Archive for May, 2009
Getting Your Next Egg To Work For You
There are two hurdles to investment success: getting started, and staying on track. Other than that, it’s a piece of cake.
A friend indeed…
Investing is easy - it’s making money that’s the hard part. Okay, maybe that’s a little over simplified. Maybe the thing to say is, getting started in investing isn’t all that hard. With some guided steps and a little practice, the two biggest road blocks are pretty easy to overcome.
Screwing It Up Safely
The first road block to investment success is a lack of confidence on the part of first time investors. Maybe you want to invest in the market but you’re not sure you can. And who can blame you? After all, you’ve probably heard that a lot of brokers and financial advisors don’t even make money at this game. So who are you, all of a sudden?
Maybe you never gave it a go. Maybe you denied yourself the benefit of successful investing, and the result is that you continue to work for your money. You can see that if you stay on the treadmill, nothing will change, but you’re not sure where to get started.
You can change your results if you want to. Start by proving to yourself that you can do it. Start by keeping an eye on the sectors that interest you. Use Monopoly money at first. Establish a successful track record - even small wins - and gain some confidence. Do your research. Check out a variety of different resources, and get comfortable with the lay of the land. (Bookmark SectorMatic.com, for instance. Check out our Money Tools and Favorite Links, while you’re at it.) Enter the real market with real money only when you are ready. Practice on paper first, and show yourself you can make money consistently and safely.
The Magic of 12 Minutes
The second road block to investing is procrastination. (You might be tempted, for example, to put down this article and get back to it tomorrow.)
Is that you - a slow starter? Are you forever going to do it tomorrow… and tomorrow… and tomorrow? (That’s Shakespeare, by the way.) Is it on your To Do list but you never quite move off the stick? Maybe you always come up with a reason for not doing instead of doing, then you wonder why things aren’t happening for you. It’s okay, as long as you recognize it and work on it. Procrastination is something you can overcome. When you do, it’ll set you apart from 95 percent of other folks. Honest.
Okay, here’s the thing. Imagine where you can be and what you can achieve in one year if you just get started. Whatever you want to get done, do it. Only 12 minutes a day adds up to an hour a week, 52 hours a year - and that’s with weekends off. No fooling! You don’t have to imagine where you’ll be a year from now if you don’t start; you’re already there. And you know what? That same year will come and go anyway, regardless of your choice.
So what do you do? Well, that’s up to you. Whatever your goal, the first thing to do is get started. Take small steps at first, and pat yourself on the back for every stride. Start researching. Start practicing. Start thinking about the target you want to reach, then go for it. When you see yourself investing successfully before you risk real money in any market, it will go a long way toward bolstering your confidence. And when you create these great results for yourself, your procrastination will be replaced by an eager grin.
From Novice to Expert
What makes Tiger Woods so great? He hits the ball. A lot. I mean, a lot. As with any pursuit, becoming an expert investor requires deliberate practice and a lot of diligence.
No one in their right mind would think they could compete on the PGA Tour by reading the sports section of the paper and knocking a few golf balls around. Retiring to the 19th hole to work on your game aided by ‘memorium selectus’ and a noisy group of friends won’t cut the mustard. Yet so many of us act as if the equivalent will work with our investing.
It won’t. Unlike golf, where hooks and slices give us frequent and immediate feedback on our ineptitude, investing can at times be very forgiving. (Dang!) You could make any number of mistakes and still get great returns. The stock market can be a tricky place to measure performance. It’s not like golf where lucky mishaps are relatively obvious. Bad investment decisions can produce good investment results, and vice versa. This lack of feedback can make it hard to improve your skills.
Reaching expert levels of performance takes time and application, or deliberate practice. Unfortunately deliberate practice doesn’t mean the investment equivalent of kicking a football around with your friends. Instead, it means setting specific and increasingly challenging targets and goals, measuring the results, and adjusting the game plan according to this feedback. So yeah, maybe that is a little like kicking a football around. You’ve got to keep your eye on the ball, and you’ve got to actually do something, like we’ve said all along.
The great money magnate Warren Buffett identified this problem years ago and suggested focusing on ‘owner earnings.’ Buffet essentially defines this as the cash earnings of a business, less the average yearly capital expense required to hold its competitive edge. When you buy part ownership of a business, as you do when you buy shares, your first interest should be on those owner earnings.
Wherever you find yourself on the road to success - whether you’ve seen some miles or you’re still standing on the sidewalk - have confidence that you can get where you want to go. You can make it. The key is to enjoy the ride.
Written by Jack Schmidt
Special to SectorMatic Money Site
www.SectorMatic.com
JackSchmidt@SectorMatic.com
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Purchase Order & Letter of Credit Financing
Many business opportunities come with an associated challenge. For most entrepreneurial businesses, the greatest challenge is financing the business opportunities created by your sales efforts. What are your options if you have a sales opportunity that is clearly too large for your normal scale of operations? Will your bank provide the necessary financing? Is your business a startup, or too new to meet the bank’s requirements? Can you tap into a commercial real estate loan or a home equity loan in sufficient time to conclude the transaction? Do you decline the order? Fortunately there is an alternative way to meet this challenge: You can use Purchase Order Financing & Letter of Credit financing to deliver the product and close the sale.
What is purchase order financing?
Purchase order financing is a specialized method of providing structured working capital and loans that are secured by accounts receivables, inventory, machinery, equipment and/or real estate. This type of funding is excellent for startup companies, refinancing existing loans, financing growth, mergers and acquisitions, management buy-outs and management buy-ins.
Purchase order financing is based upon bona fide purchase orders from reputable, creditworthy companies, or government entities. Verification of the validity of the purchase orders is required. The financing is not based on your company’s financial strength. It is based on the creditworthiness of your customers, the strength of the commercial finance company funding the transaction, and in most cases a letter of credit.
What is a letter of credit?
A letter of credit is a letter from a bank guaranteeing that a buyer’s payment to a seller will be received on time and for the correct amount. If the buyer is unable to make payment for the purchase, the bank is required to cover the full amount of the purchase. In a purchase order financing transaction, the bank relies on the creditworthiness of the commercial finance company in order to issue the letter of credit. The letter of credit “backs up” the purchase order financing to the supplier, or manufacturer.
Is purchase order financing appropriate for your sales program?
The perfect paradigm is a distributor buying products from a supplier and shipping directly to the purchaser. Importers of finished goods, exporters of finished goods, out-source manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors can effectively use purchase order financing to grow their businesses.
Is purchase order financing appropriate for growing your sales orders?
Purchase order financing requires you to have management expertise- a proven track record in your particular business. You must have bona fine purchase orders from reputable firms that can be verified. And you must have a repayment plan; often this is from a commercial finance company in the form of accounts receivable or asset-based financing.
You should have a gross margin of at least 25% to benefit from purchase order financing. Sellers of services or commodities with low margins, such as lumber or grain, will not qualify.
The bottom line decision for purchase order financing:
It can take two or more years to develop a profitable business. Banks generally base their lending limits on a business’ performance for the past two or three years. Purchase order financing, combined with letters of credit and/or accounts receivable or asset-based financing can give you sufficient funds to cover your operating costs, financing costs and still realize significant profits. If you qualify for purchase order financing, you can grow your business by taking advantage of large purchase orders and eventually qualify for bank financing.
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Venture Capital Financing: Structure and Pricing
Posted by Anthony in Entrepreneurship on May 21st, 2009
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A venture financing can be structured using one or more of several types of securities ranging from straight debt-to-debt with equity features (e.g., convertible debt or debt with warrants) to common stock. Each type of security offers certain advantages and disadvantages to both the entrepreneur and the investor. The characteristcs of your situation and current market forces will impact the type and mix of security package that is right for you.
Types of Securities Senior debt: Which is usually for long-term financing for high-risk companies or special situations such as bridge financing. Bridge financing is designed as temporary financing in cases where the company has obtained a commitment for financing at a future date, which funds will be used to retire the debt. It is used in construction, acquisitions, anticipation of a public sale of securities, etc. Subordinated debt: Which is subordinated to financing from other financial institutions, and is usually convertible to common stock or accompanied by warrants to purchase common stock. Senior lenders consider subordinated debt as equity. This increases the amount of funds that can be borrowed, thus allowing greater leverage. Preferred stock: Which is usually convertible to common stock. The venture’s cash flow is helped because no fixed loan or interest payments need to be made unless the preferred stock is redeemable or dividends are mandatory. Preferred stock improves the company’s debt to equity ratio. The disadvantage is that dividends are not tax deductible. Common stock: Which is usually the most expensive in terms of the percent of ownership given to the venture capitalist. However, sale of common stock may be the only feasible alternative if cash flow and collateral limits the amount of debt the company can carry.
While each of these securities has unique characteristics, they can be grouped into two categories: debt or equity. In structuring a venture financing, the primary question is whether the financing should be in the form of debt or equity.
Disadvantages of Debt to a Company
From a company’s viewpoint, there are two potential disadvantages to debt.
An excessive amount of debt can strain a company’s credit standing, thereby reducing its flexibility in meeting future long-term financing requirements on a favorable basis. It can also negatively affect a company’s ability to obtain short-term credit. Of course, the form of debt the venture financing takes makes a difference. For example, subordinated debt will have less impact on borrowing capacity than senior debt. The venture capitalist has the option of calling his loan if the company is in default of the loan agreement. This remedy, which is not available to him under other financing agreements, puts him in a better position to influence the company’s affairs when it is in default. Advantages of Debt to a Venture Capitalist
From the venture capitalist’s viewpoint, there are three principal advantages to debt.
There is a greater likelihood that the venture capitalist will get his principal back and, at least, a small return. Many of the companies in the average venture capitalist’s portfolio are referred to as "the living dead." Needless to say, their performance has turned out to be disappointing. In some cases, these companies are able to repay principal with interest but have limited appeal to potential acquirers or the public. As a result, a venture capitalist with an investment in such a company’s common stock may be unable to recover his investment within a reasonable period, if at all. As previously discussed, under certain circumstances the venture capitalist is in a better position to influence the company’s affairs. The venture capitalist has a senior claim. However, it should be emphasized that the meaningfulness of a senior claim depends on the marketability of a company’s assets and the amount of equity it has to cushion its creditors’ position. For example, in the case of a start-Lip situation with little or no equity, a senior claim means little or nothing. Percentage Ownership Needed
While the difference may not be great, depending on the particular circumstances of the company, a debt position involves less risk than an equity position for the venture capitalist. Accordingly, a company should not have to relinquish as much ownership when a financing is in the form of debt. However, this advantage must be weighed against the disadvantages of debt.
No matter how the venture financing is structured, it must be priced so that it is attractive to the venture capitalist. There is no clear-cut answer as to how much ownership a company will have to relinquish to make a financing attractive. Broadly speaking, the greater the potential return perceived by the venture capitalist, the less ownership he will demand. In other words, if a company has a patented product which a venture capitalist thinks is revolutionary and highly marketable, he will undoubtedly settle for less ownership than he would in the case of 4 company with a relatively less attractive product. Thus, his ultimate position will be a business judgment based on his potential return.
Before you enter negotiations with the venture capitalist, you should determine what your company is worth and how much of your company you want to sell. The following procedure can be used to get a rough idea of how much ownership you will have to give up to make the financing attractive.
Estimate the risk associated with the venture financing. If the investment is very risky, the venture capitalist may be looking for a return as high as 15 times his investment over five years. Conversely, if a relatively low degree of risk is involved, the venture capitalist may be satisfied with doubling or tripling his investment over five years. Make a reasonable estimate of the price/earnings ratio applicable to comparable publicly held companies. The market value of the company can then be projected by multiplying forecasted annual earnings by the estimated price/earnings ratio for comparable companies. Divide the estimate of the total dollar return the venture capitalist wants by the projected market value of the company. This yields the percentage ownership the venture capitalist will need, as oil the future date, to realize his desired return. It is important to note that any equity financing required during the interim period must be considered in making these calculations.
Case Study
Suppose XYZ Company, Inc., a start-up, needs $500,000. The company’s product appears to have excellent potential. However, because the product is new and unproven, an investment in the company would be extremely risky. Accordingly, it is reasonable to estimate that a venture capitalist would want a potential return of at least ten times his total investment in five years. Management estimates that the company should be able to "go public" at 20 times earnings in five years. Projected after-tax earnings for the fifth year is $1,250,000. Additional long-term financing of $500,000 will be needed at the beginning of the third year.
Scenario I
In the calculations below it is assumed that the venture capitalist who provides the initial financing ($500,000) also provides the subsequent financing ($500,000), and that he wants a return equal to ten times both. However, it should be noted that if the company made satisfactory progress during the first two years, it would be reasonable to assume that the venture capitalist would be satisfied with a lower return on the subsequent financing since it would involve less risk.
Estimate of Total Dollar Return Required Total Investment $ 1,000,000 Estimate of Return Required X 10
$10,000,000
V. Projected Market Value in Fifth Year VI. VII. Projected Earnings $1,250,000 VIII. Estimate of P/E Ratio x 20
$25,000,000
Percentage Ownership Needed in Fifth Year Estimate of Total Dollar Return quired $10,000,000 Projected Market Value of Company in Fifth Year 25,000,000
40% Scenario II
In this set of calculations it is assumed that a second investor provides the subsequent financing ($500,000). The calculations show that the venture capitalist who provides the initial financing ($500,000) would need 20% ownership as of the fifth Year to realize the return he wants. However, since the ownership to be given up for the subsequent financing will reduce his ownership position, he will want more than 20% ownership initially. For example, if it is assumed that 15% ownership will have to be given up for the subsequent financing, the venture capitalist who provides the initial financing would need 23% ownership initially to end up with 20% ownership in the fifth year.
Assume the same facts as Case I, except a second investor provides the subsequent financing for 15% ownership.
Estimate of Total Dollar Return Required Total Investment $ 500,000 Estimate of Return Required X 10
$5,000,000
Projected Market Value in Fifth Year Projected Earnings $1,250,000 Estimate of P/E Ratio x 20
$25,000,000
Percentage Ownership Needed in Fifth Year Estimate of Total Dollar Return required $5,000,000 Projected Market Value of Company in Fifth Year 25,000,000
20%
Thus, it appears that the investment ($500,000) may be attractive to an interested venture capitalist if the principals of XYZ Company, Inc. are willing to give up approximately 23% ownership.
Conclusion
It must be emphasized that the above procedure is highly subjective. And, you should remember that what really matters is how the venture capitalist views the relative attractiveness of a company. Typically, venture capitalists are satisfied with a minority interest. Although a venture capitalist may demand a majority interest, generally they are not interested in operating control. Some of them like to tie the amount of ownership they ultimately get to the performance of the company. For example, a venture capitalist who wants a majority interest initially may give the principals the opportunity to earn part of it back. Such an arrangement can be used to compromise on pricing when there is a significant disagreement between the principals and the venture capitalist.
To entrepreneurs unfamiliar with venture capital, it may appear that the venture capitalist is seeking an extraordinary high return on his investment. However, it is important to understand that, even under the best of circumstances, only a minority of the companies in which the venture capitalists invests will be successful. He is well aware of this, and must make a sufficient return of his successful investments to come out with an acceptable return overall.
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