Here is an email I sent today to an inventor who was looking for an investor. These words hold true for anyone looking to fund a business. Here is what I wrote. I hope you find some value in it too.

Hi,

I watched your video. I admire your desire to succeed and your ability to invent. That is a good thing! That is just the first step though.

Investors take a huge amount of risk by investing in an unknown. They always expect you to have skin in the game by having your own money at risk. They look for a “friends and family” round (also called love money) because they know you better than anyone and should be willing to take a risk on you. For instance, in my deal I put my entire life savings into it without any guarantee my idea would be successful. I was all in.

Here’s some other examples….when my investor first started his entrepreneur career and attempting to make his fortune, he put his house on the line. Again, no guarantee he would succeed.

I would suggest at this stage of your development you read books or listen to audio tapes of people who have been successful. I just finished reading, “Delivering Happiness, A Path To Profits, Passion and Purpose” by Tony Hsieh (pronounced “Shay”). He is the CEO of Zappos which does $1 B a year in revenues (sells shoes online). I was shocked to see how touch and go that entire venture was upfront. It reaffirmed that the truly successful put everything into what they are doing….ideas are a dime a dozen, there are nearly 7 billion people on the planet. As you can imagine, many people can have the same idea at the same time. I’d worry less about someone stealing an idea and more about taking action on actually creating it. Talk is cheap.

Look in your circle of influence for investors. I worked for mine for 8 years so he knew my work ethic, my personality, my values. I was a known risk to take. Who knows you?

“But all my friends are broke”. Well…maybe it’s time you found a new circle of friends? Statistics show that your income is very similar to the five people you spend the most time with. Excuses don’t get you anywhere. Remember the phrase, “The buck stops here”. It’s true. If it is meant to be, it is up to you to make it happen…no matter what.

Here’s the bottom line, creating financial success is a matter of developing yourself into the person who can handle it. Lottery winners are a fine example. Studies show they implode and end up where they were (or worse off) within a short time frame because they haven’t developed themselves into a person who can handle financial success. All money does is magnify who you already are.

Go to library, check out biographies on great inventors. Take the owner of your company to lunch, ask him how he did it. Join an Inventor’s association and meet other inventors. It is a process my friend.

Good luck to you. I believe you can make it happen!

Best,

Joyce Bone