How to Fund an Idea

Do you have a creative project that needs funding?

Is keeping 100% ownership and control over your work sound good to you?

Well, I’m happy to share with you a way to fund an idea without having to rely on venture capitalists, angel investors, or banks.

Let’s face it in today’s economic environment we need a new form of funding and patronage that can support the creative ideas of entrepreneurs like you.

So what is it?

It’s called crowd funding.

Did you know that every month, tens of thousands of people pledge millions of dollars to fund ideas from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields?

One company called Kickstarter is taking crowd funding to a whole new level with its all or nothing funding approach. What I like is the fact that once you post a project and set a funding deadline you can either meet or even surpass your funding goal.

For example, Melissa Niemann who recently posted a Pop Culture Paper Doll Project has already exceeded her funding goal with 20 days still left to go. Her project was even featured on the Kickstarter blog.

If you don’t reach your funding goal then all the pledges from backers are canceled and no money is transferred which protects everyone involved.

My good friend Arvind Ramkrishna, owner of Driven Mavens, says “Anyone that is driven and entrepreneurial minded, dreams of starting their own gig and being successful.  Often times, getting funding for an idea is difficult.  Crowd funding allows you to pitch your ideas to the masses to obtain funding for your project without all the headaches and risk involved when funding a business with banks and investors.”

Let’s go over some of the advantages of crowd funding:

• Allows you to test the marketability of your idea
• You keep 100% ownership of your company
• You keep 100% control over your work
• Allows you to connect with people interested in your idea
• Allows you to get feedback from backers

Keep in mind there are project guidelines that sites like Kickstarter have in place so not all projects or ideas are accepted. For example you cannot submit charity or fundraising projects as well as submit projects to cover company expenses or hiring of web developers.

So if you have a great idea and can communicate it effectively then crowd funding with companies like Kickstarter can be a tremendous source of money and encouragement for your project.

What other sources of funding have you used to fund your projects?

Looking for additional funding sources? Become a member of my Business Credit Insiders Circle and gain access to a proven step-by-step business credit building system. A system that provides you access to vendor lines of credit, fleet cards, business credit cards with and without a PG, funding sources and lenders that report to all the major business credit bureaus. Submit your name and email below for details and receive a free audio seminar ($597 value) =>

About the author

Marco Carbajo is a business credit expert, author, speaker, and founder of the Business Credit Insiders Circle. He is a business credit blogger for AllBusiness.com, a subsidiary of Dun and Bradstreet and author of “Eight Steps to Ultimate Business Credit” and “How to Build Business Credit with No Personal Guarantee.” His articles and blogs have also been featured in American Express Small Business, Business Week, The Washington Post