Fundraising Tips for a Digital Marketing Agency
At the moment, digital marketing is one of the most lucrative fields in the business world. It is also one of the fields with the fastest tech innovation, which means that one needs to start with a hefty initial capital if they are to remain competitive in this field. A lot of first-time entrepreneurs come from the niche of freelance digital marketers, which means that they’re ill-prepared to tackle one of the most crucial tasks of the business world – fundraising. With that in mind and without further ado, here are several fundraising tips for starting your own digital marketing agency.
Table of Contents
#1. Create a business plan
Regardless if you’re going to apply for a loan or look for investors, people will want to see your business plan. The first question that they’ll ask is – why should I invest? Can I get my money back if I do? By making a thorough and detailed business plan, you’ll successfully answer both of these questions. Not only will you create an executive summary that can give them a general idea of where you’re heading but you’ll also clearly state your keys to success. Other than this, your vision, mission and objectives statement is something that you just have to address in order to have it all covered.
#2. Venture capitalists
There are some companies that specialize in finding prospective enterprises and investing in them in hopes of getting enough profit. Due to the fact that a lot of these young enterprises fail within the first five years, these companies need to branch out and make a massive number of investments in hope that one or two of them will pay off. The return that they receive is so great that it makes the entire ordeal worth their while. It also means that attracting their attention isn’t that hard. What’s hard is actually making them financially commit to your cause.
#3. Angel investors
Angel investors are similar to venture capitalists, except they tend to choose a smaller number of enterprises to invest in and go all-in. Another advantage of angel investors lies in the fact that they’re usually someone with years and decades of experience in the business world, as well as all sorts of connections, all of which can be a major benefit to a young digital marketing agency. Due to the fact that they depend heavily on your success, they’re bound to provide you with at least some sort of logistical assistance, other than just aiding you with your finances.
#4. Business loans
Another thing that you need to bear in mind is the fact that a loan is probably the first idea that a lot of people go for when it comes to financing their business. In fact, there are a lot of great business loan options out there for you to consider. The problem with this idea, however, lies in the fact that some of these loans may require collateral that you’ll lack. On the other hand, with so many online lenders out there, it’s also fairly easy for you to find platforms offering reliable unsecured business loans. Considering this move might be the right thing for your digital marketing business.
#5. Line of credit
The reason why getting a line of credit is such a great idea is due to the fact that there are so many unforeseen expenses out there and it’s better to keep your options open. You see, there are a lot of situations where you aren’t exactly sure how much money your enterprise will need. Therefore, instead of just going for a loan, you might want to consider applying for a line of credit. This way, you get to raise funds up to a certain limit, which gives you more flexibility than any other option from this list.
#6. Friends and family are an option
In a scenario where you intend to start a small business, you need to bear in mind that about 38 percent of such businesses get funded by friends and family. However, you need to understand that this is a highly situational thing and that your closest circle might not have that kind of money available. For this reason alone, you need to be ready for several outcomes. Also, you need to treat these fundraising like a loan (which they are), instead of taking a more lenient approach to this entire issue.
#7. Find a partner
Finding a partner is definitely not the same thing as going for an investor. An investor is someone whose capital you need but a partner is someone who is there to share responsibility, as well as get involved in the operations. This is why in the world of digital marketing if you can find an expert in the field in which you don’t exactly excel, you’ve achieved an amazing thing. This will not only help you with your fundraising but also do a great thing for your business from an administrative standpoint.
Conclusion
Properly taking care of this field will prepare you for the majority of hardships that await you in the early stages of your business. Furthermore, fundraising is one of the tasks that will come in handy in the later stages of your business, as well. This is why it might be a good idea to start thinking about it as early as possible.
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