Crowdfunding For service Businesses with Lena West

Beyond Margins: Build a calmer business with comfortable margins

Do you need funding for your business but loathe the idea of giving up a piece of your company to someone else?

I get it. You built this baby with your own two hands, most likely giving up nights, weekends, early mornings, and time with your friends and family to do it. So the idea of handing over part of that to someone who wasn’t sweating it out with you might make you feel pretty uncomfortable.

The good news is, you don’t have to. There are other funding options that can provide the financial support you need without compromising your ownership.

Today, I’m talking with Lena West, founding director of CEO Rising, about non-dilutive funding, which is funding where you don’t give away any equity or ownership stake in your business.

Specifically, we’re going to dig into crowdfunding. As an agency or consulting firm owner, you might think crowdfunding could never be for you. But Lena has walked multiple clients through successful crowdfunding campaigns, and you might be surprised how applicable it could be to your business. Join us as we dig into the ins, outs, how-tos, and bewares of crowdfunding for service-based businesses.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How crowdsourcing changes the conversation about incentives, growth, and rewards from traditional investment sources
• How traditional VC or angel investor models actually harm businesses owned by marginalized people
• Why you should think of crowdfunding as a large-scale marketing project and develop high-quality assets accordingly
• How to develop a campaign when you’re not selling a tangible product
• Essential considerations before, during, and after your campaign
• Other potential avenues for non-dilutive funding for your business

Learn more about Lena West:

• CEO Rising
• CEO Rising RISE Overview
• https://bit.ly/CEORisingRISEOverview
• Connect on LinkedIn

Learn more about me, Susan Boles:

• Beyond Margins
• Connect on LinkedIn

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We value your thoughts and feedback. Feel free to share them with Susan here. Your input is not just valuable, it's crucial in shaping future episodes.