Bizco Business Consulting

Mentoring and Coaching for Entrepreneurs

Thank you for inquiring with Bizco Business Consulting into how we can work together to start-up and grow your business! We do appreciate your confidence in us and we are excited about the possibility of working with you as a start-up business to achieve your personal entrepreneurial goals.

Our consulting programs are unique and this allows us to work exclusively with a limited number of start-ups on a one-on-one basis. Because of our commitment to our clients, will we only work with start-ups that are unique and not in conflicting industries and are also able to make a minimum commitment of 3 months.

This programme will see a group of 40 leaners going through the programme for 2014. The group will be broken down into groups of 4 teams competing against each other in group sessions of ten leaners at a time. The learner with the best business plan after completion of the programme will be awarded a free consulting programme, which includes further mentoring and coaching, financial application assistance and access to non-financial support programmes. The first part of the program will start in April 2014 and end in June 2014. The second part of the program will start in July 2014 and end in September 2014.

This valuable mentoring and coaching course will give learners insight into the Business World, Administration, Finance, Human Resources and Operational Planning and writing of their own Business Plan. The programme will allow the learners to use a step-by-step methodology to prepare them in conjunction with highly experienced business consultants over a 6 Month period.

If you are a young person wanting to create your own employment opportunity, a business owner or someone looking into going into business for yourself then this is not a program to be missed!

Registrations close on 30th April 2014 so hurry as space is limited! For enquiries call 0861 237 775 or email at info@bizco.co.za with Mentorship and Coaching Programme in the subject line.

Want to Start and Operate a Successful Business?

This requires adequate access to business funding, before you need it! What we mean is it really does “take money to make money” and for that it takes money to start, grow and run your business successfully.

So, if you are looking for money to start, grow or to operate your business more successfully, allow us to help you establish a customised step-by-step plan of action that will provide your business access to your immediate, mid & long term business funding needs.

Our successful team of business consultants have been assisting owners of startup and established businesses alike in gaining access to unsecured lines of funding, equipment and commercial business loans. If you need help in securing funding for your existing or startup business, then we are here to assist.

Contact us today to speak to a consultant about your business requirements.

Mistakes can be very Costly. Don’t make those!

Operating a business successfully can be one of the hardest things any person can be tasked to do. Most entrepreneurs do not have the required management background or education and end up learning the hard way by “Trial and Error” from the “University of Life” and that can be a very costly experience. Some large companies and business plan consultants can be very costly, financial institutions such as the banks will not assist you unless you provide 100% security and the government only assists a select few. This is not what you want as an entrepreneur.

We provide services to the start-up entrepreneur as well as any business owner whom has been in business for a very long time. Bizco Business Consulting can provide you with all the support you require to make the correct decisions at the right time from one affordable location.

Contact us on 0861 237 775 for more information on how we can assist you with your business.

10 More Creative Ways to Finance Your Start-up

Marty Zwilling | Startup Professionals

Every startup needs access to capital, whether for funding product development, for initial rollout efforts, acquiring inventory, or paying that first employee. Most entrepreneurs think first of bank loans as the primary source of money, only to find out that banks are really the least likely benefactors for startups. Thus “creative” really means maximizing non-bank financing.

While sizing up the alternatives, I couldn’t help but pick up a new book by Karlene Sinclair-Robinson with the creative title of “Spank the Bank: The Guide to Alternative Business Financing.” She plumbs the range of possibilities she has gained through personal experience as an entrepreneur, and as the “queen of business financing” in the financial industry.

For Start-up Business Assistance Contact us today

The alternatives are many, but they are not easy. The most successful entrepreneurs are the ones who think creatively, not only about their offering, but also about how to acquire cash, and never say never. They have to sell themselves, more than their product, to close on every alternative source of funding. Here are ten top sources from Karlene, and my own experience:

1.Personal financing. You may not think this is very creative, but I’m amazed at the number of “wannabe” entrepreneurs who haven’t thought about saving any money before they start, or wouldn’t think of using their own savings to start a business. No investor I know will put money into a deal if they see that you have no “skin in the game.”

2.Personal credit lines. You qualify for a secured personal credit line based on your personal credit efforts. Credit cards can usually be acquired with even less history. We all know startups that have been built on one or both of these. The advantage is that you retain total ownership and control, as long as you make minimum payments.

3.Family and friends. These are people who should believe in you, without waiting to see if your idea works, or waiting until you have real customers, revenue, and hard assets. These commitments should always be positioned in writing as promissory notes, or so-called bridge-loans, which convert to equity at a rate determined by later investors.

4.Peer-to-peer lending. This is a process whereby a group of people comes together to lend money to each other. It’s been around many years, in examples like small business groups or ethnic groups supporting similar efforts. In the startup context, look for a successful entrepreneur peer willing to fund similar new ideas.

5.Crowdfunding. Here you use the power of the Internet to find a crowd of like-minded people, with small amounts each, to back your efforts. This approach is now spreading beyond non-profits, pre-sales, and memento rewards, to soon include the ability to make small equity investments via the JOBS Act passed last year.

6.Microloans. There are many private companies and non-profits that offer small loans, up to $35,000, to promote entrepreneurship, to individuals who would not normally quality for bank financing. Examples include Patriot Express loans, and Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) loans.

7.Vendor financing. If you need tangible products for inventory, many manufacturers and distributors can be convinced to defer your payment until the goods are sold by you. This really means an extension of the normal 30-day payment terms to a period of months or longer, depending on your credit worthiness and extra fees.

8.Purchase order financing. The most common scaling problem faced by startups is the inability to accept a large new order, since they don’t have the cash to build and deliver the product. PO financing companies will often advance the required funds directly to the supplier, allowing the transaction to complete and profit to flow to the startup.

9.Factoring accounts receivables. This is similar in concept to PO financing, but applies the advance to unpaid amounts not yet due or collected from customers. In high volume startups starting to scale up, this will provide cash on your sales immediately, rather than waiting for 30 to 60 days or longer for payment.

10.IRA financing. Investment Retirement Account funds and 401(k)s are arguably the single most accessible alternative funding source available today for startups. You can’t use your own self-directed funds for your startup, but many others are willing and able to loan you money from theirs, for the right terms, if they believe in you and your cause.

For Start-up Business Assistance Contact us today

Note that we haven’t yet mentioned the more conventional and less creative finance approaches of Angel and venture capital investors. For new entrepreneurs, these sources usually have very little interest in early-stage or seed financing, preferring the lesser risk of a proven business model, with real revenue and customers, ready to scale. Yet creative thinking wins here also.

Karlene’s book provides details on the how and why of all these forms of alternative financing for startups, and many more. Managing cash flow is just one of the many ways that entrepreneurs have to think creatively to innovate, beat the competition, and survive. If you figure out how to spank the bank, you can surely spank your competitors. The payback there is even better. – Marty Zwilling

Marty Zwilling | Startup Professionals- SME South Africa

Need Finance for Your Business?

Business owners and start-up entrepreneurs face a number of challenges when looking at either expanding an existing business or starting a new venture. The core challenge however always remains:

• Access to Finance
• Access to Expert SME Support

As a Bizco Business Consulting client you can benefit directly from our expertise and available partner networks.

The financial applications we deal with are normally the applications or typical transactions a normal financial institution or bank would not consider due to high risk, such as start-ups or business applications without 100% security.

We understand the needs of SMEs and have a proven track record in helping business owners and start-up entrepreneurs in their chosen field of business.

Bizco Business Consulting facilitates services such as financial transactions and appropriate SME support. We can broker your finance application with the various organisations we deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Financial applications are made which are structured around the unique requirements of your business, based on the business plan and financial projections we have prepared.

Finance can be utilised for a variety of business related purposes such as:

• Starting a Business
• Expanding on existing business Operations
• Purchasing and exsiting business or franchise
• Acquisition of property or business assets