A few years ago, I heard a presentation by Acción about their loan packages for food and beverage entrepreneurs. I was shocked to learn that their interest rates were around 16%, marginally lower than a credit card. For an organization with a …
At the Slow Money National Gathering last month, I gave a Fundraising 101 presentation that covered the basics of business planning and financial projections required when seeking investors or loans. One of the first questions asked was, “How does Slow Money business planning differ …
Over the last few months, I spoke with micro-lenders – ACCION USA and The Carrot Project. The story is the same: they have capital to lend, but are having trouble finding “qualified” borrowers.If you are seeking financing to start or grow …
Perhaps it’s a sign of a recovering economy: entrepreneurs are opening new businesses. Lydia Shire and Jasper White’s new restaurant, Towne Stove and Spirit opened this summer at the Hynes Convention Center. Farmers Juan Mendez and Andrew Rebula, broke ground at their …
Recently, I was reading the autobiography of an entrepreneur. He described the demise of his gift catalog business: “Finally, after the program grew so that it produced revenue of three-quarters of a million dollars and only cost us approximately $750,000, …