Did you know that today, we're in an era of Crowdfunding, where anyone with an idea or a concept can reach out to a limitless number of people to ask for funds?  Are you aware of the many advances that have been made, in the way that you can conduct your business lately? There is currently so much information available via the internet, that you can now do business and leverage affordable and sophisticated technology and tools via the cloud, which can even allow you to compete with the big guys. Perhaps one of the biggest changes is how businesses finance their growth these days. Listen in to find out more about what Susan calls the Democratization of Lending.

The guest on the show today is Cliff Ennico, who used to have a radio show with Susan many years ago. Cliff is considered to be one of America's leading experts on the legal and tax problems which are faced by entrepreneurs and small business owners. He's also a prolific writer, having written sixteen books on legal and tax issues, including The Crowdfunding Handbook. Listen in and learn how to finance your business through Crowdfunding.

 

Show Highlights:

 

• You really can raise money for your business through Crowdfunding.
• Until very recently, you could only raise money through Crowdfunding for projects and not a business.
• The revolutionary changes made by Congress and the SEC last year, which now allow companies to use Crowdfunding Portals to raise money from total strangers.
• The Securities Laws, which are actually Consumer Protection Laws.
• That the SEC realized that there are certain people who actually don't need Consumer Protection.
• There are limits to the amount that people can invest in Crowdfunding Campaigns.
• Now you can raise money from your social media followers, for the first time.
• Service businesses cannot raise money from Venture Capital, but now they can legally raise money from fans and followers on social media, through Crowd Funding Campaigns.
• Lots of entertainment projects, like off-Broadway shows, are going to be getting funding this way.
• Food and Liquor are a major thing in Crowdfunding right now.
• The kinds of businesses that can benefit most from Crowdfunding.
• Why Tech Companies don't seem to be working much with this.
• Your chances of success for getting an offering are good if you have a strong social media presence.
• The kinds of questions that business leaders should be asking themselves before they decide to go after Crowdfunding.
• Why it will be better for you to use the services of an attorney or a financial advisor, in order to navigate these portals.
• You have to be careful with this, as all the SEC Fraud Rules still apply.
• How much you are allowed to raise this way.
• How to select the portal that's right for your company.
• Be aware that a lot of these portals are looking for you (the company) to help them to generate investors.
• Cliff's philosophy right now- Look for the one (Portal) that understands your company.
• That there are portals that specialize in Real Estate. (iFunding.co)
• There are also portals that specialize in Franchising.
• What happens if you want to raise say $1,000,000, but you only manage to raise $200,000.
• What you need to watch out for when trying to raise money this way.
• Why Cliff sees Crowdfunding to be the thing of the future, with Millennials in particular.
• The costs for using portals.

 

Links:

 

Cliff's website: www.succeedinginyourbusiness.com 

 

Cliff's Youtube Channel

 

Resource:

 

Cliff's book, The Crowdfunding Handbook