Win The Battle of Credibility with Your Investors

Plan ahead: It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.
-Richard Cushing-

There are more than 35,000 trade associations in the United States. Join the one that most closely mirrors yours. You can also visit comparable businesses and ask the owners about their start-up experience. The Net is a great source for this kind of information. For example, Business Town's Web Site (www.businesstown.com) has a dandy list of trade associations that you can query. Suppose you plan to start a retail business. Follow the link to the National Retail Federation (www.nrf.com) and you'll find a wealth of information, including links to your state's retail trade association. If you can't leverage that into good data for your start-up you shouldn't be in business at all!

Start with your proposed costs. It is easier to pin down start-up expenses than to estimate start-up revenues and cash flow-and the expense side gives you a clue to the level of revenues you will need to make your venture work. The Small Business Administration (www.sbaonline.sba.gov) has a useful for for calculating your start-up expenses, including those one-time costs and some operating expenses that can be calculated in advance. And while you are figuring out your start-up expenses, keep track of how you arrive at each figure. A quote from supplier will be more useful than a guess, and will help you win the battle for credibility with your investors.