Summary

Entrepreneurial financing is concerned with understanding the funding requirements for a new business and what sources of funds are available. Each source comes with different expectations and requirements. Equity financing provides the entrepreneur with maximum flexibility: Dividends are not required and can be made when cash flow is strong enough to meet all obligations of the firm. Debt financing restricts financial flexibility but can be cheaper under some circumstances. For example, SBA loans can be subsidized by the federal government. Financing is not a one-size-fits-all procedure.

For nonprofit organizations, achieving a sustainable funding strategy requires hard work, creativity, and a delicate balance of financial resources. These types of organizations need to create programs that will interest patrons who are willing to pay for activities. They also rely on the generosity of their benefactors beyond simple patronage in the form of donations, and they vie for extremely competitive grant funding.

Although loans and liabilities such as credit card debt can fund a new business, the repayment and additional interest charges are a real challenge to many entrepreneurs. Financing strategies that avoid loans, such as crowdfunding websites and bartering, offer opportunities for funding that are often more manageable.

Bootstrapping is the process of self-funding a startup business. Sometimes entrepreneurs will have no financial resources beyond their personal savings. This method of funding a business requires creative approaches to problem solving, generating business, and managing expenses. It can be a slower, more difficult process than a company with more funding might face, but in the long run, it can benefit the company’s strength and growth, and provide robust dividends to the founders.

Accounting is concerned with how transactions are recorded in a way that helps entrepreneurs share information with stakeholders, including potential investors, and helps business owners make decisions about running their company.

Entrepreneurs can use financial information for multiple purposes. These projections can help plan a new business. By forecasting the income and expenses of the first year, an entrepreneur can have a reasonable idea of the level of financing that may be required. Second, these projections can also show potential investors what the business will look like in the future and how long it might take them to get a return on their investment. Break-even points help illustrate a minimum amount of sales to cover expenses.