No business is said to be done without finance. Good ideas, yes! Perfect planning accepted! But without money, no business! All you need to make that dream a reality is in the availability of currency no matter how small. All things being equal, the business is not completed until money has exchanged hands.

On the other hand, the truth is that no boss is ever established into self-reliance and productivity without being financially independent. The need for money to start, maintain and expand business ideas cannot be over-emphasised.

Raising money for either business expansion or starting a new idea is never an easy task except where the entrepreneur has inherited a fortune that he can easily tap into. Among the reasons why investment capital or expansion money is hard to come by include:

•The fear of losing the money,
•The inability of borrowers to pay back (i.e. loan defaulters), and
•Lack of clear vision of what the money will be spent on.
No matter how colourful and brilliant your idea may be, no matter how promising your products and services acceptance may be, without the sourcing for your investment capital, the dream remains an up-hill task. Until you are able to get capital into the business, your dream of financial independence and of course, being a boss remains impossible.
However, don’t give up because the needed financial miracle may be on your way. Very essential as it may be, you must of necessity embrace the following elements that will enable you raise the needed capital against all odds:
Character
•Your Character: D.L Moody said: “If I take care of my character, my reputation will take care of itself.” He also avers that character is what you are in the dark.
Character means two things to any source from which you must raise your capital. One – you are a man of your word, that is, you will repay in the manner agreed upon. Second – you’ll do everything possible to conserve the assets of the business and achieve the success you expect. In summary, I can put it that character means:
•Integrity – keeping your word as and when due. Without it, forget about business!       
•Conservativeness – not being extravagant, that is, not wasting resources on things not relevant to the business. Consequently, there must be:
•Evidence of your reliability and honesty
•Evidence of how carefully you can manage money
•Concrete demonstration that you are a man of integrity
•Trust.
Therefore, the way you present yourself and your business increases the chances of your getting capital from any source, as long as it is believed you are trustworthy.
•Managerial capacity

It is good to sound much earlier that a rascal may not do too well in business. The reason is that your managerial ability and business acumen will always be called for as long as you remain in the business. A lot of brain work is needed in which case you have to be more than well organised to enable you discharge your duties skillfully and professionally.

Knowledge
You cannot raise finances for a business you don’t know anything about. It is your sole responsibility to study the business you want to do and get the nitty-gritty at your fingertips.

·       Coverage

In circumstances where the capital is to be from a source which is direct as in banking or finance houses, how do you propose to cover the risks? You have to get ready and be fully prepared for the worse outcome. What arrangements can you make? Can the lender still get his money? I tell you the truth, these are the main factors that the lender is keen to know and there is no way a dime can be raised without satisfactorily dealing with these matters.

·       In-flow arrangements

Every business is like a flowing river with several sources of supply or “in-flow.” These sources include income from sales, bank loans, subvention (in government companies). The “in-flows” are converted into fixed capital (machines, buildings, plants, fixtures, etc); working capital (materials, various inputs, services and other purchases) and into scraps/wastes (money to girl friends, burial ceremonies, tips, bribes etc). One key element of success is to minimise the flow of money into wastes/scraps. To increase the success of a business, your in-flow of resources must be managed in such a way as to show a net added value over time.

Joe C. David is author of the following books: Be Your Own Boss and Be Super Rich. He is a consultant and the host of The Money Making Summit. You can reach him through. Contact: www.joecdavid.com. Email:
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or 01-8938379, 08034740126.

Article source: http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/entrepreneur/business-opportunity/33334-how-to-finance-your-business-indirectly-1