How to Start a Business

Recently, we have pointed out the horrible nature of angel investing help organizations, those guys that charge you $500 to $5,000 for advice on how to raise angel money and then introductions to some angels.  These groups almost never help land funds, and the unwitting entrepreneur can spend lots of time and money chasing a dream.

So today, I wanted to tell you about a new, exciting, safe way to raise funds.  This method probably wont be useful to raise $100,000, but if you need $10,000 or so, it would be a great bet for you.  Fred Anderson, from Atlanta, was interested in starting a car inspection center.  He tried banks and other traditional outlets, but was not able to find the resources.  So, he placed an ad on Kiva.org and soon had raised the needed $7,000 from almost 200 investors in 15 countries.

Kiva.org was designed to provide micro-financing for super-small businesses in poor countries like India.  You can go on Kiva, see listings of hundreds of small businesses around the world, and invest in companies that appeal to you.  You invest as much or as
little as you wish, even just $25.  And, incredibly, the default rate on loans like this is very small, usually less than 2%.  Its a great way to help the poor and a powerful website.  The site now allows U.S. based firms to list their opportunities too, which is how Fred was able to get involved.  If you want to start a small business here in the U.S., we recommend giving kiva a try……