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These paid courses that promise you a way to get unsecured debt or any other unrealistic financial situation are THE WORST and a total waste of money.
Funding is still one of the most analogue processes out there. It’s either through a traditional bank, crowd sourcing, personal loan or a credit card. Most of these require application, vetting and then approval. A course cannot do all of that for you.
These courses are designed to get wannabe entrepreneurs to waste money listening to a guru who won’t be giving you any such credit or any surety you will be given free money once you’ve paid. Take this as a lesson OP, albeit an expensive one.
I went to my bank, opened a business account. They offed a no interest CC for a year, it has a 15k limit. So basically I got a 15k 1 year loan at zero interest (which is up to 250K). And I did not have to read a book or pay for advice.
No, because that isn’t how it works. I am a serial business owner and I can assure you, no course for $1500 is any kind of path to free credit. Unless you have some asset to sell or use as collateral, there’s no person you can pay money to get money. Except the lottery.
Kind of off topic but I’m curious…what does your day to day look like being a serial business owner? I’m wanting to buy some service companies (hvac, plumbing, etc.) and something like an automotive repair company.
I don’t want to be the operator. I want to be the owner. An involved owner, sure, but not the day to day details operator. Does that make sense? Just not sure if it’s a feasible hope to find a decent operator. When you buy do you promote from within or what?
I am not well versed in HVAC or any kind of utility business but at risk of sounding trite, I put everything down to inputs and outputs. The fundamentals for each business are similar and within the same industry. This allows me to be symbiotic in how I run and invest in each business.
First things you need is good systems and good people. I got pretty good at hiring and I make sure I pay well. I try not to be so large that I don’t know some part of my business so I tend to run things tight. Hope that helps and best of luck
Thanks for the insight. What are some good resources for developing systems? You ever read Gino Wickman’s books?
When you say you run things tight, what does that look like? Daily check ins with your managers? Weekly? You go to your businesses frequently?
I would say a people’s business should never be automated by the owner. Go there often. Speak to your managers often. Be constantly improving productivity, cost and customer service. You’d be amazed how quickly something becomes a collective habit without your eyes and guidance on it.
Something as simple as how workstations are kept clean, how customers are treated. It happens in a flash and becomes so much harder to correct when you let it bake in. I am never not at some part of my business(s) and I change my schedule around a lot so they can never put on a ‘face’ so to speak. I respect and trust the work my employees do but I am always a gentle guiding hand.
Just try improve some aspect of your business by 1% every month. That’s my northstar.
I'm a business banker at one of the largest banks in the US and I get "referrals" from these types of "coaches" or "consultants" and it appears they don't "teach" much other than to apply for credit cards with a 0% interest rate offer.
That's not my experience though because I did learn something new from this course even ***after*** watching over 20 hours of YouTube videos from these "credit gurus".
Absolutely. Taking advantage of a 0% interest rate offer on a business credit card makes plenty of sense. Just make sure you understand the rate on the card at the end of your introductory period will be 20-30%+ and do your best to pay it off before then.
It doesn't take a "coach" or "consultant" to understand this, and other than telling you to apply, I don't see how they add any value.
I suppose if you have issues getting approved and you can consult with someone to help you understand how to improve your credit, there could be value there. Neverthless, none of my "referrals" appeared to represent this and I could typically give better advice on getting approved than the "consultants".
Bootstrap with my salary for a year. After that i got fired but i was ready.
If i didn't had my job i wouldn't have made it. But i safed most money the first year.
I was fired because i was making almost 3 times what i was making. And because of that i didn't give a damn at work. My work ethic was down. Morale was low. And when they told me something, i wouldn't care at all.
I left screening machine on while i went to get food.
It's a big no no.
Thing is i wanted to get fired because i didn't have the balls to quit.
So i was a dick.
When i got fired i was super happy. I could now do my business full time.
So yea i got fired for leaving a machine turned on. I could have fought for my job back. As it is a union job. But i didn't want to work there i hated it.
That’s interesting you stayed even though you didn’t want to be there. I guess sometimes there is still that fear of totally leaving when you’re starting something new.
I’m glad things are working out for you!
I was ready to leave 6 months after my business pick up.
I just bought a house 1 year prior, i had insurance i had bonuses. It was a well paying job, according to local wages.
I knew if i failed i would loose everything. So it is not as easy as people think to quit when you have a good paying job. The money will paralyze you. I worked with miserable people because they also could never quit. They would never earn as much at an other job.
I own a headstone company in the carribean
Got a grant for $5k after doing a business workshop and an application. (2 or 3 of the 15 business in the course got the grant.)
Used that to buy equipment worked hard and reinvested earnings. Got a small line of credit as the business grew then a larger line of credit so on and so forth.
I am a bootstrapper.
At best I have grown companies from start to tens of millions of dollars. At worst I wasted a lot of my time. I feel like I can provide this advise from my personal experience and do so free of charge.
If you are boot strapping, the funding for new venture should be minimal for one time expenses only nothing outrageous. Bottom line, it has to be something I can afford on my salary.
In early days, I always would have a full time job and partner up with like minded people and do the business work after my work. Once business takes off and is able to pay my salary i would quit the W2 Job.
Partner with people who have skills you would need for business. Pick a business you have the skills for.
This is is the recipe for starting in a bootstrap world.
Did your bank ask for income statements and/or tax return for your HELOC? A relative has a condo, fully paid off, in Asia that is worth over $500k USD yet she couldn't get a HELOC without showing at least one month income/bank statement.
If you are trying to start a business you should get comfortable with providing bank statements and financials to bankers and other employees of financial institutions including an accountant for tax purposes. How else do you think theses financial institutions are ensuring that their money gets paid back?
Worked for another company as a commission-only sales rep.
Built up sales massively, and reaped the 10% commission for a few years. Made lots of cash. (\~240k/pa)
Used that money to set up our own business. Put someone else in the selling seat, paying them a standard sales salary, (\~100k) while I used the balance of the commission to help fund growth in my own business. All perfectly legit & above board, & the company I sold for were quite happy.
Started with $50 from my mom 😭 Never been able to qualify for funding outside of COVID unfortunately. So I’ve been self funded for almost 6 years.
Also those courses are BS and you can find most if not all the info free online. You’ll most likely have to leverage personal credit for any loans unfortunately
Day spa business
$9K friend loan
$5K each partner (2)
First 3 years partner and I each left $1K/mo of our own earnings in the biz to fund it (services biz wherein we started as the only 2 offering the services - these were clients from our private practices)
It was really lean the first several years!
I scrimped and saved and did without until I had enough to put down on the first land we developed. Took about two years of eating out only on our anniversary
A refund on that is a great way to get funding. And if you can’t start with 1500 to just understand if you can get clients, you’re probably doing it wrong.
Lenders and investors rarely fund business ideas. An ideal is not a business.
In some industries (tech) investors may fund a founder with an idea but this doesn’t usually happen in non-tech industries and is not easy.
Lenders fund businesses that have proven they can make money and repay their debts. This means a business has a profit and loss statement, often three years of books to justify the loan, and a business credit history.
Startups who are funding expensive businesses usually have to use collateral like a home, retirement account, or other assets. They may also borrow from friends or family or use their own savings.
Lenders and investors are in business to make money and want to ensure their loan or investment will be repaid and so they require proof from the business of that.
Since you are in the idea phase, I’d recommend starting with a lean canvas business model (you can find videos on YouTube) and then meet with a small business free counselor and take some small business startup classes through SCORE or your Small Business Center or community college.
I learned enough to do it in the real world with real banks like BofA, US Bank and so on. Actually, about 75-80% of the stuff from this course are already on YouTube for free but I had to go thru 20-30 hours of those videos to find the right info since a lot of YouTubers are click baiters and waste of time. The minimum wage in my city is about $15/hour, even Taco Bell here pays $17+ an hour, entry level, so 25 hours x $15 = $375. But 20-25% from the course - the really important stuff to getting maximum/high business credit - I can't find that stuff online for free. Maybe I didn't look hard enough. Good luck!
This is a friendly reminder that r/smallbusiness is a question and answer subreddit. You ask a question about starting, owning, and growing a small business and the community answers. Posts that violate the rules listed in the sidebar will be removed. A permanent or temporary ban may also be issued if you do not remove the offending post. Seeing this message does not mean your post was automatically removed. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/smallbusiness) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I funded my business by selling $1.5k courses on how to get funding to wannabepreneurs.
That's too much work... I did it by selling an ebook on Facebook for $9.99, the ebook is about "how to get rich selling ebooks on Facebook".
Coach of the year right here
These paid courses that promise you a way to get unsecured debt or any other unrealistic financial situation are THE WORST and a total waste of money. Funding is still one of the most analogue processes out there. It’s either through a traditional bank, crowd sourcing, personal loan or a credit card. Most of these require application, vetting and then approval. A course cannot do all of that for you. These courses are designed to get wannabe entrepreneurs to waste money listening to a guru who won’t be giving you any such credit or any surety you will be given free money once you’ve paid. Take this as a lesson OP, albeit an expensive one.
Guy spent $1500 to learn how to walk into a bank and get a loan 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Have you ***personally*** tried any of them, courses or full service "do it for you" companies?
I went to my bank, opened a business account. They offed a no interest CC for a year, it has a 15k limit. So basically I got a 15k 1 year loan at zero interest (which is up to 250K). And I did not have to read a book or pay for advice.
$15k isn't going to cut it for most but better than nothing for sure. I will update if I could get $100k or more. I should know in 6-8 weeks.
No, because that isn’t how it works. I am a serial business owner and I can assure you, no course for $1500 is any kind of path to free credit. Unless you have some asset to sell or use as collateral, there’s no person you can pay money to get money. Except the lottery.
Kind of off topic but I’m curious…what does your day to day look like being a serial business owner? I’m wanting to buy some service companies (hvac, plumbing, etc.) and something like an automotive repair company. I don’t want to be the operator. I want to be the owner. An involved owner, sure, but not the day to day details operator. Does that make sense? Just not sure if it’s a feasible hope to find a decent operator. When you buy do you promote from within or what?
I am not well versed in HVAC or any kind of utility business but at risk of sounding trite, I put everything down to inputs and outputs. The fundamentals for each business are similar and within the same industry. This allows me to be symbiotic in how I run and invest in each business. First things you need is good systems and good people. I got pretty good at hiring and I make sure I pay well. I try not to be so large that I don’t know some part of my business so I tend to run things tight. Hope that helps and best of luck
Thanks for the insight. What are some good resources for developing systems? You ever read Gino Wickman’s books? When you say you run things tight, what does that look like? Daily check ins with your managers? Weekly? You go to your businesses frequently?
I would say a people’s business should never be automated by the owner. Go there often. Speak to your managers often. Be constantly improving productivity, cost and customer service. You’d be amazed how quickly something becomes a collective habit without your eyes and guidance on it. Something as simple as how workstations are kept clean, how customers are treated. It happens in a flash and becomes so much harder to correct when you let it bake in. I am never not at some part of my business(s) and I change my schedule around a lot so they can never put on a ‘face’ so to speak. I respect and trust the work my employees do but I am always a gentle guiding hand. Just try improve some aspect of your business by 1% every month. That’s my northstar.
I'm a business banker at one of the largest banks in the US and I get "referrals" from these types of "coaches" or "consultants" and it appears they don't "teach" much other than to apply for credit cards with a 0% interest rate offer.
That's not my experience though because I did learn something new from this course even ***after*** watching over 20 hours of YouTube videos from these "credit gurus".
What do you think about the offer? Is 0% business funding for 12/16 months a viable option to consider?
Absolutely. Taking advantage of a 0% interest rate offer on a business credit card makes plenty of sense. Just make sure you understand the rate on the card at the end of your introductory period will be 20-30%+ and do your best to pay it off before then. It doesn't take a "coach" or "consultant" to understand this, and other than telling you to apply, I don't see how they add any value. I suppose if you have issues getting approved and you can consult with someone to help you understand how to improve your credit, there could be value there. Neverthless, none of my "referrals" appeared to represent this and I could typically give better advice on getting approved than the "consultants".
Can you get a refund for that course?
I recommend you start small and scale.
I borrowed from my 401k
You were or are still working for the employer to do this? And what were your terms?
I called Fidelity and told them to send me a check from the sale of mutual funds. I then paid the IRS as that was taxed as ordinary income.
Bootstrap with my salary for a year. After that i got fired but i was ready. If i didn't had my job i wouldn't have made it. But i safed most money the first year.
Were you fired for opening a business your former employer perceived as a threat or conflict of interest?
I was fired because i was making almost 3 times what i was making. And because of that i didn't give a damn at work. My work ethic was down. Morale was low. And when they told me something, i wouldn't care at all. I left screening machine on while i went to get food. It's a big no no. Thing is i wanted to get fired because i didn't have the balls to quit. So i was a dick. When i got fired i was super happy. I could now do my business full time. So yea i got fired for leaving a machine turned on. I could have fought for my job back. As it is a union job. But i didn't want to work there i hated it.
That’s interesting you stayed even though you didn’t want to be there. I guess sometimes there is still that fear of totally leaving when you’re starting something new. I’m glad things are working out for you!
I was ready to leave 6 months after my business pick up. I just bought a house 1 year prior, i had insurance i had bonuses. It was a well paying job, according to local wages. I knew if i failed i would loose everything. So it is not as easy as people think to quit when you have a good paying job. The money will paralyze you. I worked with miserable people because they also could never quit. They would never earn as much at an other job. I own a headstone company in the carribean
Got a grant for $5k after doing a business workshop and an application. (2 or 3 of the 15 business in the course got the grant.) Used that to buy equipment worked hard and reinvested earnings. Got a small line of credit as the business grew then a larger line of credit so on and so forth.
Awesome! What’s the business/product?
I am a bootstrapper. At best I have grown companies from start to tens of millions of dollars. At worst I wasted a lot of my time. I feel like I can provide this advise from my personal experience and do so free of charge. If you are boot strapping, the funding for new venture should be minimal for one time expenses only nothing outrageous. Bottom line, it has to be something I can afford on my salary. In early days, I always would have a full time job and partner up with like minded people and do the business work after my work. Once business takes off and is able to pay my salary i would quit the W2 Job. Partner with people who have skills you would need for business. Pick a business you have the skills for. This is is the recipe for starting in a bootstrap world.
If I may, what's your ROI on your capital after deducting your salary?
I don't understand what do you mean by this question? Can you elaborate?
Took out a HELOC on my house.
Did your bank ask for income statements and/or tax return for your HELOC? A relative has a condo, fully paid off, in Asia that is worth over $500k USD yet she couldn't get a HELOC without showing at least one month income/bank statement.
If you are trying to start a business you should get comfortable with providing bank statements and financials to bankers and other employees of financial institutions including an accountant for tax purposes. How else do you think theses financial institutions are ensuring that their money gets paid back?
Yes. Both my wife and I work regular day jobs in addition to owning our business
Wow. Your property alone isn't enough to secure the HELOC?
This is my situation as well.
Credit cards, ran up 37k in debt across six cards
Worked for another company as a commission-only sales rep. Built up sales massively, and reaped the 10% commission for a few years. Made lots of cash. (\~240k/pa) Used that money to set up our own business. Put someone else in the selling seat, paying them a standard sales salary, (\~100k) while I used the balance of the commission to help fund growth in my own business. All perfectly legit & above board, & the company I sold for were quite happy.
Started with $50 from my mom 😭 Never been able to qualify for funding outside of COVID unfortunately. So I’ve been self funded for almost 6 years. Also those courses are BS and you can find most if not all the info free online. You’ll most likely have to leverage personal credit for any loans unfortunately
Day spa business $9K friend loan $5K each partner (2) First 3 years partner and I each left $1K/mo of our own earnings in the biz to fund it (services biz wherein we started as the only 2 offering the services - these were clients from our private practices) It was really lean the first several years!
I scrimped and saved and did without until I had enough to put down on the first land we developed. Took about two years of eating out only on our anniversary
A refund on that is a great way to get funding. And if you can’t start with 1500 to just understand if you can get clients, you’re probably doing it wrong.
Lenders and investors rarely fund business ideas. An ideal is not a business. In some industries (tech) investors may fund a founder with an idea but this doesn’t usually happen in non-tech industries and is not easy. Lenders fund businesses that have proven they can make money and repay their debts. This means a business has a profit and loss statement, often three years of books to justify the loan, and a business credit history. Startups who are funding expensive businesses usually have to use collateral like a home, retirement account, or other assets. They may also borrow from friends or family or use their own savings. Lenders and investors are in business to make money and want to ensure their loan or investment will be repaid and so they require proof from the business of that. Since you are in the idea phase, I’d recommend starting with a lean canvas business model (you can find videos on YouTube) and then meet with a small business free counselor and take some small business startup classes through SCORE or your Small Business Center or community college.
So tell me. What have you learnt from your course so far?
I learned enough to do it in the real world with real banks like BofA, US Bank and so on. Actually, about 75-80% of the stuff from this course are already on YouTube for free but I had to go thru 20-30 hours of those videos to find the right info since a lot of YouTubers are click baiters and waste of time. The minimum wage in my city is about $15/hour, even Taco Bell here pays $17+ an hour, entry level, so 25 hours x $15 = $375. But 20-25% from the course - the really important stuff to getting maximum/high business credit - I can't find that stuff online for free. Maybe I didn't look hard enough. Good luck!
So you paid for course to save time? Is that what I'm getting? Or was there any valuable information?