Sertant Capital – The Importance of Knowing Your Numbers When Asking For Funds

How important is it to know your numbers in a professional field. Despite it sounding like one of the most obvious things to do when asking for funds, knowing the numbers is surpassingly something which many just fail to grasp.  If you are looking to fundraise in any kind of way, be it seeking loans or investment, here is exactly why it is so important that you know your figures.

Harder Than Ever

Even though these businesses actively make money from lending, given the current situation around the world, even these businesses have had to tighten up how they lend and who to. I have a good friend who works at Sertant Capital, a group which specifically loans for the funding of equipment. Naturally when we catch up she is always full of stories and gossip, and I am absolutely stunned at the amount of times she tells me that someone doesn’t have a clue about their numbers when they are asking to borrow cash. With this in mind, you need to be more convincing than ever before, that you deserve this money and more importantly, that you can pay it back to them. In order to instill this level of confidence in them, you will first have to address your numbers. This is how you will explain to a lender what you will spend the money on, when they will get it back and how, if you can’t tell them this then investing in you doesn’t sound like a shrewd move.

Managing The Business

 Not knowing your numbers in this type of situation is about much more than just statistics, it speaks to the wider point of your ability to run a business. An investor would sit there and consider whether or not you were capable of running a business, if you have struggled to provide them with accurate numbers about how you plan to spend and repay their money. You may be the best business owner on the planet but if you are not able to convey that to the investors then you are going to have a tough time in securing the funds that you need.

Securing The Amount Which You Need

Some investors may still offer you some cash but if you have failed to convince them exactly why you need the amount that you are asking for then they simply aren’t going to give you as much. This lack of faith in what you are doing will come across in the amount that you are offered. If you get half of what you are asking for then you are still going to have to find ways in which to get that extra chunk, and this means getting back to the drawing board.

Put in the work before you even attend a meeting, understand the figures, work out exactly what you need, what it will be spent on and more importantly, how and when you plan on paying it back. A failure to do this means that you will be highly unlikely to be refused any funding.