It has been revealed that, while traditional forms of investment focus on the financial offering, two thirds of small business owners are actually seeking business expertise as much as money.
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div>It has been revealed that, while traditional forms of investment focus on the financial offering, two thirds of small business owners are actually seeking business expertise as much as money.
Furthermore, over 50 per cent believe that there is not enough business mentoring available, and a quarter of those who have received funding have been turned away when asking their lender for advice.
Business investments are traditionally perceived as a purely financial gain for the receiving company, but two thirds of small business owners have revealed in a recent survey that they would like to see investment move away from solely financial means to further incorporate mentoring and advice. Over half of those taking part stated they don’t think there is enough business mentoring available and, of the respondents who had received some form of investment, a quarter had been turned away when asking their lender for advice
Angel’s Den, the investment club and network, conducted the survey in order to find out more about what business owners want from investment and their experiences of seeking and receiving funding. 613 small business owners took part, all of whom had at some enquired about or received outside investment.
Respondents were first asked: “What would the ideal investment package consist of?” to which 76 per cent stated that ‘financial investment with mentoring and business advice’ was the ideal investment. Equating to around 465 firms. In comparison, only 12 per cent stated that they were solely looking for financial investment.
All respondents were then asked to identify whether financial gain or advice and mentoring were more of a priority, to which 64 per cent indicated that mentoring is more important than money when seeking investment for their business.
In order to explore this further, the survey then asked all respondents who had received funding if they had ever asked for mentoring or advice from their lender, to which 81 per cent stated that they had. A quarter of those (26 per cent), however, confirmed that they had been turned away without any advice and a further 34 per cent stated that they had received ‘minimal or very brief advice and mentoring’.
All respondents were then asked if they felt that there should be more investment packages with appropriate mentoring support, to which 63 per cent stated that there should be more of this type of investment available to businesses.
Bill Morrow, Co-Founder and Director at Angel’s Den commented on the findings: “It’s such a shame that so many business owners feel left out in the cold when it comes to getting the advice and mentoring that they need from time to time. Finding an experienced business person is willing to both give you the money and help you spend it is the difference between a spectacular company and an average one. Also, from the investors side your chances of seeing a return on your investment sky-rocket if you get involved.”
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