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尊敬的读者：

以下是我抄录的笔记，有空会改写成中文的漫话风。如果您读英文流利，读原文更好。美国是全世界融资最圆滑的国家。说到做企业，融资必不可少。企业在哪里做好？自然在美国做才好，其中还有很多很多的诀窍。美国是一个能让人成功的国家，不少中国人有机会来美国却回流了，原因是他还未曾把美国摸透，他还不懂该用什么样的切入点去摸透美国。

Choosing debt or equity, or a combination of both, to finance your business depends on many factors. The first step is understanding the pros and cons of acquiring debt and sharing equity. Debt financing means you take on a loan, note, or other repayable debt in exchange for receiving funds. The repayment terms are fixed. Equity financing means you receive financing funds in exchange for capital stock, stock options, or other ownership activities. Because the lender shares ownership of your company, they also share profits without any guaranteed return.

Loans and lines of credit are straightforward business transactions in which you know exactly what you receive and when you must repay it. However, if you think your business’s cash flow may not be able to keep up with the payments required by debt, you might want to approach investors who will not expect returns for several years. Conversely, if you want to maintain total control of your business and retain any future profits and you project steady cash flow, debt is the better option. Once you pay the loan, the profits are yours to keep.

Financing Types

Types of Debt Financing

Long-term bank loans
Short-term bank loans
SBA loans
Lines of Credit
Leasing versus buying
Inventory financing
Customer financing
Factoring receivables
Home-equity loans
Corporate bonds
Letter of credit
Credit cards

Types of Equity Financing

Family and friends
Angel investors
Strategic investors
Strategic partnering
Founder capital
Venture capital
Small business investment companies(SBICs)
Employee stock ownership plans(ESOPs)

Debt Financing

Although the idea of funding a venture exclusively with other people’s money sounds attractive, it rarely happens. It is extremely unusual for a business owner to have zero financial risk. Investors prefer to see that the founder has a personal stake in the business, whether it is a home used as collateral or a substantial amount of personal savings invested. For the most part, most lenders and investors prefer a debt-equity ratio of one, which means that for every dollar of debt, there is a dollar of the owner’s money invested as equity.

Debt financing is the natural choice for most startup and early stage business. No control over the business is lost, and successfully making your monthly payments on time can help you procure future debt financing. The important thing, then, is to make sure the loan is arranged favorably for your business.

Here are some things to consider before applying for or accepting a loan:

1, Your credit status. What chance does your business have of qualifying for debt financing?

2, The size of the loan. Will it be big enough to suit your needs and help you grow?

3, Your cash flow projections. Are they accurate enough to be relied upon to pay down the debt each month?

4, Interest rates and market conditions. Can you still satisfy the loan conditions if the market slows down or if interest rates go up?

5, Sources of collateral. Will you stake personal or company assets as collateral?

6, Business plan and financial documents. Is all the paperwork in order, and does it accurately reflect the status of the business> Does the business plan need to be revised?

7, Terms and conditions. Are they favorable? If not, are there other financing options to explore?

The good news is that everything you earn after paying off the debt is yours to keep. The bad news is that if you can’t keep up with monthly payments, you will be in serious trouble with your bank. Your credit rating will suffer as well. You may even be forced to liquidate your assets to pay off the debt.

The biggest obstacles for debt financing are qualifying for a loan and having adequate collateral before you can get the capital you need. It helps to have some of your own money in the business, as this shows the bank that you have put personal assets on the line.

Exercise caution when using debt financing, as having too much debt decreases your financial leverage. This means that your debt-equity ratio becomes too high, requiring your business to make a large sum of money each period solely to service the debt.

As much as debt seems like a burden, it is still the most likely source of startup capital. Debt is less expensive in the long run, and makes finding investors less expensive too, once you have proven that your business is not high risk. Unless you are extremely lucky or have a knockout loan proposal, you are likely to meet with a fair share of rejection from banks. If the rejection is a result of poor cash flow projections, then another financing option may be the best alternative.

Equity Financing

When considering equity financing, keep in mind the long-term effects it will have on your business. Investors tend to remain only until they get a return on their investment. Keep in mind that selling off equity cannot be reversed easily.

In addition, if you sell too much equity too early in your company’s existence, you will not have ample equity to work with during future rounds of financing. More important, when your company succeeds, you will have already sold your future profits!

Attracting investors can be extremely difficult, particularly for a startup with great risk potential. If your business is already established or if you do not qualify for debt financing, equity financing might be your best bet. Equity financing can help businesses grow faster, because and investor does not expect a return for several years, freeing up capital that would have gone into monthly payments had debt financing been used.

In exchange for providing the business with capital, the investor assumes partial ownership of the business. Depending on how the deal is arranged, the investor may also assume some of the control and provide additional management support. However, equity deals are also established in which the investor owns most of the business, but has none of the control. The investor’s returns, when they come, are usually higher than the amount of interest you would pay a lender because the investor has assumed greater risk.

Be prepared to regularly update the investor on how the business is doing, how their money is spent, and whether or not they are on schedule to receive their return.

A few things to consider before undertaking equity financing:

1, Will you be able to attract investors?
2, Will investors pay enough for partial ownership to meet your financial needs?
3, As an owner, are you willing to share control?
4, Are you comfortable with sharing trade secrets and ideas with potential investors?
5, Is your business plan current, accurate, and geared toward the potential investor?
6, Does your business stay on top of its records, making it easy to keep the investor informed?
7, How much of the future profit are you willing to share?

So which option is right for your business? It depends on what you qualify for and on what your expectations are. For instance:

1, Do you want to grow quickly? Are you comfortable sharing ownership? Could you use a fresh face at your next board meeting? If yes, equity should be your choice.

2, Do you want to stay in control of your business and keep all of your profits? Is your business well-leveraged? Are you uncomfortable with an investor expecting frequent updates on the status of the business? If yes, then debt financing is for you.

In assessing the options, make sure you understand the necessary compromises as well as where you absolutely cannot compromise. In seeking the dollars you need, you may find that a combination of loans and investment money provides the balance between debt and equity that you can best afford.

Here are a few guidelines to help determine whether you should pursue a loan agreement or sell equity to raise capital.

1, If you have a high ratio of equity to debt, you probably can afford debt financing.
2, If you have a greater debt-to-equity ratio, you probably should seek equity financing.
3, Debt financing may require your personal guarantee. Consider how this will affect your personal credit.
4, Review your cash flow analysis. Will you be able to meet payments every month? Equity financing preserves cash.
5, Is your need greater than your fiscal power? Often new business are incapable of borrowing sufficient capital to support their launch before seeing their first profits. In that case, you will need equity financing.
6, Do you have enough time to secure equity financing?