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How a Financier Reads a Business Plan and Tips for Writing a Business Plan

This article explains the importance of a business plan when seeking help from a financier. In addition it provides useful tips for writing a business plan.

A business plan has four main purposes.
1. To establish the viability of your business
2. To document your objectives and forecasts for the business
3. To benchmark and measure progress
4. To communicate your plans to outsiders – such as a financier

There are two types of financier, the lender and the investor that you may approach or who may be interested in your company venture.

The Lender i.e. a bank will be looking to see how you propose to handle potential risks that your company may encounter. Their main concern is regarding the security of the repayments for the money they have loaned you, and will therefore want to ensure that you will be managing the company’s risk wisely. As well as checking your credit rating a bank manager may ask you a number of questions in an interview which you will need to be able to answer, such as:

• Why do you need the amount requested?
• What will you do with it?
• How do you know it’s enough?
• How much less can the company survive on?
• What other sources of finance do you have or who else are you borrowing from?
• How are you going to pay it back?
• What collateral or guarantee do you have?

You need to ensure that these questions are already answered in your business plan as it is much harder to change the manager’s mind in your interview with them. The bank will look for collateral and cash flow within your plan.
Make sure you are not afraid to ask for the exact amount required, because if they lend you an amount that is not enough to get the business going and you need to ask the bank for more money, they may question how well you have planned your financial requirements. This could make them sceptical about lending you more.
Professional Investors accept risk, although they will try to limit their exposure to it. The questions they may be asking themselves while reading your business plan are:

• How much can I make? – They are usually looking to make around 30-50% annual compound growth on their investment
• How much can I lose? – What is the risk of losing their investment?
• How can I get my money back or out of the company?
• Who else is investing it this company?
So now you know why it is important to have a business plan when seeking investment from a financier, the article will give some useful tips for what to include in the business plan. The business plan should summarise the following points:

• The overall objectives of your company.
• Who your clients will be and their current buying behaviour.
• Who your suppliers are and how much bargaining power they have.
• Who your competitors are and how you will differentiate yourself from them.
• Who are the key personnel and what their core skills are.
• How the business will operate, including the assets needed to run it.
• How much finance is required; and contingencies should sales fail to meet the forecasted level.

To conclude, business plans are very useful for raising finance for a business. Even if you are lucky enough to be in a situation where you do not need to raise capital, preparing a plan will help focus your thoughts, check your calculations, help you monitor results and enable better communication of your ideas.

Unemployment Loans For Those Hurt By The Financial Crisis

Are you among the thousands that are now unemployed because of the financial crisis or other reasons? If so, you are not alone. There have been hundreds of big companies that have either gone under or downsized the number of employees that they retain due to the financial crisis that is affecting the entire globe.

Finding a suitable job in the job market that is lying in ruins from a failing economy is often tough, and for those that qualify for unemployment compensation – the amount is often too small to meet your needs. You need money now to help you through the hard months ahead, and an unemployment loan can provide the needed cash that can keep you from losing your home or defaulting on other debts, as well as provide money for you to live on and paying living expenses during your search for a new job.

Getting The Money You Need Now

An unemployment loan is usually a secured loan. Most borrowers of unemployment loans place their home or automobile up for collateral to secure the loan. Doing so will undoubtedly make the rate of interest that you are charged for your unemployment loan lower than taking out the unsecured version of this type of loan. However, for those borrowers who do not wish to risk losing their home or other property, unsecured unemployment loans are also available. You will pay higher interest, but you will not be putting your property on the line if you should be unable to repay the lender.

To improve your chances of receiving an unsecured unemployment loan, you may be asked to apply alongside a cosigner who has good credit and is willing to stand good for the payment if you do not fulfill the terms of your loan agreement. Having a cosigner is not always necessary, however, but is a good idea to make sure that you are approved.

Get Approved For Up To $25,000 Today

You can ask for any amount that you need when you take out your unemployment loan. A good idea to determine the amount you need is to make a budget of basic living expenses for a six month period – and then add a padding of 25%. This will ensure that you have enough money to last you at least for necessities until you can get another job. Most unemployment loans begin at around $2000 and go up to $25,000 or more, depending on your credit history and anticipated ability to repay the lender. Be certain to borrow only what you truly need as this is a debt that will be facing you when you return to work. You do not want to overextend yourself by adding on more debt that you can repay comfortably.

With most lenders, you can defer payment for several months on your unemployment loan. However, if at all possible, begin repaying the lender immediately. This will reduce the amount of time that you take paying off your unemployment loan, and also cost you less in interest charges.

Online Savings On Unemployment Loans

Online lenders typically offer great rates on unemployment loans due to stiff competition on the Internet between financial institutions and banks. Further, you will be able to apply from the privacy and comfort of your own home and receive your money electronically delivered in minutes to your bank account.