No Story, No Money

Image from Unsplash by May Hirschi

When it comes to asking for money from micro financers or Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), you must have a story that is concise, but relevant.

I’m not talking about a 20-minute story, I’m talking about 1–3 minute story of your journey and the business.

I often hear entrepreneurs sharing information that is irrelevant to the discussion, such as I’m one of only three in my industry. If being one of three had made an impact on the work or the journey you have taken, fine. Otherwise, it’s irrelevant.

I encourage you to:

1. Think about what is truly relevant in your journey or your business.

2. Consider whether the information you are sharing is important to the initial meeting, or if it would be better left to a second or third meeting.

The reality is that viable lenders will never write you a check at the first meeting.

If someone does, beware! If someone is crazy enough to write you check without knowing you, they are probably going to drive you crazy trying to get the return on their investment.

If you have information you haven’t shared that you feel is connected, you might have to spend the time to unfold the connections and then decide is it relevant for this initial meeting, or is it important to bring up next time, or is it relevant to let them know before the meeting?

While that may take time, sharing a story that details relevant information is a powerful way to build on what you are asking and where you are going as a business.

Remember: they are investing in you and your ability to implement. The more articulate you are about the story of what you have done, where you want to go, and what you plan to do with the money, the better the story becomes for an individual to:

A) Sell it to a committee

B) Believe they won’t have to chase you for their money.

Remember: Investors or lenders are in the business of lending money. They like to lend more, because that’s how THEY make money! As an entrepreneur, you like to sell more services or products or memberships, because the more you do the better your business does. Its the same with the lenders. The more they lend, the better they do.

BEFORE YOU GO

We see our blogs as opportunities for dialogue. Please share your thoughts as comments.

1. What story do you plan to tell when you are pitching?

2. What information should you keep or eliminate from your first presentation?

3. What other things have you done to articulate your story?

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Faris Alami is Founder and CEO of International Strategic Management, Inc. (ISM). He works internationally, presenting Exploring Entrepreneurship Workshops and other entrepreneurial ecosystem — related ventures.