Show me the money

Whatever your organisation is doing, it is likely to require some form of cash injection in order to get the ball rolling and allow the business to function before it makes a profit. This cash injection may be in the form of grants and gifts, loans, community investment or even credit, for example suppliers may defer your payment of goods until you have used them to make a profit.

Whichever mix of finance you decide is appropriate, you will almost certainly have to produce evidence in the form of grant or loan applications or share prospectuses in order to prove to other people or organisations that your organisation is a worthy place for them to put their money.

It is also worth a brief mention of profit or surplus. Profit is essential to the sustainability of your organisation; if you don’t make a profit you will cease to exist. Rather it is how you make your profit and what you do with it that is important.

Key questions

Do you really need money to start?

Can you start small and finance the expansion from the profits of that mini-enterprise? For instance, if your goal is to start a shop, could you begin with a market stall?

If you do need money to start, where’s it going to come from and is the structure you have chosen suitable for your finance and funders? For instance, only some types of legal form can issue shares.

Where is your income going to come from?

Is your business model really financially sustainable? Do the figures add up and are you being realistic in your projected costs and earnings?