Chronic. Each week, Jean-Marie Bugarel addresses the theme of entrepreneurship through his experience as a business consultant and his perspective as a business leader.
In the vast majority of cases, starting a business requires money. The project leader not always having sufficient personal contribution, he then embarks on a quest for funding that consumes time and energy.
Because to obtain funding, you have to convince. And to convince, you have to know how to present your project, the aim being to reassure, to show your knowledge of the market and your control of risks. This applies regardless of the interlocutor: bank, aid organization, family members, friends…
A business plan to convince.
As you can imagine, demonstrating the viability of a project is done through presentation documents, in particular the market study and the “business plan”. By reading these documents, financiers will be able to understand the project, apprehend the potential and, perhaps, be convinced by the idea.
Writing the business plan is also an opportunity for the entrepreneur to take stock of himself and his abilities. A business plan generally contains the CV of the creator, the history of the project, the presentation of the product or service, the main elements of market research, the strategy, the technical and human resources planned, without forgetting the financial aspects. , including the money needed and the sources of financing envisaged, all in the service of profitability.
But a well-written business plan is not everything. Let’s be clear: funders will look more at your behavior than at your documents. They will try to find out who you are, what is your background, what are your areas of expertise and what are your personality traits.
In other words, they will try to find out if you are trustworthy: are you clear in your way of expressing yourself? Are your arguments relevant? Do you know how to talk about your customers and their expectations? Have you identified the risks that weigh on your activity? Are you lucid? Are you able to question yourself? Do you know how to sell yourself?
Your interlocutor only asks for one thing: to be convinced. For that, we will have to give him arguments. You will have to be both humble and determined!
Likewise, the way your documents are presented is important: prefer synthetic data rather than long paragraphs. Reinforce your arguments with concrete examples, insert sketches or illustrations.
Above all, be convinced yourself by what you write. Proofread yourself and have your file proofread by outsiders.
What possible financing?
Of course, the best financing remains the personal contribution. But if the latter is too low, there are several solutions:
– “love money”: it is money lent or given by relatives, family or friends. An underestimated source of financing that nevertheless has many advantages,
– “crowdfunding”: this involves appealing to the general public to obtain funds, most often through an online donation system, with or without compensation,
– aid from Pôle Emploi: it consists of paying the entrepreneur 45% of the remainder of his unemployment rights,
-Agefiph assistance for people with disabilities: up to €5,000 in subsidy,
– micro-credit: this is a loan granted to people who do not have access to bank financing, for modest projects. Among the best-known micro-credit organisations, there is Adie (adie.org) which offers financing up to €12,000,
-zero rate loans (see an example opposite),
-and of course, traditional bank financing.
All these solutions require a real ability to argue and convince. In case of refusal, do not be discouraged, try to understand the reasons. Update your business plan, adapt your figures, continue your market research and seek other financing!
