Starting up a business

[ChuffingHell]

I am thinking about the possibility of starting up a business. The problem I have is that said business will require quite a lot of initial outlay - I would suspect around �500,000

I think I would need to find finance for pretty much all of this as I am not blessed with a host of rich family members who might throw me some change and at have only recently bought my house so there is more mortgage than equity at present.

As such, my question is whether anyone has any experience of getting such funding from (reputable) institutions? I haven't thought too much about it yet because I don't want to get my heart set on it and then find out I haven't a hope in hell of getting the financing so if anyone has any experience of this, it would be good to know how it panned out with you.

[Ghostrider]

Chuffing,

A bank would only go to 50% normally of a business bank loan and for that size they would certainly want some security. Business Angels may be an option depending on the type of business it is - if it is going to make some serious money then they may invest as they want a quick return on their money. If there isnt the option for a serious return on their investment then they will probably not look to invest. Invest some time on writing a thorough business plan and then look at it in the cold light of day.

[Markandshez]

Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme will tweak the 50% up to 70%.

Find your local Enterprise Agency via Business LInk and attend one of their courses. They do a fantastic one in The Black Country, but I dont know what the other areas do

[C_H_U_B_B]

As well as the above i think you would need some sort of proof as to the success of the business eg.

prototypes
orders
testing period
projection

Basically do as much possible without having money and then apply for the finance