Setting Your Business

You can start from the kitchen table in your home if necessary. You'll need a telephone and unless you have some one acting as a secretary, you should employ a telephone answering service. You can probably get with a telephone answering machine, but because you're dealing with money, it's important that you project an image of success (and a telephone answering machine quickly identifies you as being a one-person operation).

In addition to a telephone, you will also need business cards. These, of course, should be a fine quality (this is not a very large expenditure). They should be of a fine quality ( this is not a very large expenditure). They should simply state your name, followed by th name of your services---Business Financial Services. You may list your phone number in the upper left-hand corner, something such as " Money for Every Need" in the lower right corner, and of course your name and firm name centered in the middle. Assuming you are working out of your home, once you have moved into an office, you would certainly want to make new cards showing your business address.

It wouldn't hurt to have a calculator, a typewriter, and at least a small file cabinet as you set up your business. But just as people got along before without these amenities, you can make do until you can afford this equipment.

Once you are organized in a work area and with the basics for operating your business, the next move will be to get the word out that you're ready to offer your services to people needing money, and for the people who are willing to invest. This means advertising, visiting, making contact in some way with both the people needing money, and those wanting to realize a profit in the process of lending their money. And don't forget---often those who do not go with you for one reason or another may supply with you with fine referrals.

The more you advertise and talk to people about your services, the more successful your business is going to be. So first of all, we suggest you run an ad in the classified section of your local newspapers. It might read like this:

MONEY AVAILABLE! Business start-ups, expansion needs, construction loans, cash flow problems. Call 123-4567

You should run such an advertisement in as many of your area papers as you can afford, every day, for at least a month. This means that you'll have to have an advertising budget, with the money either coming in (or available) to meet these costs before you even contract to run your first ad. (This is part of the

necessary planning that has to be done before you actually open for business.)

At the same time you're running the ad inviting people to come to you for their money needs, you should also be running a daily ad such as this one:

$350,000 NEEDED! Will pay maximum interest.

Growing business, excellent profits and tax

benefits. Call 123-4567.

Now the purpose of the first ad is to build your list of people wanting money---needing loans that you can process. The purpose of the second ad is to build your list of investors in your area with money to put into some of these business proposals you get from the first ad. Obviously, you'll get more people wanting to borrow than people to invest; but once you begin running these two advertisements, you'll be on your way.

When you place your first ads, start checking and following up on similar ads you see running in your area newspapers. Usually. they will be listed under "Financial & loans Wanted", or "Money to Loan."However, don't neglect to check the "Business Opportunities Wanted" classification as well.

When someone calls in response to your "Money Available" advertisement, whoever is acting as your secretary should get the name of the caller, the name of the business, the telephone number, amount of money needed, kind of business and most appropriate time for a consultation. This can be handled most efficiently with preprinted telephone message pads. So you simply collect information from all these incoming calls, look it all over and start making call-backs.

Basically, you call-back conversation should sound something like this: "hello, John Jones? This is Mr. Money Broker returning your call about money for business financing. I understand that you're looking for about $100,000 in order to set up an auto tune-up shop. You stated that you are already pretty well organized with a business plan and location, and that you have pretty good collateral. That's very good. Before we talk further, however, I'd like to tell you a little about my company.

"We represent a number of large lending organizations for business financing, as well as a number of private investor who are looking for new ideas and business to invest in. Their primary requirement, of course, is that they will make money from such an investment.

"What I do is work with you preparing you loan or investment package so that it will be attractive when it is presented to prospective lenders. it is very important that your proposal be complete and in the proper order. It is also the greatest importance that it "look good," and "sell" the people it is taken to. the prospective lender must feel confident in granting you a loan or investing in your business. Once we've got your presentation together, I then take it to some of my lending or investment sources and work toward obtaining you the money you need.

"As I'm sure you're already aware, it's important that your proposal be prepared properly, and presented to the people who are in a position to give you the money you're asking for. I work with you to see that your proposal is the best my people have ever seen, and then I take it to the people who have the money and are looking for a good investment. For this, I require a $100 broker's retainer fee. I then go to work on your specific money needs. What we need to do now is to set up a time and date for me to meet with you so that I may review your proposal. Would tomorrow morning at 10:00 be all right with you, or would 11:00 be better?"

The important thing is to be in control of this telephone conversation; to tell the prospect only what you want him to think about; and to sell him on the idea of getting on with it by paying the broker's retainer fee of $100. Only after you have collected that, of course, will you start to work on evaluating his plan and getting the money he needs.

When you go to see your prospect, you'll need to have a printed broker's agreement" ready for him to sign at the time he pays the retainer fee. An example of a basic or simple broker's agreement is shown here.

(Feel free to use the following form as a pattern for your own agreement, or you may even want to cut it out, paste it up, and have your printer run off a supply for you. If you do cut out and use the form, you will of course place your business name, address and telephone number in the space "Your Name and Address" at the top. Also, be sure to block out the instructions on the signatures lines.)