Finance Your Own Business

A comprehensive overview of the financing options available to small and start-up businesses.

In this business book, Sutton (Start Your Own Corporation, 2013) and Detweiler (The Ultimate Credit Handbook, 2003) present the financing methods available to people looking to start a small business or to provide additional funding to an existing one. The book addresses simple funding sources, such as personal savings and bank loans, as well as more complex investment vehicles such as crowdfunding and venture capital. Both aspiring and veteran business owners will find the book useful, as it details the ways companies can raise finances and operating credit at different points in the business life cycle. Sutton and Detweiler display a deep knowledge of government regulations, including recent changes to credit card and securities law, as well as the industry norms that determine funders’ expectations. They also provide readers with details on standard information that bankers or angel investors are likely to want, along with recommendations for organizing and presenting it. Appendices provide templates for standard documents, such as the private placement memorandum, and a section of further resources guides readers to other useful tools. The book also addresses common scams and predatory lending practices and cautions readers about their risks. The prose is occasionally awkward (“While not specifically agreed to but arising solely out of the situation, Nora spoke very highly of Chad and Ruth as the successors of her late husband’s devotion to customer service”), but Sutton and Detweiler do an excellent job of using legal and technical terms clearly, with a minimum of jargon. Although the book does urge readers to consult Sutton’s earlier books too often, the information on the whole is solid, and readers can feel confident in discovering solid advice.

An energetic, informative handbook for business owners.