The Hard Case Loan: In some cases the hard case loan is when a friend or family member is literally buried in debt, interest and payments far exceeds what is coming in and they need to borrow money to pay off existing debts or be pushed into bankruptcy or ruin their credit rating. Generally all of the assets are financed to the hilt, and their last resort is friends and family or bust. The extreme situation they are in will drive friends and family to try and help them. This may also include the person lost their job or doesn’t have sufficient employment or a business that costs them more than they are making.

Last year in Canada approximately 21 million Canadians either lent or borrowed money from friends or family members, but only 17% actually put the loan in writing. Close to 54% of the undocumented loans were not paid back. It has been proven that if a loan is documented, the likelihood of repayment is significantly higher. Through this process we aim to lessen the default rate to under 5%.

Therefore, we encourage you to go to http://www.kasu.ca and create a loan document today to secure your friend and family loans, and ensure that you get paid back… eventually.

Payday or Late Payment Loans: Often if it is close to someone’s pay day and they need extra month to carry them through until the end of the month, friends and family will give them a loan. This includes consultants who bill clients, and the funds have not come in yet, instances where money is owed that is getting paid or late in getting paid and therefore they need a little help because they where depending on the funds.

Last year in Canada approximately 21 million Canadians either lent or borrowed money from friends or family members, but only 17% actually put the loan in writing. Close to 54% of the undocumented loans were not paid back. It has been proven that if a loan is documented, the likelihood of repayment is significantly higher. Through this process we aim to lessen the default rate to under 5%.

Therefore, we encourage you to go to http://www.kasu.ca and create a loan document today to secure your friend and family loans, and ensure that you get paid back… eventually.

Similar to Legacy Loan, however, people often invest in education and lend money to students even if it is not their child. It is another sense of helping someone better themselves and advance in their carrier and personal development. Husbands and wives, couples dating, friends, associates, and even work environments will lend money towards education. Therefore, if you are looking to get a loan for your education, the persons to try, whether it is small or large is Grandparents, Parents, your friends, possibly your best friends parents if they have been close to your family, the person whom you are dating, your work, your co-worker, and associates. These are the most likely people to lend money. In addition, there are many state and provincial bursaries one can apply for.

Last year in Canada approximately 21 million Canadians either lent or borrowed money from friends or family members, but only 17% actually put the loan in writing. Close to 54% of the undocumented loans were not paid back. It has been proven that if a loan is documented, the likelihood of repayment is significantly higher. Through this process we aim to lessen the default rate to under 5%.

Therefore, we encourage you to go to http://www.kasu.ca and create a loan document today to secure your friend and family loans, and ensure that you get paid back… eventually.

The Legacy Loan from Friends and Family

Lending money to children or grand children continues the legacy of the family, especially if those funds are going towards a business or education that will make them self-sufficient. Investing in a business allows the person borrowing the money to survive another day, and the success of that business could bring wealth for generations to come. Legacy is one of the most important topics to build upon.

When asking for a loan for friends and family, if it is for a business, the appeal is generally that it will help build your family wealth, put food on the table, improve your personal situation, but also that they will get paid back.

Last year in Canada approximately 21 million Canadians either lent or borrowed money from friends or family members, but only 17% actually put the loan in writing. Close to 54% of the undocumented loans were not paid back. It has been proven that if a loan is documented, the likelihood of repayment is significantly higher. Through this process we aim to lessen the default rate to under 5%.

Therefore, we encourage you to go to http://www.kasu.ca and create a loan document today to secure your friend and family loans, and ensure that you get paid back… eventually.

Top 10 Reasons People Lend Money to Friends and Family

1. Legacy: Lending money to children or grand children continues the legacy of the family, especially if those funds are going towards a business or education that will make them self-sufficient. Investing in a business allows the person borrowing the money to survive another day, and the success of that business could bring wealth for generations to come. Legacy is one of the most important topics to build upon.
2. Education: Similar to Legacy, however, people often invest in education and lend money to students even if it is not their child. It is another sense of helping someone better themselves and advance in their carrier and personal development. Husbands and wives, couples dating, friends, associates, and even work environments will lend money towards education.
3. Single Parents, person’s with Dependents: a sensitive topic, however, often single parents find themselves earning under their expenses per month, especially if they don’t have the work experience to be paid higher. There are many wealth building solutions on how to make more money as a single parent, or person who is in a situation where more is going out than coming in, however, first they need help covering what they owe now. Helping a single parent keeps the debts off their credit cards and gives them a fighting chance without the weight of Interest bearing down on them.  This category may also include people who are taking care of an elderly dependent or family member or friend who is not able to take care of themselves.
4. Payday or Late Payment Loans: Often if it is close to someone’s pay day and they need extra month to carry them through until the end of the month, friends and family will give them a loan. This includes consultants who bill clients, and the funds have not come in yet, instances where money is owed that is getting paid or late in getting paid and therefore they need a little help because they where depending on the funds.
5. The Hard Case Loan: In some cases the hard case loan is when a friend or family member is literally buried in debt, interest and payments far exceeds what is coming in and they need to borrow money to pay off existing debts or be pushed into bankruptcy or ruin their credit rating. Generally all of the assets are financed to the hilt, and their last resort is friends and family or bust. The extreme situation they are in will drive friends and family to try and help them. This may also include the person lost their job or doesn’t have sufficient employment or a business that costs them more than they are making.
6. Holiday Loan: The holiday loan can be similar to a pay day loan, where they will not have enough money until the pay check after Christmas. However, it also may be because the person needs money to have a good Christmas with their family and possibly travel to be with someone. In this instance, they need a loan they can pay back after the holidays or over the year.
7. Travel Loans: Before someone goes to take a trip, the first question friends and family ask is “Do you have enough money?” The travel loan is a very common loan between friends and family. This is the loan one would get before they go away, as the friends and family would like to ensure the safety of the traveller and that they have enough money to keep safe and take care of themselves. Often people underestimate the costs once they arrive at a location, therefore, any extra money always comes in handy.
8. Medical Loans: Medical loans are in the cases where someone needs money for an operation, a medical procedure such as plastic surgery or dental work, or a medical emergency takes away income earning potential for a period of time in which help is required financially.
9. Asset Purchase Loan: Friends and family will loan money for the purchase of assets as it is seen as advancing the ones they care for and inevitably it is secure as long as the asset is taken care of. These loans generally are car loans, home loans, office equipment loans, buying a business or franchise loan, etc. Friends are especially inclined to lend the money if it is an asset that both the buyer and the lender can enjoy, such as Boats, Motorcycles, seadoos or skidoos, a summer cabin, etc.
10. Emergency Loan: This is when a person is in dire straits an needs and immediate loan to make payment or they will be put in jeopardy. This may be for an emergency operation, to pay a loan to someone who is causing them personal problems or fears and aggravation, a check has been bounced, money has been stolen, they lost their wallet and can’t get money any other way over a weekend or during a trip, etc. The emergency loan is one of the more common loans, but generally is very small in size in comparison to the others.

These top 10 reasons are all loans that are generally speaking good Karma or thoughtful in their reasoning and justification for lending. Last year in Canada approximately 21 million Canadians either lent or borrowed money from friends or family members, but only 17% actually put the loan in writing. Close to 54% of the undocumented loans were not paid back. It has been proven that if a loan is documented, the likelihood of repayment is significantly higher. Through this process we aim to lessen the default rate to under 5%.

Therefore, we encourage you to go to http://www.kasu.ca and create a loan document today to secure your friend and family loans, and ensure that you get paid back… eventually.

This series of blogs is to truly help those looking to set-up an new presence for fundraising using new media such as the internet and cellular phones, it is a how-to, and the process that I personally would take every time to set-up a charity or non-profit presence. If you are a charity, non-profit, or fundraiser, most of this I would do for you, feel free to contact info@kasu.ca for more information on this. 

Online fundraising is going to come naturally to you once this is all set-up. Chances are you are one of those people that is passionate about your cause or your fund, this is the passion that has lead you to fundraising in the first place. You’re filling a need for an organization, it’s possible that the group you work with is use to getting up close and personal, running events, but not quite use to the online up close and social networked. Each one of the blogs is going to cover a different aspect within this order

1 Preparation for Fundraising Online Part 1 of 7

2 Facebook for Fundraising Online Part 2 of 7, Making Friends with Fundraising

3 Twitter For Fundraising Online Part 3 of 7, Finding the Flame For Follower Funding

4 SMS Marketing For Fundraising Part 4 of 7, Sending Something Someone Sees, SMS Funding

5 The Website, WordPress, The Search Engines and Blog Directories For Fundraising Part 5 of 7

6 The Hootsuite.com tool for managing everything for Fundraising Part 6 of 7

7 Kasu funding tools for online Part 7 of 7

Therefore, this is the official beginning of blog number one of seven:

The First Step to Setting-up Fundraising Online Is Preparation

Once you begin the process of following the 7 part series of setting-up fundraising online and socially, you will have begun a legacy for the cause and organization you represent. The spark that helps you get through this will be followed, tweeted, and fanned until the embers of possibility turn into a full on fundraising flame. This is what you need to consider and begin working on, the first step in preparation is having this written down if you don’t already. The spark that gave birth to your organization, that keeps it going, the good it’s done or going to do. The reality is that the internet is full of social networks and you are embarking on the largest friend-raising, fan-raising, and follower-raising campaign your organization could experience.

The Name: Your cause or charity ideally will have a name, for example FundforBob.com or www.slopitchforkids.org etc. If it is for a popular charity, it is possible you will have to become creative with the name for a domain name as someone may already have your phrase.

The Purpose: The purpose of your fund or group should be describable in roughly 200 characters initially.

The Long Version: Write an about us about who your organization is or why Bob has a fund, put in the history, the details, the cause, were the funds go, examples of why this is important, and pictures. The content of the long version can be put into categories.

Material of Interest: As much information as you can put into a file of pictures, videos, links on the internet to information about the cause or effects of what you are raising funds for. Break each part into individual folders of pictures, videos, links, and material information.

It is possible that you may have a website with much of this on it already, or a blog. We will discuss websites and blogs later in the series, as the community tools are probably what most charities need to set-up right now. 

Have the information prepared as this will be the framework of information that goes into the websites and communities we will set-up in the next blogs. Like fundraising offline, know your mission statement inside and out, be prepared to post it all over the internet, so the content you publish and the mission statement need to be aligned. Be different by staying up to date with what is going on online, what is going on in the world as far as disasters, major events, and other such things that compete for the pocket, understand this so as to speak up for your cause.

Going through this process is not just about research, posting content, and watching dollars come in. You or someone who is volunteering to help build the community needs to be responsive online to all of the questions, especially to the people you serve. Be prepared to be responsive, update when you can via all of the mediums we are going to discuss, and thank and congratulate everyone when it is done. A great example of this is the Obama campaign, of which emails, the internet, twitter, and SMS messages, and offline events across all levels of the organization and party led to raising over $500,000,000 or half a billion dollars.

That’s right, so when you are writing the information above, remember, this is about getting attention …and the money.

If you are reading this, you probably already have decided you are willing to change as a fundraising organization, and the fact is you need to be willing to change. After you decided that your cause is here to stay and the need is so high today more than any other time, than population, needs, and services change… your board needs to look at this as the open book of change for your fundraising efforts. Reading these blogs, following the steps, and or contacting us to help you do it, will protect your cause and existence.

Now is the time to put your best foot forward and put the 3 bolded sections of information together above. Once you have this information ready, take the step to Part 2 of 7, Facebook for Fundraising Part 2 of 7, Making Friends with Fundraising.

Have you surrounded yourself with the air of invincibility, the love for what you do, you don’t have to be the biggest money maker on the block, but you do bring in the money! Hold onto your power, pride, ethics, inner conviction, and go to http://www.facebook.com/advertising/?pages and lets set-up a Page for your cause. If you are curious what other pages are out there, look at www.facebook.com/pages

Remember, when filling out the pages, the name you pick is the one that will make up your facebook vanity URL, such as www.facebook.com/kasu.ca and it will also have the title that will attract people to follow you.

You must wait and read the next blog in this series to understand how to unlock the key to making friends with fundraising through facebook. We will cover strategies to grow your network, get everyone involved, pluggin tools to help expand and raise capital, all in a single blog.

Please also visit www.kasu.ca which is the sponsor of the website and the company I represent. We intend on volunteering much of our time to helping charities and bringing together solutions. Our company is a document creation software for friends and family to document their loans. Otherwise known as www.documentyourloan.com, and our blog www.documentyourloan.net. Thank you for following us and we will continue to help you grow personally, financially, and ethically. Have a wonderful day.

If you are lending money to friends and family, lend to Women Business Owners in Canada

Better Educated

“On average, women entrepreneurs in high-income countries are better educated than those in low/middle-income countries. Also, in both country groups, the level of educational attainment is somewhat higher for women who are established business owners than for women who are early stage entrepreneurs, suggesting that education may be positively correlated to survival rates” (p. 8).

More Prepared If They Build a Business

“In both country groups, and similarly to men, the likelihood of being involved in entrepreneurial activity is significantly higher for those women who also are employed in a wage job (whether full or part time) compared to those who are not working, are retired, or are students. This suggests that working provides access to resources, social capital, and ideas that may aid in establishing an entrepreneurial venture (p. 10).”

Some of the study’s findings:

• a flexible work schedule is a greater motivator for women planning to open their own business (63%) than for men planning to do so (51%).
• 36 percent of men planning to open a business plan to do so to become wealthy, while only 23 percent of women planning to open a business do so for the same reason.
• The majority of women and men entrepreneurs (69 and 64 percent respectively) seem to be equally driven by a love for what they do or hope to do.
• Women are less likely than men to start a business because they want to be their own boss. Women are more likely to employ a spouse or a child and to be first-time business owners.

Women are adverse to risk and don’t grow too quickly. This is a positive for lenders…

Dec. 2007, Women Entrepreneurs of Canada

“Where women differ from their male counterparts is how they view growth. Women business owners view growth to be less important, less likely and of lower value than men. They view the personal demands related to growth as negative and adding stress to their lives. An overwhelming 84% of women feel their business has reached a size they are comfortable with and don’t want to grow.

Organizations for Canadian Women Entrepreneurs to Join

• the Canadian Women’s Business Network
• The Women Entrepreneurs of Canada
• the Canadian Association of Women Executives and Entrepreneurs (CAWEE)
• the Foundation of Canadian Women Entrepreneurs
• The  Royal Bank Women Entrepreneurs
• The Resources for Women Entrepreneurs library.

Do let me know if you know of an organization or Web site that provides support for Canadian women in business that I’ve missed. Contact Ryan@documentyourloan.net.

Don’t forget to visit www.documentyourloan.com to prepare for your venture in asking friends and family for a loan!

If you are lending money to friends and family, lend to Women Business Owners in Canada

Of small business entrepreneurs of every 10 who want to start their business only 1 actually does. I suppose the step after knowing you want to be in business is actually… going into business. However, those 9 people made judgement calls, and what was it they considered before NOT starting their own business? Well the reality is, there are many reasons why people do and don’t start businesses.

Most businesses spawn from your environment, if your family had their own business or siblings, it is likely that you will consider starting your own business. The fact is the dinner table at your parents or siblings house is about business, the ins and outs, and how to maximize making money to enjoy life, survive, or make money. If you don’t join the family business, you will definitely go out on your own. Families encourage diversity, and going out on your own almost always comes with support, advice, and in some cases love money and loans.

If you can find all of the aspects of a business that make you happy, that you believe to be successful, that meets your skills or is attainable, you will work towards the goal of obtaining those necessary skills and starting your own business. It helps once again to have family present as they will give the valued lessons, recommend trusted advisors from within, and establish with you skills you may want to grow. In some cases, they may lend funds to you in order to gain skills and may even do it with you which is a very nurturing benefit. Friends and family in essence are a key portion in making entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship… it starts with the parents and the siblings. We forget how important family and their influence is, but the chances of you starting your own business because of some influence they have had on you is high!

The only chance of you running into a wall is if you are not a risk taker or require certainty in your life. If this is in fact who you are, it may be difficult to borrow funds from your family without feeling it as an immense burden. In fact, it may be difficult for you to ask anyone for money. This is not the place for an entrepreneur, as you will need to ask suppliers for financing terms, family, banks, strangers, it doesn’t stop there… so get use to it. If your family was in business for themselves, then you would be use to this, you may have even been asked by family members to help them in the early stages of their company… in labour or maybe in investment. Be prepared to ask for money and take risks…

The thing about family run companies is that they often have one in the family, but the head of the family business is a Jack-Of-All-Trades. So what does this mean, if you are going to be the head, it may be good to know how to market, or how to sell, but you are also a buyer, an accountant, an HR manager, a Sales Manager, a marketer, and possibly the product as people buy who you are. Being an entrepreneur is like being good at school, there are a lot of subjects and the only way you keep moving up is to be good at all of them. There is Theatre, Math, English, Physical Fitness, Business, History, Geography, you name it. Once you are shipping products, performing services, buying product, or traveling about, you are on a mission and the graduation is a place few make it to because they don’t make themselves proficient in all the subjects. Each stage requires a slightly higher level of each subject, so if you are a person who wants to learn, and you have learned from the generation before you, the sibling or your parents, than you are ready to move on and build your own business.

If you are looking to borrow from friends or family financially to get this business started, I suggest going to www.documentyourloan.com or www.kasu.ca and registering to make a loan document.

I highly recommend purchasing as much educational materials on the subject as possible, if you would like a book recommendation on the best Business Success Series to buy as an entrepreneur, contact me at ryan@documentyourloan.net.

Do you personally know an entrepreneur who has launched a business in the last two years? Will there be any good business opportunities in the next six months? Do you have the abilities and qualifications needed to launch business? Would fear of failure prevent you from launching your own business? Is it cashflow or the lack of funds? Is the creation of a business a desirable career goal? Does success in business earn you social status and respect? Do successful businesses get good media exposure? Are you ready to be in business for yourself… do you have no choice because you are already in it? We need a society in which Canadians aspire to be active owners and entrepreneurs, not just passive investors, Our culture needs to place more value on entrepreneurial-type risk taking, Our educational system needs to teach more about entrepreneurial-type risk taking and how to finance your business. Most businesses get their initial funds from friends and family, family businesses and support within families should be a course we take in University or within Grade School… instead we are taught to ask strangers for jobs and strangers for money. Canada is a nation of entrepreneurs where 97% of our Nations businesses are categorized as Small business.

These are some of the findings of an RBC poll conducted by Ipsos Reid between July 27 and August 3, 2007.

The top ten pieces of advice existing entrepreneurs have for people hoping to start up a business, according to a survey by RBC Financial Group which compared the responses of aspiring entrepreneurs with those of existing entrepreneurs:

• Know your competition (51 percent)
• Develop a business plan (50 percent)
• Research the market (49 percent)
• Network, develop alliances (45 percent)
• Take time for marketing (38 percent)
• Seek out mentors (35 percent)
• Spend time defining the needs your business will meet (35 percent)
• Survey potential customers (34 percent)
• Do homework about where to locate your business (34 percent)
• Join clubs/associations (32 percent)

DOES Ipsos Reid investors ask about Family of investment… probably not, but this is a vital consideration of call entrepreneurs.

“Small Business Ownership Fun, But Long Hours”, NBC5.com, October 22, 2007.

The Ipsos Reid Study polled 900 Canadian small business owners on behalf of HP Canada with the results reviewed by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).

Findings:

• 63 percent of the responders said they are motivated to continue with their small business because they find the work enjoyable.
• 59 said they stick with it because of the independence the job brings.
• 42 percent said they put in more than 53 hours of work a week.
• 44 percent said the work was more demanding than they expected.

The small business owners reported a number of specific challenges, from finding new customers and markets (59 percent) to dealing with finances (47 percent) to handling government regulations and paperwork (42 percent).

The small business owners reported a number of specific challenges, from finding new customers and markets (59 percent) to dealing with finances (47 percent) to handling government regulations and paperwork (42 percent).

“In a separate poll of 1,842 adult Canadians, the study found that 97 percent of the responders view entrepreneurs as highly motivated, 93 percent said they are innovative, 92 percent said they believe they are reliable, and 96 percent said that they perform quality work.”

This is proof that Canadian’s invest in small business every day, with their own business, with their family, and with their friends because… Canadians believe in entrepreneurship!!!

If you ask your friends or family for funds, be sure to document it, www.documentyourloan.com

This message sponsored by http://www.kasu.ca – Personal Loan Documents and Crowdfunding Solutions