Are you ready for a brand new career? A new career could represent an entirely new chapter in your life. In fact, it’s more like a whole new book!
Whether you want to change careers, start a new business or found a new charitable organization,you’ll need to fund it. But where does the money come from exactly?
No matter what kind of new endeavor you want to begin, it won’t be free. Don’t let lack of funds deter you, though. Here are some viable ways to raise money and fund any career goals that you may have.
How to Raise Money for Your New Project
1. Start a Crowdfunding Campaign
Crowdfunding is a relatively new way to raise funds for a new career or any other kind of project you want to start. There are a lot of different crowdfunding sites to choose from, and they each have particular operational methods.
Some specialize in a certain kind of project. Others disallow certain kinds of projects. You’ll need to research each one to find that fits with your goals.
Important differences between crowdfunding sites include when and how you get your funds. Some allow you to make interim withdrawals, while others hold funds until the entire goal amount has been contributed.
Another slight difference is the fee taken out of your funds, which is about 3%. Some platforms charge an additional fee of about 5%.
The downside of crowdfunding is its public nature. If you want to succeed in acquiring funding this way, you’ll need to work hard to publicize your campaign on social media.
Here is a list of the top crowdfunding sites to consider:
2. Borrow Against a Life Insurance Policy
If you have a whole life policy, you may be able to borrow against it to fund your new career goals. Whole life policies build up value over time. Depending on how long you’ve paid into your policy, you could have a considerable amount of borrowing power.
This type of loan typically has attractive interest rates, but that will vary according to your insurance company. As long as you pay back the loan on time, the final benefit amount will remain unchanged.
To learn more details about your options, contact your life insurance representative and ask about borrowing against your policy.
3. Make an Infomercial
You’ve certainly seen infomercials on TV designed to sell a product or service. But did you know this selling method is often used by startups to get funding? Did you also know that some of your favorite celebrities, like Victoria Principal, Cindy Crawford and Suzanne Somers have used infomercials to sell their products and make millions?
If your goal is to start a new company, found a charity or something else with similar funding needs, you might consider making an infomercial to garner interest and generate funds.
Infomercials help in two ways. First, if you have a new product you want to launch, you can use an infomercial to gauge consumer interest based on responses you get to your calls to action during the commercial. Second, you could actually pre-sell your product to get the money you need for manufacturing.
The infomercial strategy is more complex than others, but it can be a very effective way to raise money for your new career goals. To get started, contact an infomercial production company.
4. Take Out a Home Equity Loan
If you’ve owned your home for a number of years, it’s likely you’ve built up some equity. The attractive thing about using a home equity loan to fund your new career goals is that you don’t need to qualify to get the money. You could have the money in your bank in just a few weeks.
There are no restrictions on how you use the money you borrowed through a home equity loan, either. That’s another reason why this is an ideal way to raise funds.
Again, as long as you repay the loan on time, you aren’t risking anything. To see about your options for a home equity loan, contact your lender.
5. Borrow From Friends and Family
Finally, another option to fund your new career goals is to borrow from friends or family. If you have an economically sound business idea with the opportunity for them to make money, they may be interested in investing in it.
Be sure to formalize any financial arrangement you make with friends and family so you don’t jeopardize the relationship. Speak to an attorney about formalizing a loan from friends and family.
If you have living parents and are expecting an inheritance at some point, you could also ask for an advance against that. Depending on the circumstances, they may be able to give you a certain amount with no tax implications. Consult with your family financial planner for details.
As you can see, there are lots of ways to raise money for your new career goals that don’t involve wiping out your savings. You might decide on one of these ideas or implement a combination of two or three.
Either way, don’t give up on your goal to change careers, open a new business or start a whole new life. With the right funding source, it can be done!