The Truth (About Financing) is Out There!

Hey gang,

Chris French here from Modern Midwest Entertainment. You know, I'll be honest, I don't have a lot of money. I don't have much in the way of rich relatives, either. In order for me to get a business off the ground, I'm going to need a few things. Number one, partners. Having people on board with me that are willing to share the burdens and the triumphs of owning a business is a great thing! Not only are they also invested with time, resources and such, but partners are also a good, creative resource to bounce ideas off of! A lot of good ideas get started not by one person, but a group of people! The second thing I'm going to need, and which is the focus of this blog, is MONEY!

A business just doesn't happen because of one's good looks. If it did, I'd have been in my own business 15 years ago. The main ingredient to get a start up from concept to concrete is cash! A person or a group can have the most fantastic idea ever thought of, but without the capital to back that idea, it'll just stay an idea. Very recently, a list of websites was given to me as a means to check out potential financing sources for my business. The website I'm going to talk to you about right now is called Opportunity Finance Network (OFN).

As I looked around this website, I became excited, because I could see the potential for me to get funding for my business right away. I went first to find out what kind of qualifications are needed to obtain financing. I looked at the qualifications:

Have a primary mission of community development and/or serving economically disadvantaged people and communities. For organizations that are part of a larger corporation, the parent corporation must also have a primary mission of community development.

Be a Member in good standing (i.e. current on dues, completed annual survey, etc.) of OFN, or commit to becoming a Member prior to closing the financial transaction;

Demonstrate that the use of capital is consistent with OFN’s mission;

Be a private, independent financial intermediary;

Use financing as a key component of their community development strategy;

Have a demonstrated track record of at least two years of community development financing;

Demonstrate the capacity to use capital productively; Demonstrate at least two years of operating surpluses in the last three years.  Source: Opportunity Finance Network Application for Funding http://www.opportunityfinance.net/uploadedfiles/financing/For_CDFIs/Application.for.Financing.pdf

I know, at the moment, that I don't meet the qualifications for this program, but, once I do, you better believe that I'm going to look into joining them and seeing about them helping to grow my business. I noticed an initiative that OFN and Starbucks have started called "Let's Create Jobs for USA". I personally like this, and I am going to donate to this. I want to help create jobs, that's one reason I'm starting a business. This is also another reason I want to try to get financing through OFN, due to their concerted effort to put people back to work.

The OFN website also offers a great deal of professional advice about starting businesses, along with sites about business policy, the OFN brand and what it can do for a business, and news about industry so businesses can keep up to date on what's happening in industries. OFN also offers knowledge sharing and strategic consulting to its members. I'll tell you, gang, if you have only one option to check into for financing and so much more, I would definitely recommend that you check out OFN. That's all for now gang, take care, and enjoy your weekend!

SEE YA!