Business Proposals for Funding

One of the major obstacles faced by entrepreneurs is the lack of available funding in Singapore to help them kick-start or sustain their business ideas. Even if there are government schemes to provide grants or funds to assist business owners, many of them are clueless on how to obtain these grants.

In many cases, investors and entrepreneurs found themselves having to navigate through layers of bureaucratic red tapes and micromanagement when seeking grants. That is probably why entrepreneurs are more attracted to venture capitalists and angel investors for business opportunities.

In the early stage of a business, funding is needed to nurture the seed into viable business model. But beyond cash, founders should ask themselves serious questions whether they are willing to cede control in exchange for the money. But assuming they are willing to do so, then he should know how to pitch to investors and position his business in a strategic manner.

To obtain that all-important pot of gold, there are several fundamentals that business owners need to highlight or observe in their business proposals:

1) Financial factors: Track records speak a lot and obviously no one likes to invest in a sinking ship. In your plan, you have to be honest and state the financial health of your company. In addition, has your company allocated adequate manpower and equipment for the project?

2) Strategic Factors: Does the outcome of your project match the objectives of the organization providing the funding? You have to provide compelling reasons for the donors to support your cause.

3) Economic Factors: Highlight the differentiating factors and economic spin-off of your project. Mention the market demands and competing market threats in your report. Most importantly, highlight the scalability aspect of your project (the potential impact to the rest of the industry and whether it can be implemented across the sector).

4) Risk Factors: The plan should cover the risk management aspect, taking into account buffers for possible delays and points of failure. You should also provide strategies to mitigate potential failures.

5) Management Factors: Does your company have what it takes to successfully implement this project? Does your project teams and managers have the relevant expertise and experience?

Magically yours,

SG Wealth Builder