Is Capital Enough?
January 12th, 2007 

Happy New Year and welcome to 2007.

Is Capital enough in and of itself to grow your business successfully? The key word here is “successfully”. A successful business is one where the growth is sustainable and manageable over the long term. 

The answer obviously is ‘No’; Capital alone is not enough. Is it important? You better believe it but Cash alone is not the Holy Grail. There are things you need to do in order to attract capital in the first instance and then there are things you need to do with that capital once you have it in order to create sustainable growth.

The key component I am talking about in all this is people. People make things happen. The right people, in the right place at the right time; DOING THE RIGHT THINGS, will make an incredible difference on your business and its success. This is not an easy task but it is critical. Here are just three of the many rules that you need to consider:

1. Don’t be a one person band.
You simply won’t raise capital or grow a business as a team of one. If you are a team of one then get ready to change. If you are not a natural leader of others then find someone who is and take your position next to them. I would personally be happy to have a portion of a business run by a successful business leader than all of a business that is worth nothing and going nowhere.

2. Know your limits, skills and experience.
Unless you have successfully run a business and you can show this clearly then don’t try and raise capital. Investors want Proven Business Acumen. Remember investors have the choice of over 1700 listed investments and more than 1000 Share Funds managed by some of the most experienced and intelligent people on this planet. (Not all of them, mind you, but the cream does rise to the top). So this is the market you are competing in for investment funds.

3. Be ready, willing and able to take sound advice.
The key here is knowing when you are actually on the receiving end of sound advice. Everyone has an opinion. Be careful to sift through the information and hone in the right advice. When you are comfortable that you have the right people around you giving you sound advice then ACT ON IT! If there is an already proven system and all you need to do is follow it. Then follow it.

Some of the most successful people in the world today understand these 3 rules (there are others of course). Don’t be fooled into thinking that successful people somehow broke all the rules. They might have bent the rules or made some variations on the theme, but when you dig deeper you’ll discover that they applied fundamentals and logic to their creativity and came out with a successful business. That is what investors want and if you want to attract them then stick to the rules.

All the best for 2007. We hope that you achieve the success you desire, and perhaps you could be the next Wotif or Oakton. Good luck and if you have any questions about the pathway to successful Capital Raising then drop us a line.

Kind Regards,

Andrew Winter

Access to Capital