Monday, September 19, 2016

Is your start up not starting up?

You’ve got the idea to make billions but you need to get the ball rolling! You’ve conceptualized, written down, and clearly detailed your entire business plan on paper – and are just waiting for the funds to get started. I know I’m describing you, you young entrepreneur. Many of the richest and most successful people on Earth started off broke in funds but rich in ideas and enthusiasm.

Funds honestly aren’t that difficult to come by these days in India. There are angel investors, venture capitalists, rich uncles, and even secured loans. All these people / establishments are excellent sources of funds, but will demand a piece of the action once you hit the big time money after your big idea clicks. Now, you obviously don’t want that. The idea is yours, the dream is yours, because the struggle was all yours. All they did was give you the initial money to get started.

Looking through this selfish-but-fair glass for clarity, many young entrepreneurs wanted a source of funds that would only request in return the funds that were borrowed (plus appropriate interest) and not a part of the profit share of the business. That’s when they turned to personal loans.
Taking a personal loan to get your business started is one of the best and most hassle free ways to get your business started – or to turn your hobby into a profession – or even to kick-start your start up! Here’s why:
-    No hassle of pledging valuable assets as collateral: Unsecured personal loans are the best sources of collateral-free credit. You won’t lose your car / home if you aren’t able to repay on time, you’ll merely be slapped with some penalty interest and charges which you can pay off when your business takes off.
-    No requirement for a guarantor: Your dad / uncle won’t have to sign anything that says that they are in any way responsible for ensuring that you repay your loan. You will be the master of your own destiny in this regard. If you repay properly, you’ll see the benefits, and if you don’t – nobody will suffer but you.

-    No hassle of having to submit progress reports and stick to deadlines: You can do your business your way and generate profits at your own speed. You’ll have no “investors” to answer to, and you can truly be your own boss.

-    No fear of disinvestment: Angel investors turn into devils when they don’t see progress or any work happening through their investments, and venture capitalists have earned the name “vulture capitalists” because of similar behavior. Once venture capitalists pull funding, they leave you stuck having to explain a difficult situation to all those people that believed in you and your employees will probably file cases against you for non-payment of salaries.

-    Freedom to operate: Anyone who “invests” in your start-up / idea / business is only doing so in order to see a profit. The trouble with this otherwise perfect setup is that investors demand to see profits almost immediately, and will constantly bug you for updates, etc. They will also keep trying to alter your business model to generate quicker profits regardless of how that would affect your business, and totally regardless of your own preferences. Choose the freedom to operate by cutting out the investor and only keeping the investment through a personal loan for business.

-    Quick processing: Your funds / working capital / initial capital / investment requirements can be met almost immediately through personal loans, which have been known to be disbursed within a week in many cases. All you have to do is figure out your exact requirements and borrow just how much you need. Convincing the bank won’t be hard if you have a solid business plan put down on paper.

-    Easy settlement: Most banks that offer personal loans for business understand that all businesses take time to start generating a profit. It is for this reason that they allow you a grace period of up to 8-12 months in which you can spend the loan amount disbursed on assets and processes that could get your business up and running. Once this grace period is over, the EMIs will start becoming due, by which time you should have been able to turn a decent profit with which to repay your investment.

-    No claim or stake in business itself: The bank or lender who lends you a personal loan won’t legally have a claim over anything but the return of the borrowed funds. There have been many cases and instances where all the hard work of an entrepreneur has been taken away by venture capitalists and angel investors who hijack successful businesses through carefully worded investment agreements. They later sell the carcass of the business to someone else, rendering the hopes, aspirations, and dreams of the original entrepreneur useless.

-    Easy to apply for and have approved: Personal loans for business are easily approved by banks, if and when the applicant has managed to explain the requirement specifically and has also explained the intended usage for the funds and the potential of that investment to generate a profit. Banks are only interested in lending if they’re confident that the borrower can repay – and will approve a loan higher than your eligible limit if you’re able to convince them to do so with a solid plan.

In addition to these obvious advantages, it’s worth mentioning here that the government is currently pushing entrepreneurship and MSME development right now. Loans under “Make in India” and “MUDRA” etc. are incredibly easy to secure and are offered at low interest rates as compared to actual personal loans from established banks.

Micro and small scale manufacturing units or commercial establishments that provide employment and produce Indian made goods that reduce our dependency on foreign imports even slightly are being offered excellent support and funding.

In house production on a national scale is what the current government wants to achieve. Producing what we need in a more decentralized way not only reduces costs by breaking into monopolistic markets, but also has the potential to affect the country’s balance of payments by reducing our dependence on imports.

Working capital requirements can be easily met through personal loans, which not only get approved fast, but also have the added advantage of not being too intrusive in the functioning of the business.