Do you want to get some financing for your new product, invention, or company? Lets take a look at what some of the standards seem to be, based on the Venture Capitalism’s three c’s for loans. This article is essencially geared towards taking your business and expanding or improving it by taking out loans.

And of course those three c’s would be cash, credit, and collateral.

1. Cash - It is important for you to be an investor in your own project. If you are throwing down a good portion, say 20% for example, then you are laying the groundwork of good faith. If people know that the person they are investing in cares enough to lay down his own money, they are more likely to invest.
2. Credit - Even though as they say on the investing commercials ‘past performance does not guarantee future results’ it can give you a clue. If someone’s FICO score is awful, there is a good chance that they do not know how to manage their funds. Then on the other hand that person could be great from then on out.
3. Collateral – What happens if you spend the money expanding the business, only to find out that your idea was a flop. The investors are not going to be particularly happy about that. With good cause too, you could have just lost all of their money without anything to show for it. By having collateral, you are saying ‘If I can’t make payments, I’ll back it up with my house’ Could be risky for you, but if it means getting your loans you have to be able to take that risk.

These c’s can be basic rules of thumb for any type of loans. With that, you are one step closer to getting your business set for growth!

My family gathered around the campfire, trying to make s’mores. The coals weren’t ready, though. My cousins poked their marshmallows into the fire only to pull their sticks back out and find a flaming ball of goo. No one could wait. Yet the perfect s’more, like the perfect portfolio and profit, takes patience.

I never thought a silly gramcracker combo could teach me anything beyond the fact that I do not like burned marshmallows. Even in the right conditions, I might burn my marshmallow. Either that or I’d better prepare to get comfortable. Perfectly toasted marshmallows take time. Perfection takes time.

My cousin was getting annoyed. He poked at the fire. “When you give us hot coals and some heat, then I’ll put some more wood on you.” Like the fire would agree to that! Like a university would agree, “Yes, you get your education and then pay your tuition bill. Sounds great.”

We’ve got to give to get. If you want something, give something—a smile, a buck, a business tip, friendship…
Give what you want. But tell me the conditions of the last perfect s’more that you ate.

We talk a lot about ideas for growing wealth. And if you stop to think about it, I’m pretty sure every plan of attack can break down into one of the four:

1. Business—sell yourself, your product, your idea, or your services
2. Investing—gaining bonds, growing interest, gambling stocks and CDs
3. Real estate—I never thought of this method as a kid…own properties
4. Internet—extend the possibilities. A lot of people are making fast money on brilliant ideas. Even less classy ideas like collegehumor.com has brought in millions for its authors

Don’t spend every minute and dime focusing on one of these money makers, though. I’ve been trying to think of anyone who’s wealthy that only used one of these methods. I can’t think of a soul. Therefore, diversify your avenues just as you diversify your stock portfolio.

Welcome to the carnival of business. It looks like everyone has quite a bit of reading to do because we’ve got a lot of great articles for you to read.

Scott Allen is up first with his article Pricing IS Marketing posted at About.com Entrepreneur’s Guide.

Shay has just launched his new web business Boomawang. It’s in the format of an online magazine coming out once a week. It looks good so far!

David Maister presents Alignment and Accountability posted at David Maister’s Passion, People and Principles.

Ohad Gliksman presents Google VS Microsoft posted at Ohad’s Internet News. See how google’s entrance into the online office application market will affect MS’s plans

Supermom_in_ny breaks down what her motivations are and asks what yours are Home Based Businesses: What Motivates Me to Succeed posted at Getting Out of Debt.

Steve presents Team Building - Four Stages posted at Small Business CEO.

Henry Habgood has an idea on how we should handle Customer Service for the e-business owner posted at The Online Lifestyle.

Trent presents Hewitt (HEW): When a Share Buyback Should be Viewed as a Warning posted at Stock Market Beat.

A Samuel presents Munich property shortage posted at Off Plan Properties Blog.

Chris Brunner is next up to help you start Reducing Taxable Income Through Retirement Funds posted at The Small Business Buzz.

Starling gives us some thoughts on Cruises and Cruising posted at The Business of America is Business.

Daniel Scocco presents First Mover Advantage Revisited posted at Future Tech Web.

Dave Lorenzo gives usStep One to a New E-mail Lifestyle posted at Career Intensity Blog - David V. Lorenzo.

Black presents Online business - Blogging money fantasy - can you make a living blogging posted at Leverage Your Effort.

Harrison presents The 10 “Q” in Business

In 1920, an American woman was considered ambitious if she cast her vote on Election Day. Now women’s voices can go beyond the polls to actually having a say about who gets on the ballot in the first place. That’s because of women’s increased entrepreneurial success in the private sector which contributes the majority of funds for political campaigns.

According to Millionaire Women, Inc., “women are starting new businesses at twice the rate of men“! (7). Furthermore, “the number of women who are now building businesses has increased two-and-a-half times faster than all U.S. businesses, and female investors are the newest market for brockerage firms to pursue” (8). Now, more than ever, successful women are able to make sizeable campaign contributions to candidates who speak to women’s issues instead of hoping their husbands will support the interests that matter to them.

How can you join this growing crowd of female entrepreneurs? Millionaire Women says that information and inspiration are the two prerequisities to realizing wealth (6). In interviews with female Presidents and CEOs, including Hewlett-Packard Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina and Avon Chairman and CEO Andrea Jung (8), Millionaire Women discovered that there are three secrets to success.

The first secret is: (Continue reading this article…)

This article is all about rules. More particularly it is about guidelines disguised as rules. The ones that I am talking about are given out as a rule of thumb to keep things running smoothly and effectively.

Now what if they don’t keep things running smoothly? Could it be possible that they are simply an extra piece of formalities and procedures? If so then why follow them?

I’m not saying to skip out on every meaningless task or step, but I am saying to question why you are doing them. From there determine your own actions. It could be as simple as talking to a couple people to get some policy changed, or it could be as big as quitting to start your own firm.

Take a look at a couple of people who didn’t follow the assumed rules, Ben Franklin and the Founding Fathers, Bill Gates and Microsoft, The Copper Kings, Walt Disney and his company, and even the Google Boys.

If there is a rule that is blocking the path to glory, consider trying to get it changed or going around it. Don’t let the assumption that it can’t be done stop you.

Now of course I’m not talking about stomping over other people in order to rise to the top, and I am certainly not talking about breaking the laws in your respective country. I am advocating further contemplation of rules that may not even exist just because no one has done a particular task yet.