NB: This is the first of a ten part series based on an e-book I wrote few years back. Subsequent parts are published at weekly intervals – in the “Entrepreneurship” category.

This post is based on my personal achievements. Like I often say about my written works, this is real life experience – not textbook theory.  Without offering WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) answers, people will either NOT help or they’ll STOP helping you. This article explains how you to get others to willingly give you money/support for your business. It also highlights a major mistake that prevents many entrepreneurs from getting such help.

Having Adequate Capital from the Onset Can Hurt – Rather Than Help – You

First of all you must understand how to view your lack of money or capital. Know that it is not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, quite often it can be a blessing in disguise – especially if you take advantage of it to improve your ability to get what you want.

A lack of money drives people to take personal action. The feeling of insecurity that arises from not having the means to purchase what you want can be a great motivator. In contrast, when a person finds he has virtually everything he needs at his disposal – especially money – his inner love of ease has a tendency to kick in.

Except he’s a rare type with focus and self-discipline, he’ll relax, and fail to push as hard as necessary to really make things work as they should.

Historical records of the lives of past successful entrepreneurs suggest this to be true. Indeed, many who grew their business into international reckoning openly admitted when interviewed that a lack of adequate capital got them that far. They literally had to “claw their way up to success”.

That experience taught them to find ways creative ways to get things done without spending money, and to be prudent in using what they had. This enabled them get more done with less, and they built giant corporations using those hard earned skills.

Many also said they believed if they had had enough money at the start, they would not have been forced to develop the skills that helped them growing their companies cost-efficiently the way they did.

Make It Easier To Get Help By Learning How to Make Money without Money

The above is why Dan Kennedy said in his book titled “How to succeed in business by breaking all the rules”, that he believes it helps to experience a lack of capital. In his opinion – which I happen to share based on my personal experiences/achievements – if you cannot make money without money, you cannot make money with money either.

Dan’s advice to people YOU plan to ask for money, is that if they want to back an entrepreneur, they should pick one who has shown that he can make things happen without adequate capital. Not one who insists he needs money before he can do anything!

TIP: Go out and get some experience under your belt, before you go asking for help.

You’ll need to do enough to demonstrate you have the passion to make your ideas work. Have evidence of some tangible results you’ve achieved with your own efforts. That way, when you speak with those you want money from, you’ll sound more genuine.

They will see that you have an emotional investment in your business. And it will make them believe you’ll do your best to make it work.

Getting Other People’s Cooperation: ONE Big Mistake to Avoid!

The story is told of a startup entrepreneur who struggled to find people willing to invest in a business idea he had, even though they had the money. Every person he approached simply did not show any significant interest.

For a long time he could not figure out why these people – most of who were friends and relatives – were not forthcoming despite the repeated attempts he made. It took him a while, but he eventually realized it was due to a mistake he was making.

Simply put, he was NOT addressing the issue of WIIFM, which means “What’s In It For Me?” Addressing this question will effectively help you identify what you need to do, to get other people’s cooperation in any endeavor you embark upon.

Basically, you have to think of the interest of the other person. Ask yourself:

“What do I give in return for the money I want him/her to invest or donate or lend to me?”

Depending on the exact nature of the proposal you have in mind for a particular person, you may also have to think up an answer for this question:

“How will the person giving his/her money get it back or out of the business?”

Derive realistic and practical answers to the above questions, giving due consideration to any relevant possibilities that may occur with each individual. Then go to each person and make your proposition, offering answers to those questions mentioned above.

I am of course assuming here that you will have every intention of acting with honor and integrity in approaching these persons. If that is the case, you’ll find that by persisting, one or more of those you approach will eventually say yes.

Build Mutually Beneficial Relationships With Others – Before You Ever Need Help!

It goes without saying that the answer you want may not come immediately or overnight. It could take time. And sometimes you may have to gain the trust and confidence of a person you want help from. Harvey Mackay wrote a book on this titled “Dig your well before you’re thirsty”.

In other words, before you ever have to ask others for help, make yourself useful to them (without being manipulative) in as many ways as possible. Forge relationships with people you believe can help you with your goals. Find ways to help them get what they want as often as the opportunity presents itself – and you’ll gain valuable friendships.

Over time, you’ll find that when you have a need it will be easier to approach this network of people to get help. Quite often, even those who cannot help will be willing to tell you where you can go. And they may even gladly give you recommendations, referrals or endorsements!

I’m talking money to keep you going as an entrepreneur – whether you’re already established or just starting up. Quite often it may not even be big money (e.g. millions). But if you do not know what you can do, or where you can go, to get the funds you need, there’s a good chance your business progress will suffer.

NB: This article is the first in a series I’ve decided to write, based on excerpts from an 80 page e-book I wrote in 2003, but never put on sale. I call it the “Entrepreneur’s Survival Reference Manual”. Its full title is “25 Avoidable Mistakes No One Will Warn You About In Starting Your Own Business”.  I however offer a 1 hour talk based on it. For details of how to invite me to deliver that talk to members of your group or organization click here to send me a message.

I now discuss 3 possible ways to quickly get the money you need as an entrepreneur:

1. Use Your Personal Resources

Some people have the mistaken impression that the only time they have to worry about capital for their business is when they are starting up. Then they get the rude awakening that the need for money can re-occur many times during the life of a business, when they have to suffer through repeated excruciating bouts of money outages.

I learnt this truth right from my early startup days in 2002. There were periods when I had NOT one single kobo on me. It was during those periods that I took another look at my some of my personal assets – and decided to sell them off.

To be honest, it wasn’t difficult for me at all. I have never really been attached to, or sentimental about any material assets. So, it did not really bother me that I had to give them up.

To give an example, in October 2001 – two months before I left the company I worked in – armed robbers visited my home and took away a number of valuables including cash etc. But when they left, the FIRST place I went to was the guest room I used as a study.

I went to check that they had not taken any of my business books, videos and manuals, which I believed were essential to starting my new businesses (as if thieves had the time to read books and watch videos on fish farming!). Only after confirming those items were intact, did I settle down enough to notice they had taken my camera, video player, money etc.

You might need to adopt a similar attitude towards your material possessions, if you plan on being an entrepreneur.

An attitude like that will help you tolerate the periods of want, and personal sacrifices you might have to endure at some points in your struggles. If you are the kind of person that believes he/she must always have at least 5 different kinds of shoes, etc, you may find yourself struggling with cash flow for your business survival during inevitable austere periods.

Of course, if you are able to keep funds for personal expenses separate from those for running your business, these suggestions will not be applicable to you. But, from experience, for each person – depending on how “pressed” you get, there might just come a time when these needs conflict/compete directly with each other. When that happens, know that you have the option of adopting my methods, or deriving yours!

“I’ve used up my savings, re-mortgaged my house and sold off every asset I had. You will probably have to take similar steps. – James Cook

2. Find People to Invest In Your Business

This has been described as by far the “quickest and easiest” method of raising funds.

It’s a well known fact that friends and relatives are often the first people entrepreneurs turn to when they need investors. So you could start from there.

But even total strangers can be successfully won over too (over time of course).

It all depends on your ability to present a convincing offer. You must make those you approach believe in you. They must believe that you can use your idea to generate a large and profitable return on their investment. This will make your offer attractive.

In order to achieve the above, you will need to painstakingly research and articulate your ideas on which your offer is based. If you’re already doing it, you’ll want to present results you’ve achieved that confirm the benefits to be had by those who choose to invest.

If you’re just starting out, you’ll need market based data that attests to the feasibility of your idea. And if it’s a new idea, you’ll need to paint a picture of the vision you have, and back it with a display of infectious enthusiasm when speaking to potential investors. That’s really all you’ll have at that point in time

Having said the above, the last thing you want to do is to make overly optimistic projections to “woo” investors. You must give due consideration to the reality of the possible “unexpected” developments that could occur in your unique socio-economic environment. Otherwise you could land yourself in hot water if you’re not careful.

3. Form Strategic Partnerships

Strategic Partnerships with the right individual or organisation can really take the work out of your start-up efforts. And if you’re already in business, it can help you gain readier access to the money or resources you need to take your idea to the next level. I explain…

It’s important to avoid thinking getting physical cash is the only way to go.

Ask yourself, what you need the money for. If it’s a resource or item you wish to purchase, think of possible individuals or organizations that already have it. Consider the possibility of “sharing” access to it, with that individual or organization – and paying for that access if possible in kind or at least at a substantial discount.

It could be warehouse space (if you’re into fast moving consumer goods wholesales), or computer systems (maybe your offer computer based services), alternative power supply (if you run a factory) or printing facilities (if you’re a magazine publisher) – and so on.

If you’re not afraid to do the hard work of investigating and researching potential partners, and preparing a compelling proposal for each one, there’s a good chance you can make this work for you.

The implication of the above is that instead of looking for money, you’d be looking to offer equivalent benefit to this potential partner, in exchange for access to that resource she owns, with you need.

But sometimes it could actually be money that you need.

There will of course be times when what you do need is actual cash. Strategic partnership can of course also help. You can approach a larger business you discover makes regular use of a product or service you offer.

Suggest to them that your company provide that service at zero cost or a substantial discount, in exchange for funding that you need to expand for instance. Historical accounts have it that those who made this work, started by accepting to have their business become a “division” of the larger business, with the entrepreneur allowed to be the CEO of that arm of the business. After making a success of it she was able to go solo.

Get creative here. Depending on the ideas you have, you can negotiate a more suitable arrangement. Quite often what you propose may not get accepted in its exact form. But it could open up the proposed partner’s “eyes” to other possibilities that they might decide to present to you as a counter offer. I say this from personal experience!

Through strategic partnerships you can achieve the combined benefits of sourcing 100% capital you need effortlessly, and/or achieving speedy delivery of your product/service to the right market place.

A WORD OF CAUTION ON PARTNERSHIPS: Just as there are good guys out there looking to give you value in return for what you bring to the table, there also “hungry wolves” looking to devour any entrepreneur prone to naivety.

That’s why in the event that an individual or organisation makes you an offer, you must watch for signs that will give you an idea of how sincere they are.

For instance, frequent informal questions about how much you’ve already made with the idea may suggest they don’t really care about your vision, and are only interested in getting a share of the “big money” they think you’re making.

A useful step you can take would be to consult a knowledgeable legal consultant before agreeing to any specifics.

Goodluck!