Funding
How To Finance a
Business and Pay Yourself a Salary
At the Same Time! by Susan Scotts
Do you think that buying a franchise requires a lot of money up front? You might believe you need to keep your day job (or have your spouse cover the household obligations) in order to survive until the customers start coming in and the business ramps up to positive cash flow. But that is not necessarily true. You may be interested to know that you can actually get started sooner than later with fewer out-of-pocket funds than you think. You don’t have to be a Rockefeller or have saved up hundreds of thousands of dollars before you can begin. You can actually start NOW! It sounds too good to be true: finance and start a business and pay yourself a salary at the same time. While this is not the optimal way to begin, sometimes it’s
30 The Franchise Woman
the only option. You may have lost your job or transitioned out of the military. You may be single without additional household funds to help. You may have no funds coming in. You have searched, and for whatever reason, you can’t obtain a job offer. Alternately, even if you are well-established financially with lots of liquidity or retirement or savings, you may want to leverage other people’s money to invest. Setting financial expectations that are reasonable and attainable is really important. If it is not the right time for you now, occasionally your family or friends may want to invest in you or even partner with you. It’s important to understand that many franchise businesses cost less than what a new car costs today, so the investment can be a lot more
reasonable than you think. And, with many funding options out there to leverage, no matter how much liquid cash you have or what your credit score is, there may be an option for you. Many businesses that fail do so because they are undercapitalized. Start by understanding your current total financial picture. Then, explore franchises that are interesting to you and learn about the financial possibilities that the franchise offers. You will have an opportunity to explore what previous owners have accomplished financially, and you may begin to see something that you feel could be a good opportunity for you. In parallel with exploring the franchise options, begin researching funding options that you may qualify for.
