A Solopreneurs Guide to Secure Funding for a New Venture
If you’re starting a new business or working with a small team, funding your venture involves some special considerations. As a solopreneur, you may not have access to the same financial resources as enterprise brands or even more established small businesses.
However, building a strong foundation for your new venture can help you position it as a more appealing opportunity to all different types of investors.
To that end, before diving into loan applications and meetings with private investors, ensure you’ve established an online presence and a suite of professional resources. By thoughtfully leveraging a unique domain name, a curated website, and other online assets, you can legitimize your new venture and gain access to several potential funding methods.
Prepare for Funding by Building Brand Authority
When pitching your business for funding from an outside source, it’s essential to communicate your venture’s purpose and goals. Typically, investors are more interested in funding entrepreneurs with a clear vision of growing their business. By building your brand and establishing your professional authority, you’ll be better equipped to share your opportunity with investors.
If you’re just starting, developing an online presence is a straightforward way to cultivate your brand authority. Even if you haven’t made any sales, a robust digital identity can express your business’s key functions and help investors envision your brand goals.
Here are a few strategies for creating an authoritative digital presence to convey your professionalism, business savviness, and overall vision to investors:
Secure a Unique Domain Name
As the gateway to your digital platform, your domain name is one of the first elements of your brand that visitors encounter when interacting with your business online. As your business grows, your domain name becomes associated with your business, providing powerful brand recognition and building trust with your audience.
Establishing your domain name is also crucial to securing funding.
Choosing a unique domain name relevant to your business shows investors you’re serious about your digital identity. It also demonstrates that you’ve already put effort into securing digital assets for your brand. Ideally, you’ll be able to use your domain name for the entire life of your business.
Although many website builders offer free subdomains under their primary domain, you can stand out in the digital landscape by having a unique domain name you fully own. And if you want to stand out even more? Consider a descriptive domain that uses a keyword-based extension after the dot, like .BOUTIQUE or .CAFE , to further establish your brand identity and the nature of your business.
Imagine how investors perceive each domain name at first glance:
- rusticpottery.com
- rusticpottery.studio
- rusticpottery.customwebsites.com
The first two options immediately signal that you own your business’s digital presence. However, the second takes it to the next level – it shows investors that you’ve taken the initiative to secure a relevant, branded domain name and that you’re established in your industry.
While the third option does include your business name, it’s also directly associated with the website builder’s brand. Moreso, the third option is wordier and less memorable than the first two domain name options.
Choose Descriptive Domain Name Keywords
To maximize your domain name’s impact, be strategic about the keywords and extensions you use. Your descriptive domain name can boost your business, define your identity, and build authority within your industry—all of which are essential when securing outside funding.
There are several key benefits to having the proper domain name before heading into the funding process:
- Educating investors – Incorporating keywords before and after the dot with a custom extension can give your customers and potential investors more information about your brand.
- Establishing professional credibility – By securing a high-impact domain name before heading into the funding process, you show potential investors that you’ve already invested time, thought, and energy into your branding.
- Supporting your brand – Investors may be more willing to support an entrepreneurial venture with a relevant, focused online brand.
You can optimize your digital address with a fully keyword-focused domain or pair your business name with relevant extensions after the dot. Each of these options positions you as a serious business owner while immediately communicating the core function of your business to investors and customers alike.
Set Up Your Business Email
Once your domain name is secured, consider setting up a professional email under the same domain name. This creates a fully branded and professional way to handle business communications online. When you use a professional email for your investor outreach, you show investors that they’re dealing with a serious business.
Additionally, as your business grows, you’ll likely need a business email account to send bulk emails, customize your email formatting, and gain access to advanced security and delivery features. Setting up your professional email in the beginning phases of your business venture allows you to access these features immediately and build positive professional relationships as you launch your brand. We offer a variety of email solutions, ranging from custom email domain options to professional email hosting, to fit your specific needs.
Build a Focused Website
Your domain name and business email help you display professionalism at a glance. Still, it is essential to provide a consistent experience for potential investors when they visit your website. Doing so will help inspire investor confidence in your brand.
To that end, focus on creating a branded site that:
- Communicates the purpose of your new venture
- Showcases your business’s unique value props
- Makes it easy for visitors to find more information about what your brand is doing
Some potential strategies for achieving these goals include having a robust ‘About’ page or even building a custom page meant to educate potential investors and summarize your pitch. Get started quickly with Wix website builder, offering over 500 professionally-designed and customizable templates for any industry.
Funding Options for Solopreneurs
Once you have a robust online presence, you can confidently begin the search for funding opportunities. Equipped with a well-designed, informative website and a powerful domain name, you’ll be prepared to showcase your brand and present it as an investment opportunity.
Here are a few potential funding avenues you can start with as a solo entrepreneur:
Start a Crowdfunding Campaign
Crowdfunding allows you to tap into an extensive network of small investors to fund your ideas. It often involves offering rewards, like merchandise or discounted services, to individuals who contribute.
As a solopreneur, crowdfunding websites can be ideal for connecting with your audience and getting grassroots support for your ventures. Plus, anyone can launch a crowdfunding campaign, allowing you to pursue funding without having financial collateral or professional connections with big investors.
To create a crowdfunding campaign, simply select a crowdfunding platform you can use to pitch your business and its goals. Having a memorable domain name and a professional website to link to your campaign makes it easier for potential micro-investors to learn about your business and get excited about contributing. Contributors on crowdfunding sites often want to feel connected with the brands they support—having a solid digital identity can help cultivate that connection and foster long-term relationships.
Pursue Angel Investors
Angel investors are private investors interested in providing capital to startups and small businesses, typically in exchange for a stake in the company. Compared to other types of investors, angel investors may also:
- Be more involved with decision-making for the business
- Offer professional mentorships
Finding angel investors typically involves expanding your professional network by attending industry events and conferences. You can also reach out to angel investor networks to meet groups of potential investors who may take an interest in your ideas.
Being able to provide a quick online pitch through your website can help pique an investor’s interest and get your foot in the door for further meetings.
Expand Your Income Streams
If you don’t want to work with an investor, consider using small, low-investment ventures to grow your primary business. Creating multiple low-cost income streams can allow you to reinvest the profits into your larger ventures.
Fortunately, you can use your website to generate additional revenue online by:
- Posting affiliate links
- Posting revenue-generating ads
- Offering paid courses and digital products
If you want to distinguish your side projects from your main business, you can even set up dedicated domain names for each project. For example, you may use a classic .COM for your main site, then set up a page with a .SHOP extension to sell your merchandise.
Take Out a Loan or Line of Credit
Traditional loans are also an option for solopreneurs who need working capital to expand their businesses. A loan allows you to get the cash you need to grow your operations without depleting your savings or resources.
Depending on where you are in your business journey, you can explore both business loans and personal loans. Carefully research which options make the most sense for your business, focusing on low-interest options in particular.
Be aware that many banks require you to submit a business plan when applying for a business loan to help them understand how you’ll use the money and determine the financial viability of your business.
Get Started with Name.com
As a solopreneur, building your online presence unlocks access to heightened brand authority, stronger professional relationships, and expanded funding opportunities. In fact, by having a branded website with a unique, relevant, and descriptive domain name, you can present potential investors with a cohesive summary of your business goals and showcase a strong, professional brand that stands out in the digital landscape.
If you’re ready to establish your digital identity, choose Name.com.
Name.com empowers solopreneurs and small business owners looking to secure funding, with tools that will maximize online visibility and identity. From descriptive domains, website builders, Google workspace, security and more, you’ll have everything you need to kickstart your next business venture.
Sources:
Tech.co. https://tech.co/website-builders/5-reasons-never-make-website-free https://tech.co/website-builders/5-reasons-never-make-website-free
Forbes. 9 Reasons Small Businesses Shouldn’t Use A Personal Email Account To Do Their Email. https://www.forbes.com/sites/constantcontact/2015/09/23/9-reasons-small-businesses-shouldnt-use-a-personal-email-account-to-do-their-email-marketing/?sh=5a60c3385670
One Nine Design. How To Optimize Your Website to Attract Investors. https://www.oneninedesign.net/blog/optimize-for-investors
Inc. 7 Little-Known Ways to Raise Funding for Solopreneurs or Small Teams. https://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/7-little-known-ways-to-raise-funding-for-solopreneurs-or-small-teams.html
