In talking with one of my funding reps recently, he mentioned that in his many dealings with entrepreneurs at many levels, he found that the vast majority of them had been trained to "think small." The reasons for this were that they were constantly being reminded of

1. the difficulty of raising capital,
2. high interest rates charged by lenders to small companies or
3. the insistence by many venture capitalists that the company owner(s) surrender control of their companies.

If, instead, they continued to "think small," they could still retain control of their company, even if they were unable to expand due to lack of capital and a funding strategy. Thus, these entrepreneurs are encouraged to export their products or services and are discouraged from becoming multinational corporations.

ENTREPRENURIAL FEARS

I've found similar attitudes. When I discuss a $1 million funding , I've often heard, "But it costs more to go public in the States" or "We only grossed $2 million, last year." These are often examples of being stuck in a mental rut, locked into what is thought to be "possible."

In such cases, my response is, "I understand. That's what you've been thinking about and planning...and that's fine. However, can you set that plan aside for a few moments and imagine what you might be able to do if your company were a multinational corporation? If you could get not only that million, but several millions more?" I generally hear a long silence at that point.

Then the ideas begin to pop, the possibilities expand. If, however, you really dont want to be a multinational corporation with its associated problems and the hard work required, along with the potential huge rewards, probably reading on is a waste of your time.

But if such an idea appeals to you, what are some ideas which might be considered?

ACQUISITIONS

You can grow the value of your company rapidly by finding cash producing companies in your field, supportive of your main product/service, that you might be able to acquire for cash or, even better, cash and stock. (That's the system used by CISCO to become a $50 billion international goliath.) That saves you the huge costs of creating a new market. You buy it already established instead. It builds company value far faster than by simply ramping up production, advertising and/or marketing.

FRANCHISING

Does your product or service lend itself to franchising? Macdonalds and similar firms would be far smaller if they had simply opened branches. The business would have become unwieldy very quickly. Helping others to own their own businesses, while they, in turn, increase your companys cash flow, makes great business sense. Its another way to buy a new market rather than building it.

FACTORING

While youre building your company, can you increase cash flow if your product or services are sold to other commercial enterprises? Factoring is the fastest, most reliable form of rapid cash flow ever invented. One of the cheapest, too. The practice is over 3,000 years old and used by hundreds of thousands of companies. See my articles on this subject here at Ezine Articles.com

INTEGRITY AND PROFESSIONALISM

We've recently connected with a new Equity Investment funder. Probably the single biggest factor which made us decide to work with this particular funding group is their extremely high levels of integrity and professionalism. They trumpet a win-win-win intention from the very beginning. In over twenty years in the financial field, weve never met a group like them. Read about them at our website.

THINKING BIG, ENTREPRENEUR!

My suggestion is simple: Think BIG! What was your original dream? Might you be able to achieve it faster than you've thought? How big are you willing to grow? As an entrepreneur, what are you willing to tackle? If you can qualify for the funders program, we'll support you in your rapid expansion toward your goals.