7 Tips For Successfully Raising Capital On Shark Tank - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

7 Tips For Successfully Raising Capital On Shark Tank - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career ABCs Shark Tank provides free weekly tips showing what to do, and what not to do when it comes to raising investment capital to fund your business and your personal brand. Although theres nothing quite like the autonomy that comes from self-funding your business, in many cases, there may come a time when you need to raise outside capital to take your book, brand, or business to the next level. Each episode of Shark Tank provides valuable ideas of the right and wrong ways, to pitch outside investors. Watching Shark Tank will also help you prepare proposals for alternative funding options, like Kickstart. Tips for surviving your appearance on Shark Tank Here are 7 tips for preparing for your appearance on Shark Tank, or when approaching other investors: Research. Start by watching the program Friday evenings and catch up with earlier episodes available on the Internet. Look for similarities in offers that were funded, and note how they differed from offers that were not funded. Familiarize yourself with the metrics of your industry and the relative strengths weaknesses of your competition. Master a new vocabulary. Learn to speak using Shark Tank terms like scalability and barriers to entry, rather than empty language like passion and potential. Prepare. Train yourself to think on your feet. Dont script your presentation; its too easy to be caught off guard. Plus, the initial presentation is just the starting point. Keep your initial presentation as short as possible, so youll have time to prepare your responses to the questions to follow. The QA is where investment battles are won or lost. Prove. Focus on the metrics of your business, not its potential. Offer concrete proof of successful execution to date. Nobody cares about how creative you are, how many patents youve earned, or how much you believe in your project. Instead, provide proof of execution in terms of cash flow, signed contracts, patents, and your true costs of doing business. Be ready to describe exactly how you funded your business so far, plus where and how youll spend the funds youre requesting. Dream. Think big; make sure you ask for enough money to do what needs to be done. Not asking for enough money is just as bad as asking for too much money without a chance of being repaid. Not asking for enough money indicates that you dont have a well thought-out and sustainable business plan. No investor wants you to come back in 6 months or a year, and ask for additional funding. Anticipate. Anticipate the awkward questions you may be asked. Make a list of the most potentially damaging, or embarrassing questions that might be askedand know how to limit the damage when you respond. On the Shark Tank, youll be dealing with pros who know business and, possibly, know a lot about the business youre in. Detach. Learn to separate your emotions from your business. Dont take it seriously when investors dont share your enthusiasm for your idea or youre asked uncomfortable questions about your ability to manage a growing business. To you, your business is your dream; but, to the investors, its only business. Continue to be gracious, poised, and in-control. Remember that other investors are watching and evaluating your performance.  Act. Be prepared to act when you receive an offer. Too many entrepreneurs get a deer in the headlights look when a potential investor makes an offer. When an offer appears, they freezeand, often, concentrate more on what theyre giving up than the benefits of accepting the offer. Dont appear on Shark Tank unless youre completely convinced youre willing to share ownership of your business with an investor. Know how far youre willing to go, and dont let fear of change cheat you out of a dream opportunity. Is Shark Tank for you? I cant think of too many authors, entrepreneurs, and personally aware, brand-building self-employed professionals who couldnt benefit from watching Shark Tank. Its not always easy to watch, but it has raised my awareness of fundamentals and issues that I had never paid much attention to. Its a gateway to a different view of personal branding success. What are your impressions of Shark Tank? Is Shark Tank drama or Business 101? Author: Roger C. Parker is an author, book coach, designer, consultant who works with authors, marketers, business professionals to achieve success with brand-building books practical marketing strategy. He helps create successful marketing materials that look great get results, and can turn any complex marketing or writing task into baby steps. Visit his blog to learn more or ask a question.