygiene.

Possibly more to the point, grounded effective advice about business debt and loans for a particular business does require revealing specific financial information that is (I don't care how Profanity Removed young you are) not appropriate for a public forum. If you want specific advice on business loans, reach out to the SBA or an aggregator website like SmartBiz. Otherwise you are getting suggestions that might or might not be useful to your specific situation which lands you right where you started--in the dark.
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Stubbornforge, ithink what you are missing is that whether to post such information is an individual risk/benefit decision. If a nefarious person out there really wants information on someone, they likely will get it no matter what (quite possibly more information than the individual themselves know). In this case ben got some rapid and clear input that he viewed as valuable … what the associated risk was is his judgement to make. Asking for the advise would seem perfectly appropriate to this particular forum … its just his decision whether to post it.
 
stubbornforge said:
For pete's sake, my comment was not about the politeness of talking finances. it was about putting personal financial information on a public forum that can be scraped by scammers. I would have thought someone from the 'younger generation' would dig that. apparently not. While you may not have revealed any specifics, the information you posted along with About Me on your website is more than enough for a scammer to start. There is even a term for it- privacy hygiene.

Possibly more to the point, grounded effective advice about business debt and loans for a particular business does require revealing specific financial information that is (I don't care how Profanity Removed young you are) not appropriate for a public forum. If you want specific advice on business loans, reach out to the SBA or an aggregator website like SmartBiz. Otherwise you are getting suggestions that might or might not be useful to your specific situation which lands you right where you started--in the dark.
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Ill be honest, I dont think the information of my name, city of origin, and the fact that i run a business are enough to do any damage to me or my company. I was also asking for general advice, im not taking peoples word at gospel but i can hear other peoples opinions.

I think you are the same guy who commented on my post about photgraphing wood with advice that didnt work. You get very annoyed when I pointed it out, and you seem upset that I dont think your advice is accurate for me.

If you are going to be this mad when people dont listen to you, maybe you should stop giving advice.
 
I know this thread is a bit dated, but I think the topic is always relevant. Taking a small business loan can be a more formal and straightforward process. You have set repayment terms, interest rates, and typically no emotional strings attached. But you also need to have your financials in order, and failing to repay can have serious repercussions.Friends and family investing, on the other hand, is often less formal, and there might be more flexibility in terms of repayment. However, mixing business and personal relationships can be tricky. Make sure to set clear terms to avoid any misunderstandings down the line.For anyone considering small business loans, I found some excellent information at https://www.businessfinanced.co.uk/business-bank-accounts/. They provide valuable insights into different types of business bank accounts that suit your needs, which is a critical aspect to consider when you're taking out a loan.
 
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True enough, i figure i should give something of an update,

I was able to self finance my expansion. I sold off chunks of old inventory, and was able to order in bulk for a variety of species and grow a fair amount in the time. The money for this business was the start up money from my bar mitzah and dog sitting, $5000 from my dad and the rest has been entirely sourced from the profits, poured back into my business.
 
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