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When it comes to small business loans, you have two options: private and government loans. While private lenders may be reluctant to take a risk on a new business or startup, government business loans were created specifically to boost small business in the United States.

As a result, you might find that it’s easier to secure a small business loan from the government than it is to secure one from a private lender.

Most government business loans are managed through the Small Business Association (SBA), which partners with lending institutions that actually distribute the money.

Because the loan is backed by the government — meaning if you default, the government pays of the balance — banks and credit unions are more likely to take a risk ...

Leading a startup company is nothing like leading a big, established company. Startups are focused foremost on survival, while big companies direct their efforts toward growth or in the worst case, slowing decline.

Startup founders don’t get the luxury of looking too far down the road.

It’s natural that many entrepreneurs start companies with a task list that looks a lot like it did at their old job. After all, they’re likely coming from an established career in a big company. Big companies (usually) have the critical infrastructure in place and as inefficient as they may be, workers are free to look much farther down the road.

Startup founders don’t get the luxury of looking too far down the road. They don’t get to spend inordinate amounts...

What are Microloans?

Microloans are small loans that businesses that can't access traditional loans or other finance options. It could be because they don't have any — or great — credit. It could be because their businesses aren't very established yet or they're locked out of the traditional financing options for a variety of reasons. They're usually short-term loans, with low-interest rates.

Microloans started in Bangladesh with economist Muhammad Yunus in the early 1980s. It was primarily to help people in developing countries who didn't have access to traditional small business loans. Access to a microloan program gave them funding to start businesses and raise themselves out of poverty. There are now a huge range of microlending options w...

Crowdfunding is a method of raising capital through the collective effort of friends, family, customers, and individual investors.

This approach taps into the collective efforts of a large pool of individuals — primarily online via social media and crowdfunding platforms — and leverages their networks for greater reach and exposure.

Sounds great, right?

But because this method is relatively new, many people don’t understand exactly how crowdfunding works.

Simply stated, crowdfunding works by presenting your idea to people inside and outside of your network and allowing them to contribute toward your fundraising goals online.

Who is the "Crowd" Anyway?

The crowd is essentially your personal network, potential customers, and — in the case ...

As Startups.com and Fundable founder Wil Schroter likes to says, “There’s not a lot of ‘fun’ in funding.”

Raising equity funding for your startup is a long, difficult, and often demoralizing process. However, if you’re successful, you walk away with money that will help your startup grow and become everything you hope it could become.

But despite these challenges, thousands of startups raise funding every year, implying that the potential rewards outweigh the guaranteed strife and risk. Here’s an outline of what a startup founder can expect at each startup funding stage.

Pre-Seed Funding

Pre-seed funding is the earliest startup funding stage, so early that many people don’t include it in the cycle of equity funding.

At this stage, founders...

Don Lichterman

Making the choice between equity financing versus the use of convertible debt when raising capital can be a tough one. Below are six of the most common differences between the two. Read on for help deciding which is the best method for you.

There are many advantages to using either structure. For an in-depth article check out this post. We hope this gives you the information you need to make an informed decision on what is right for your company. Have any more questions? Let us know @startupsco.

Before GirlBoss was a book or a Netflix show or a hashtag, Sophia Amoruso was running NastyGal and reticent to even sit on stage and be interviewed. She finally relented, and this was one of the first she’d ever done.

This interview was situated almost exactly between a five-year, almost effortless success story of growth, and a five-year slog that ultimately ended in bankruptcy.

But while NastyGal ultimately didn’t work, Amoruso continues to find ways to productize her unique attitude, style and eye. In addition to executive producing the Netflix show based on her life, she’s recently launched a media company for women called GirlBoss Media.

I have mixed feelings on the show and the direction of her media company, as a woman who doesn’t pa...

There are three DIFFERENT types of entrepreneurs:

1. A person who offers freelancer services

2. A person who opens a for profit company

3. A person who opens a not for profit company

You should aim to be all three types.

There’s a clear difference between an entrepreneur and a freelancer. If a freelancer takes a day off, they don’t get paid. If the freelancer is not actively putting themselves out there and being the brand and face of their services, no one will give them work. The freelancer is the company. On the other hand, the person who has started a company has some ability to leave for a few days, weeks, or months, get paid for that time, and come back to a still functioning company.

Each side has clear pros and cons. Hiring staff i...

##What is sales prospecting? First things first: what exactly is sales prospecting?

Simply put, sales prospecting is the process of going out and finding customers for your business. You might be saying to yourself, “Now wait a minute – isn’t that what marketing is for?” Well, yes and no.

Most marketing methods, like email blasts or social media advertising, are like fishing: you put your bait out on the line, and you wait for interested folks to come to you.

Sales prospecting, on the other hand? “Prospectors are hunters,” says Ryan O’Donnell. “They don’t wait for the magic to happen; they charge right into it to get a quick yes or no.”

Sales prospecting is particularly important during the early days. You’re the new kid on the block. No on...