The launch of our Investors Network Blog halfway through 2009 has proved to be a good move and many articles are continuing to attract large number of readers from both enterprise investors and entrepreneurs alike. Here are top ten articles:

1) What options are there for funding a small business?

Whether starting a new business or growing an existing venture when it comes to business finance its crucial that you understand the options available to you for funding your business.

Equity based finance is of course not the only option when it comes to raising money for your business. Here are a few other options that you may want to consider:

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2) Raising finance for a new business

Raising finance for a new business is often the most challenging task of the entrepreneur. No one enjoys asking others for money (well almost no one) and going hat in hand to your local bank or investment firm is perhaps similar to a trip to the dentist. But it does not to be that hard. Raising funds should be seem as your first real opportunity to see whether you fist of all can communicate your idea effectively an secondly whether other professionals see the opportunity in the same light that you do.

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3) Business Finance

For many entrepreneurs, the availability of business finance plays an important role when coming up with new business ideas. Is your idea fundable? Will you be able to find a venture capital firm, business angel, bank or financing institution to support the business plan financially. This may not be the very first think you think of, yet in the end it may be one of the telling factors when choosing to move forward with a specific business venture.

Before looking for business finance, you may want to consider the following:

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4) How to get business funding

Entrepreneurs looking for funding today face a number of challenges. In the current climate it is  becoming increasingly hard to find credit. Debt finance, which was once an attractive option, is now an expensive burden. Businesses left struggling to find working capital or replacement to bank debt can instead turn to the rising prominence of angel investment as a viable alternative. Here are some top tips to help steer them through this sector:

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5) Writing Business Plans

Writing a business plan for South African investors can be an extremely viable exercise for you as an entrepreneur. 

The business plan is a major exercise in demonstrating your managerial competence. A plan is a list of activities, a "to do" list. The business plan identifies everything which must be done to achieve the mission at a profit. It identifies with clarity the names of all the people who will carry out each part of the action plan. 

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6) Reflections on discussion of business finance for small business

When recently sitting on a panel discussion on business finance for small business we were discussing the types of businesses and the sources of finance available to them?

There were a number of business angles on the panel as well as numerous venture capital firms represented. The discussion was initially about the types of businesses commonly found in the South African economy. Most small businesses are life-style firms.  They may be operated part-time or full-time, but will not, as a rule, exceed R1 million per year in sales. These businesses are entered into by entrepreneurs who are seeking to make a living or control their own destiny by operating a small company.

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7) Start-up Capital: Making use of Angel Investors

After the first stop considered by most new businesses when looking for Business Start-up Capital (banks),Angel finance will normally be the next port of call. Despite this fact, few entrepreneurs really understand whatAngel investors look for and expect from businesses in which they potentially may invest. The fund raising process is becoming ever more competitive and being able to meet investor requirements the first time around will increase your likelihood of raising the capital you need.

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8) Angel Investors key to economic recovery

Recent research in the UK suggests that Angel investors will be key to economic recovery. In the UK, as in South Africa, entrepreneurship and small business forms an important part of the national economy. Angel investors play an important role here when it comes to business finance. With banks around the globe being much more choosy when it comes to investing in businesses, entrepreneurs and small firms increasingly opt for alternative finance from angel investors.

The report reads: Click here to read the full article

9) Dragons Den Provides Priceless Advice

Those of you who regularly make trips across the big pond to the UK, perhaps to present a business plan to an investor or simply juts for work or play, would no doubt have caught a glimpse of the very popular Dragons Den on the BBC. Its a simple yet affective format where entrepreneurs pitch there business idea to 5 business investors, offering to give away some equity in exchange for the required investment. The program has been running for around 5 seasons now and well worth an hour of your time if you happen to be there any time soon.

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10) SA Venture Capital firms still looking for investment opportunities

Venture Capital firms still looking to investment opportunities said Julia Fourie, CEO of Mark Shuttleworth’s venture capital company Here Be Dragons (HBD), based in Cape Town. In a conversation with Cape Business News where the differences with Venture Capital market in the US were discussed Julia said “The biggest similarity is in that the actual performance of the underlying companies is not as good as anticipated as a result of the tough economy. This is likely to result in longer holding periods before selling the companies, in order to deliver the returns required.”

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