September 8, 2025 • 64 mins
Episode Highlights with Crystal Wallace (CMW Services)
In this episode, we dive into the world of business funding with our amazing guest, Crystal Wallace of CMW Services. Crystal keeps it real about all the different ways you can fund your business—grants, loans, equity, even self-funding—and breaks down how to think strategically instead of making decisions out of fear.
You’ll hear us chat about:
- The different types of funding (and which might be right for you).
- Why mindset matters—how shifting from fear to empowerment can totally change the game.
- The must-have “funding folder” that makes applying for money way less stressful.
- Why it’s not about chasing the biggest check but knowing your real financial needs.
- The importance of community and support systems when navigating the funding maze.
Crystal’s advice will leave you feeling ready to face funding with confidence, clarity, and a plan.
Big Takeaways:
- Don’t just go for money because you’re stressed—think long-term and align your funding with your goals.
- Know exactly what you need before asking for funding (investors and lenders will thank you).
- Stay organized—your future self will be grateful for that funding folder.
- Surround yourself with the right people and resources.
Resources & Links from this episode:
Shoutouts to organizations mentioned:
CMW Services
BOSSY
Empire State Development
Capital Connect
Launch New York
WNY Economic Development Initiative
Pathstone
Pursuit Lending
Small Business Development Center
SCORE Buffalo
SCORE Rochester
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(01:15):
Foreign.
Welcome back to Getting Realwith Bossy, the podcast that tells
you what it's really like tobe a business owner.
And you are joining us in themidst of our Summer of Money podcast
series.
And we are going to be talkingto Crystal Wallace today from CMW
(01:40):
Services, and she's going totalk today about funding, all the
different types of funding youcan get and how to do it smart, smartly,
intelligently.
Smartly.
Intelligently.
How to do it smartly and notfrom a place of fear.
I mean, that is my drive.
I. I'm okay right now.
Summer, the end of summer isusually like the worst, but we've
(02:03):
actually been.
We've been getting some bigparties in, so I'm just rolling with
it and being.
Being very grateful that, thatit's, that it's not terrible because
I'm about to go out for threemonths on surgery.
I mean, I will be able.
I'll be able to.
I can't wait for that episode.
I'll be able to work, but it'sgoing to be.
(02:26):
And it's our busy season.
September, end of Septemberthrough December is our season at
both places.
And I'm going to be immobile.
Well, that's going to be a fun episode.
And right now, we just bothgot back into town.
Rochester survived withoutboth of us here, surprisingly still
(02:47):
standing.
And the cost of going onvacation is like.
Are we talking financial orlike emotional cost?
Because I think they both needto be discussed at some point.
All of it.
It is so hard to go onvacation as a business owner, but
I, I do it and I try to do itregularly because it is important
for our families to faces andfor us to.
(03:08):
To see our spouses and not ina business way.
We need it.
And our staff and our fam, weall need it.
We just need.
We need that time to regroup.
You can't do it here.
Yeah.
So it costs a lot.
It's stressful as all hell,but we do it.
And we're back and we areready to.
To go forward and continuethis amazing podcast series.
(03:31):
And we hope you guys learn alot today and enjoy the episode.
FOREIGN.
(04:24):
Welcome back to Getting Realwith Bossy.
Today we are here with CrystalWallace from C. CMW Services.
Crystal, we are so glad tohave you here with us today.
Thank you so much.
I'm happy to be here.
It's awful.
That's excellent.
Now, Crystal, we were so luckyto meet last year when Crystal presented
(04:45):
at our seminar series.
Or no, it wasn't even ourseminar series.
We had A full on conferencelast year.
So we were so glad to have you back.
We've been thinking about youever since.
So we're grateful for you tobe here and share your knowledge
towards the end of our Summerof Money series.
Also, let's just side note,Crystal is on vacation.
(05:06):
I know.
So thank you for taking timeout of your vacation.
We know how hard it is tovacation as a business owner and
here you are doing a podcast interview.
So thank you.
Listen, the world is prettybig and the Internet works everywhere.
So I'm here.
So that's amazing.
Crystal, can you tell us alittle bit about you and what you
(05:28):
do?
Yes.
So hello everyone.
Crystal Wallace, the chiefconsulting strategist at CMW Services.
We help businesses formlaunch, fund and grow.
That covers a lot of differentservices, but mainly actual formation
support the than helpingcompanies get their launch and their,
(05:53):
you know, some people, thewhole launch thing is kind of a,
you know, some people love it,some people don't.
But helping you get yourbusiness to a place where you're
ready to actually receivewhoever your clients or customers
are.
That includes like back endsystems and all that funding.
Funding, which is, I thinkwhat we're going to talk about today,
you know, is helpingbusinesses navigate how to get funding
(06:16):
when they're ready forfunding, when bootstrapping is necessary,
like helping them understandwhat business funding is and what
it isn't.
There's so many sources ofinformation out there about funding
and there's so many ways to do it.
We want to, I want to helpbusinesses navigate that.
It can be pretty treacherousand then grow.
(06:38):
So I work with startups and Ialso work with businesses who have
been established and helpingthem with everything from strategic
planning, strategic managementconsulting and then also some change
management as well as in someinstances stepping in in a fractional
capacity.
So yeah, we do a bit of everything.
(07:01):
However, strategic planningand strategic consulting is where
we focus mainly.
So.
Very cool.
So what I know you said thatfunding is, is a, is a broad range,
but since we're in our moneyseries, can you give us like a brief
overview of the differenttypes of funding that are out there?
Absolutely.
So when I'll start, I guesswith businesses always feel as if,
(07:26):
okay, I need $100,000 so I canget started.
Right.
And they're like, where do Iget it from there I was automatically
think I'm going to go to a bank.
Where do I.
Well, I think most businessesor most entrepreneurs or business
owners haven't taken the timeto step back and say what type of
funding do I need?
And there's funding typicallysits in like three buckets.
(07:47):
So there's grant funding whicheveryone is always looking for.
And you know, it can,sometimes it's there, sometimes it's
not.
There's a lot of differenttypes of grant funding so we can
talk about that a little bit.
There's debt financing whichmost people are most accustomed to.
So whether you're working witha bank, whether you're working with
(08:10):
institutions such as acommunity development financial institution
which I'll talk a little bitmore about and I have affiliation
with that help you with loans,credit products, something that businesses
need.
And a lot of times people Ifeel like that's a cuss word because
(08:30):
they view have such a negativeview on debt.
So debt financing is a reallygreat way to fund your business.
It's just navigating what thatlooks like for your business needs.
And then there's equityfinancing which is money that you
don't necessarily have to payback but there is an expectation
(08:53):
from the investor of a return.
So and that can be anythingfrom angel investing from seed funding
to full on venture capitalistswhere folks are sharks or I like
to say dolphins are providingyour business with their expertise
but also their money to seeyou fund and grow rapidly.
(09:14):
Like that's the whole point.
So typical funding and thenthere's self funding and we not not
self the credit tool but youare your business and the owner is
putting money into thebusiness to help see it grow.
And the revenues that thebusiness might generate also are
(09:34):
being put back to the business.
So that's bootstrapping andthen personal owner investment into
the business is considered,it's an investment but it's the owner
is putting their equity stakein there.
So those are the three and ahalf to four different buckets in
which funding sits.
And I know especially withbanks, I know banks want to see the
(09:56):
owner putting money in.
You know, if the bank's goingto give you money, they want to know
that you have something on theline because then you're more willing
to want.
To keep the business going inthe game.
And it's not just banks.
I'm going to say anyone who istrying to give you money, a grant,
another investor, evenpotential partners, they're going
(10:17):
to want to see what yourinvestment into your business is.
And there's so many schools ofthought because some again some people
have seen these tiktoks go toXYZ bank and they have a no doc loan
for 100k.
So just start your LLC and dothis and.
And you know, those are methods.
Right.
But I'm a strategic planner.
(10:39):
I'm a strategist.
I feel like you got to have aplan, walking into it to know what
you need to do.
And so hopefully podcasttoday, we can navigate with some.
That looks like for some folks.
Yeah, I'm trying to find thatstatistic from the other day about,
like, how many women arebootstrapping and not going with
traditional funding to starttheir business.
But it's quite high.
It is very high.
(11:00):
Men who just walk into a bankor 6 inches.
So this is very important,very important topic today.
Yeah.
So I really want to start.
So what.
What is the thing you.
You see more most often?
Well, I think since we startedwith grants, I'll start there.
(11:22):
You know, we went through apretty interesting time about four
or five years ago.
Call Covid.
Right.
And.
And during that time, therewas a of lot of opportunity for a
small business.
It was kind of unprecedentedwhere you had the opportunity to.
Businesses had the opportunityto get all kinds of grant funding.
And it was very atypical inour country's history, and I would
(11:49):
say it could be consideredatypical moving forward.
Grant business grants havealways been available, and they did.
They kind of sit in different ranges.
So you'll have grants that arefrom public and private sector.
Private sector.
So public grants, sometimesthey're like, through your municipality
(12:09):
or where you live.
Right.
Your county might have a grant.
Your city might have a grantfor small businesses.
And there's a lot of criteriayou would need to meet in order to
qualify for that.
Then they're like specific grants.
So maybe, I know in the cityof Buffalo, there's often been grants
for.
For signage or marketing oreven building revitalization.
(12:30):
So some aspects of your.
Your business might be able toreceive funding to help you, you
know, market grow, build commerce.
It's all centered aroundeconomic development.
But then you also have some atthe state level as well.
So they're the shout out toEmpire State Development if we're
in New York State.
So.
So New York State ESD has alot of grant programs.
(12:57):
They're very numerous, butthey're very specific.
Right.
So there are some for clean energy.
There are some for, you know,startups who are looking to take
on equity investment.
There are some for, you know,businesses that are going to help
bring commerce into some ofour, like, border regions.
So there are tons and tons ofgrants out there.
(13:19):
There.
You just have to see what youqualify for.
One of the caveats, I wouldsay or grants are, I would say, let's
call it a cautionary sale.
So knowing how much time youwant to invest in a grant, to apply
for a grant, then they're theprivate sector grants.
So corporations, nonprofitorganizations, they might have grant
(13:44):
funding for specific types ofbusinesses, maybe demographically
diverse businesses orbusinesses in a certain industry.
Trade organizations and tradeassociations also have, or maybe
their members.
So if you are a part of theHorticulturalists of America, I'm
just making that up.
There might be a grant foryour business for specific, you know,
(14:09):
need or something that theyfind is a need in the industry.
And so they might be offeringgrants for that.
There's literally grantseverywhere, but they always require
research and then they alsorequire a lot of your personal and
your business's information.
And you always have to havethis trade off of how much information
do I want to share about meand my business to be able to get
(14:33):
$5,000.
Now, in the grand scheme oflife, if you're just starting out,
$5,000 could be make or breakyour business.
Right.
And so, but if you haveaspirations and goals to be making
way more than $5,000, you haveto understand what's the trade off
for your, for your time, yourenergy, your information, your privacy
(14:55):
and your money.
That's a really, really good point.
So I don't think people, thinkpeople understand that sometimes.
Yeah.
And it's one that a lot offolks who work in the entrepreneurial
ecosystem, like we have tobalance that because sometimes nonprofit
(15:15):
organizations are those whohave funding for clients, like for,
you know, a specificpopulation, whether it's underserved,
whether it's economicallydisadvantaged or it's in a specific
sector, they need informationbecause they have to report that
information back to whomevergave them the money.
So you are, you know, givingup some level of your privacy when
(15:40):
you are looking at applyingfor these grants.
Now the same can be said forloans, the same can be said for equity,
but it's just.
And with grants, grants areconsidered what we call non dilutive.
So are most loans.
So it means that you're notgiving up any ownership in your business.
Right.
So the expectation is that nothaving to pay that back, you know,
(16:06):
and not giving up anyownership can be very appealing.
But what are you giving up?
Are you, you're giving up yourtime, you're giving up key information,
you're giving up quite a bitin order to be able to provide, you
know, potentially get some funding.
The other piece is howcompetitive is this big grant?
(16:28):
Like a lot of these grants areso competitive.
You're competing withliterally hundreds of, sometimes
tens of thousands of people,sometimes hundreds of thousands of
thousands of people.
I will refrain from usingcertain, you know, there's certain
databases that are out thereand then who is behind.
So y' all gonna get me on my little.
(16:50):
It's a really interestingpoint that what is your privacy worth
to you?
Because really, when it comesdown to it, everything is so personal,
especially with money and howwe're spending in our business and
what we value and how we wantto do it.
But we talk a lot about timeand the time you put into things,
right.
A lot of grants you have tofollow up.
(17:12):
There's not only the time, ifyou get it, you have to follow all
these procedures post grantand you might.
Have some reportingmeasurement measures.
And then there could be like,if you don't meet the requirements,
even after the grant, theymight want that money back.
So you really have to know theins and outs of it.
One thing I can say, andwe'll, I know we're on grants, I'll
(17:34):
move over to debt in a minute.
No matter what type of fundingyou are looking for, you need to
have what's known as like afunding folder, right?
And it's like a key set ofdocuments that are typically needed
for any type of funding you'regoing to go for.
So what makes some grantseasier for some people to get is
(17:54):
that once they've created asystem or like a folder that has
all the key documents, all thekey information in it, and so, and
they actually have written outlike narratives and things that can
easily be placed into a grant application.
All grant applications aredifferent, but it helps you to be
able to apply because youunderstand, you know the language,
so you're able to plot that inthere, tweak it, how you need it
(18:16):
for the particular grant, andthen you can apply in mass for grants
and see what happens.
So the other piece I wanted tobring up is that a lot of grants
are research based.
So a lot of the grants you seeat the federal level and even in
the private level are based onsome ongoing research that a business
might be doing and that mightfit some entrepreneurs, but that's
(18:38):
not necessarily going to fitall entrepreneurs.
And so I recommend that youmeet with someone who understands
how to navigate that processif you're really interested in going
after grants.
A small plug for, you know,CMW services, if you're interested.
But you know, just getting anunderstanding of what type of documentation,
(19:00):
what type of questionquestions are going to be asked what's
the format?
There's literally a formatwhen you're going after grants, even
proposals.
And I know we're not reallytalking about that right now, but
like going after differenttypes of contracts, there's a format
that you need to follow inorder for it to even be considered
or reviewed or considered success.
You know, get into the running.
And so long and short of it is you.
(19:21):
Grants are really great if youcan get them.
They typically require a lotof your time, a lot of your energy,
and a lot of your information.
Should I shoot over to debt alittle bit?
Yeah, I mean, I think that's the.
That's the natural step.
So again, sometimes debt isconsidered a curse word.
(19:42):
And the.
Just because so many peoplehave negative connotations when it
comes to money, they havenegative connotations when it comes
to lending and borrowing.
And maybe they got that firstcredit card when they were in college
and they did a horrible jobwith their credit.
And so it.
Maybe it took some time.
Right.
(20:02):
I saw this commercial,commercial as a taco was haunting
them 20 years later becausethey wanted freshman in college.
And that's because there's just.
So this.
There's so little financialreadiness taught unless it's taught
to you on purpose.
Right.
So so many of us don'tnecessarily understand how credit
(20:25):
works, how debt works.
And small plug.
I'm also a credit supportspecialist, so that's something we
could talk about.
But so many people don'tunderstand how it works.
And so business credit is insome ways a reflection of your personal
credit.
And you really have toestablish personal credit first before
you go after business credit.
(20:45):
But not in all cases.
But going back to just debt ingeneral, you want to have an understanding
of your financial relationships.
Number one, so that's your ownpersonal finance relationship with
money.
But then also the financialinstitutions that you are connected
to, debt does have to be paid back.
(21:06):
Like you're literally takingon an obligation or an interesting
take.
You're taking on obligationand a promise to pay whomever's lending
you money back with interestby a certain period of time.
Right.
And so your credit worthinessis like your history.
It's saying, hey, you know, Idid these things before.
And so you can feel confidentor not so confident giving me money.
(21:30):
Now, when it comes to debtfinancing, I sit in a couple different
spaces.
So through one of my clientconnections, I'm a part.
I work with a group of peoplecalled Capital Connect, which fund
small businesses throughoutall throughout New York State.
(21:55):
It's a consortium of fourcommunity development financial institutions,
or CDFIs.
And due to redlining anddiscriminatory practices in the past
by banks in certain areas, incertain demographic and economically
(22:15):
depressed areas, we have theseinstitutions that are supposed to
work with and make funding andcapital accessible for all.
So specifically, we work withthe those who are in small business
and who are looking to scaleand grow their businesses.
So launch New York WestminsterEconomic Development Initiative,
(22:38):
which is solely based inBuffalo, the enterprise center at
Pathstone and Pursuit Lending.
We all have a differentgeographic reach.
Pursuit Lending has thelargest reach that can lend to all
of New York State.
Pathstone is focused onBuffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Puerto
(23:00):
Rico.
Launch New York covers 27counties, 35 counties actually, in
all of New York State.
So western New York, upstate,the southern tier, part of the capital
Region.
And then, as I said,Westminster is solely located in
Buffalo and Niagara counties.
(23:22):
But we have a tool calledcapitalconnectny.org and if you go
to that website, you can typein, you know, you literally fill
out a small application and itsends you to all four of those institutions.
By doing so, you're connectedwith the institution that has the
(23:42):
lending instruments that arebest for you.
So you're gonna provide alittle bit of information, not too
much, but just a little bitsomething that you would provide
to your bank if you went tofill out a loan application.
So not too much social.
None of that's required.
Just really how long you'vebeen in business.
What, what are you looking forin terms of funding?
(24:03):
Do you need other support?
And we get you matched, andwe're connected with a lot of the
organizations within theecosystem that do business development.
So some of those other needsthat a lot of businesses have can
also be satisfied through that.
But with debt financing, yougot to pay it back.
And no matter what type offinancing you need, you always need
(24:26):
to understand what you'reusing it for.
A use of funds is so important.
Many business owners say, Ineed $100,000, but they can't tell
you what do to use it for.
And so not being able todelineate that is a red flag for
many, for investors, forgrantors, and for financial institutions.
(24:50):
Because specifically thefinancial institution, they want
to know how you can pay them back.
You want to know, and theywant to know if the money they're
providing you is giving youthe opportunity to generate more
revenue so that you can paythem back, because they want to get
paid back.
So a lot of times businessesare wary of that because we really
(25:13):
have to pinpoint where thatweariness or that weariness comes
from, I think is really a lackof understanding of their operations.
And yes, entrepreneurship canbe a gamble in any way, right?
But if you know you haveconsistent cash flows coming in and
you know you have consistentrevenues and you've already mapped
out how this use of funds canhelp you bolster that, like through
(25:35):
your projections, which afinancial institution is going to
ask you for, you can have someconfidence that this influx of money
is going to help me yield thisoutput in terms of revenue, in terms
of production, in terms of sales.
And that that's what they'relooking for.
So that, that binder, thatpacket I was talking about, financial
institutions look for your,your personal information.
(26:01):
So your personal debt andfinancial obligations in most cases,
as well as any obligationsthat your business has currently.
They're going to want to know,like your tax returns, see that you
file.
They want to see that yourbusiness has been viable and has
been in existence for a minute.
And they want to see your books.
That's another scary word forsome business owners.
(26:23):
But whether you have anaccountant or you're using a software
or you have an Excel sheet,whatever it is, they want to see
that you've accounted for whatyou've brought in.
A lot of times business ownersmight say, well, I have it all in
my square.
I said, okay, well that's astart, right?
If you can show that you'vebeen receiving, you have receipts
and then maybe you can showhow you pay for some things, that's
(26:44):
a way for you to potentially,potentially, you know, get the ball
rolling.
But they're going to want tosee, most of them are wanting to
see your actual financialstatements, right?
And then also use of funds.
So how do you plan on using it?
How long do you think it'sgoing to take you to see the conversion
(27:05):
of what money you put intoyour business?
How is that going to turn intosales and, or revenues and then that's
some indication on when you'llbe able to potentially pay them back.
And then as long as you're agood, you're able to really start
(27:27):
showing positive paymenthistory to them.
That can unlock more fundingfor you.
And I think also understandingwhat type of funding you need is
important.
Sometimes people automaticallygo to credit cards or to some other
funding and get in where youfit in.
But for financialinstitutions, you might need a line
(27:47):
of credit, specifically if youhave a product based business or
you need to purchase inventorya lot, you know, a line of credit
or something that you can drawfrom when you're needed and then
pay it back very quickly whenyou get your receipt of.
From your receivables.
That'll be really, that goes along way to showing the bank, okay,
you know, there is viabilityhere with this business.
(28:07):
And they're going to continueto, you know, we can continue to
lend to them.
They're going to continue tobe a good steward of our money.
So I'll pause her.
Do you think a line of creditis a good place to start?
Um, I think a line of credit,I really think it's a.
Depends.
My answer is it depends, right?
(28:30):
If you need.
And then it also depends onthe use of funds like so if you need
to purchase a piece of equipment.
A line of credit is not what Iwould recommend.
I would recommend maybe a loanor an asset loan from your bank or
from one of the otherfinancial institutions to help you
if you need to be able tomanage cash flows for the next maybe
(28:51):
three months or six months,maybe the line of credit.
Or you also look at some ofthe other types of financing that
are out there that maybe yourbank is not going to provide you.
But you always want to.
When it comes to debtfinancing, you always are measuring
the cost of capital, so howmuch money you're going to be borrowing
(29:11):
to the.
And also the, the time framein which you have to repay that,
comparing it with how thatmoney is going to how fast you can
pay it back, essentially.
And so sometimes if you need aquick influx of cash, but you know
that you have guaranteedreceivables coming in to cover it,
(29:34):
you might take a higherinterest, you might take money at
a higher interest because youknow that you're not going to hold
it very long.
It's going to, you know,you're going to it pretty quickly.
But what I will say is itreally does depend.
And that's why again, pluggingcapital connect, plugging talking
to and having someone that youcould talk to about money.
(29:55):
And there are you.
I want to share like you'renot wasting people's time if you're
trying to get the informationyou need.
Now, the Internet has a lot ofgreat information, but if you need
to talk to someone, book thatfree consultation, go into your financial
institution, connect withcapital, connect like I talked about
(30:18):
previously, you know, take thetime to just get the information
you need so you can feel more informed.
If you need more guidance,that's when you need to talk to somebody
who has a bit more time and availability.
That's when you work with aconsultant, maybe like myself, to
help you navigate what thatprocess looks like.
And then given that this is,you know, bossy rock, what's your
(30:42):
sister circle look like?
Like, what does your group of,you know, the folks that you work
with, that you havecamaraderie with, that you can, you
know, maybe someone in yourcircle has navigated that path a
little bit further down thanyou, and they can provide you some.
Some insight on how theynavigate it, but you don't want to.
(31:02):
I find a lot of businesses arein isolation, so they're.
The business owners are, intheir minds.
They're not thinking about allthe research out there.
They don't know, and they.
There's so much informationout there on the Internet that needs
to be validated.
You want to talk to someone.
So I do recommend, like,taking the time to connect and talk
to someone about what, whatoptions are out there.
(32:08):
I think there's a level of.
We talk about the lonelinessof entrepreneurship.
Yeah.
There's a level of it'sexpected that you know everything.
But when you're on your islandand you're all alone and you're like,
people expect me to knoweverything, but I don't know.
And then you just react.
Right.
And people are so stupid,scared so often to talk to people
(32:29):
and to acknowledge that theydon't know and to ask the questions.
And that's really what ourfocus is in this series is here are
all these different peoplewith all these different versions
of conversations about money.
Talk to them or use thispodcast to be like, hey, did you
hear what they talked about?
What do you think about that?
Or have you ever done that?
And I think that's what, likeyou said, your sister circle, whatever
(32:52):
you, your group is, and if youdon't have one, find one.
There's so much community outthere, questions.
And you need to talk about itbecause there is a lot of debt.
Debt isn't always scary.
It's terrifying.
But it's also, you know,something that's necessary, especially
in business ownership.
And I think that that's reallyhard to navigate.
(33:13):
But, yeah, ask the questionsand see what's out there.
Before we move on to debt fear.
I just had a question aboutinterest rates.
Okay.
In this economy, I was waymore open to debt before this economy
because interest rates were so accessible.
Like, they weren't.
(33:33):
It didn't feel like you weregetting robbed when you borrowed
money, where now you'relooking at the interest rates and
you're like, oh, my gosh,like, it's going to take me so much
longer to pay this back.
My Bills are going to be somuch higher.
I.
Are there services like youhad talked about, the services before
for the underdeveloped areasand people doing business in those
areas.
Do they have better interest rates?
(33:56):
That's a great question.
I will say that some.
It really depends on the product.
I'm not going to quote toomany of what too many of the rates
right now because they couldhave changed from the last time I
had conversations with my team.
But I know that many ofpursuit impacts don't have products
(34:18):
that have fixed rates.
And so you're gonna.
You're borrowing money.
Unless you have prime credit,you're gonna expect to be somewhere
in the 8 to the tens, right.
And it used to be the fours tothe fives in terms of percentage.
So you have to set your expectation.
I was working with a clientoutside of, you know, a personal
(34:41):
client that was not happy withthe rates that he was getting and
the quotes he was getting for the.
He wanted to refinance one ofhis properties or something like
that, and he wasn't.
He kept like acknowledging.
I remember when I could justwalk into a bank and they would just
hand me.
When he said, we're not inthat time or era right now.
(35:02):
We're not there.
Like you said, man, this rateis so high.
So you're gonna.
The longer you wait, this rateis just gonna increase.
And so sometimes we have toacknowledge the fact that this is
where we are.
And if you wait, I mean,rates, yes, they could go down, they
could plummet.
But then that's another signalthat we might not.
(35:25):
We might not necessarily be in that.
But the longer you wait, morethan likely the cost of capital is
going to go up.
So you want to.
If you have a really good dealnow, you can't compare it to the
times when rates were super low.
You just can't.
Because that's not where.
That's not the environment weare in right now.
And you're competing withpeople who have the funds or who
(35:47):
have the availability to getthose types of funds now at the rate,
and it's not going to cost them.
So you want to.
The other piece is you alsowant to weigh how much money you
need to borrow.
Goes back to the whole use of funds.
People want to store up moneyfor a rainy day.
Right.
But not when you're borrowingit at 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13%.
(36:08):
Like, you don't.
You have to really weighwhat's going to be best for you.
And really, those going backto the financial projections, going
back to Having some form,something you can point to, to say,
okay, I know it's not 100%accurate, but this at least gives
me a bit more confidence thatin this economy, in this time, I
know I have these somewhatguaranteed options available to me,
(36:32):
so I can feel confident atleast taking this amount of money.
Does that make sense?
So you want to weigh theobligations that you have, you want
to weigh the receipts that youhave and make sure that you have
some ability to pay that money back.
There are also, I want totouch on this Pathstone, wedi and
(36:57):
I think now Pursuit all havestarter loans for startups.
So you might not have anydemonstrated sales, but you need
some funding.
They do all look at yourpersonal credit.
And so you also want tomeasure just when you're dealing
with debt, you want tounderstand what they're looking at
(37:17):
when they make a loandecision, what the underwriters are
looking at.
So when you're first startingout, nine times out of 10, unless
you have personal relationshipwith an institution like a bank,
we'll talk about that in aminute, they're going to look at
your personal credit, right?
They're going to run your credit.
And so that might not alwaysbe the defining factor for banks.
Typically it is, right?
(37:38):
For not many of the CDFIs thatI work with, it is a factor, but
it's not the only factor.
And so I think the lowestscore that most of them look at is
like a 580 in most cases,which is, you know, not credit at
all.
Right.
So they recognize that you'regetting started.
The rate is a little higher.
I think it's somewhere between9 and 10%, but that's not horrible.
(38:04):
And some of the loans are assmall as $500.
So depending on what you needthe funds for, you can really get
that little influx of capital.
And the repayment terms are so lenient.
So that's another thing.
When you're working with acdfi, you get those, those benefits
(38:27):
going to.
Now, if you have somewhat of astrong banking relationship, let's
say you banked with local MNTfor many years, fill in the name
of the bank.
Most banks, if they have abusiness lending department, they're
going to be apt to really drawon the strength of that relationship
and offer you credit.
(38:47):
Even when maybe traditional,if you were just walking off the
street, you might not be ableto get that.
So you want to leverage whatrelationships you have, because I've
seen it happen where theybypass certain requirements in order
to be able to, to offer you,even if It's a minimal amount, something
(39:10):
to just, you can get your footin the door.
Right.
And you begin to build.
So like I said, when you'regetting started, you're going to
look at personal credit.
But that's the opportunity foryou to build business credit.
And those profits profiles are separate.
If you are a personalguarantor for your, for your business
credit, the decisions you makeover here initially will factor.
(39:33):
But most of those loans willnot report to your personal, they'll
start to report to your business.
And that's what you want.
You want that, you want tobuild a business credit profile.
So you get to the point whereyou do not have to rely on your own
personal credit to guaranteealone your business and the strength
of your business can securethe funding that you need.
(39:54):
Right.
To continue to scale and grow.
Want to talk about equity financing?
Sure.
We all dream.
A lot of people I know and,and the thing is it's a lot more
accessible than a lot than you think.
If you think.
(40:14):
Well, it is if you think atits basic form.
A partnership is a form ofequity financing because you're splitting
some of the initial investmentand the risk of the, you know, company
succeeding or failing withsomeone else.
Right.
And so they're investingsomething in order to have an equity
(40:35):
stake in the business.
And as the business scales orgrows, they stand to gain or lose.
So you're sharing some of thatrisk with someone.
But when you're looking totake on investors, when you're looking
to take on individuals who aregoing to put in their time, energy
and money into the business,you, some of the things that we talked
(40:58):
about before aren'tnecessarily applicable.
Like some investors might wantto see, they're going to want to
see personal financestatements, but they're not necessarily
going to see your credit score.
I can't speak for all of them,but some, most of them won't.
They're looking to alsounderstand what, what, what you want
to use that money for.
(41:19):
And then you also have tounderstand what their, what their
expectation is on return.
So whether or not they'reexpecting high, fast, rapid growth
and so they're looking formillions of dollars in return as
you hit some really largeliquidity event or like let's say
(41:40):
you sell your business or yougo to IPO or if they're looking to
grow with you, be a source ofcapital and they're looking to, you
know, for long term connection.
So it's, there's looking atthe opportunity for them to grow
their own personal wealth.
They understand the Risk, theyunderstand the reward and they're
(42:00):
willing to invest time andenergy to get you to a certain place.
There's also so, and there'sso many different types of equity.
There's like I said, justgeneral partnership like when you're
splitting pieces of the pie,but they have equal stake or they
have some proportionate stake.
There's angel investors, sothey typically have a smaller piece
(42:24):
of the piece pie but they'reproviding the money to help you get
started, to get funded.
We typically call that like afriends and family round.
And that's typically at thestage where a startup is vetting
their idea and so they so themoney there's probably much higher
risk because we don't know ifthe business is really going to be
viable or not or the idea isgoing to be viable.
(42:47):
But you're willing to takethat risk to see what happens.
And so that's definitely angel investing.
Then there's like smallinvestment groups that are looking
or even investment clubs thatare looking to put in a certain amount
of money to diversify, youknow, their portfolio.
(43:09):
They're looking so they'rewilling to invest as like one investor,
but it's multiple people.
Like a, they call it SPV orspecial purpose vehicle, but typically
like it's one LLC that'll comein and invest into a business and
they're, they have capitalcalls so they're like putting money
in at a certain time.
They're typically a part of afund and so they're investing in
(43:31):
at a certain time.
And then you'll have VCs whohave probably goo gobs of money and
they are at some point lookingto see this company go to an initial
public offering or be acquired.
And so that's at a much.
That company is typicallylooking to fund at a much larger
(43:53):
scale.
So.
And they're also looking tosee that company fundraise multiple
times.
So most, let's say, I thinkyou really have to look at the nature
of what you're offering as abusiness to determine what's going
to be the best type of equityfunding for you.
Most lifestyle Main streetbusinesses probably are looking for
(44:16):
partners, looking for silentpartners, looking for angels, but
folks who can help them scaleto the next level.
Right.
And then companies that aredeemed somewhat high growth, they're
looking, they have acompletely different trajectory in
mind.
They're looking to exit.
They're always looking topotentially be at the place where
(44:40):
they're making their moneyback in terms of investment of what
they put into the business.
They don't necessarily have tobe the one who's going to be the
CEO at all times.
They're going to get a boardof directors.
They're probably going to be acorporation and they're going to
continue scaling beyond,beyond, you know, one fundraiser
(45:01):
or two fundraises.
So the product and the serviceand what's being offered typically
dictates the type of investoryou're going to match with.
And the use of funds againdetermines the type of funding you're
gonna choose.
So you wouldn't get aninvestor for you to purchase a piece
of equipment because mostthat's better suited for debt financing
(45:24):
because it has, you know, it'sa fixed asset.
It's typically has adepreciation model that's connected
to it and you're utilizing itto help you, you know, grow rapidly.
But not necessarily, it's notnecessarily tied directly to revenues.
So an investor might,necessarily, might want to help you
(45:44):
fund your next hire or amarketing campaign, something that
has direct tied to increased revenues.
I would say a VC at least.
Now some investors, and someinvestors also want to know the relationship
that a business has with debt.
(46:04):
So you don't want to get aninvestor to help you pay off debt
unless you've had thatconversation with your investor and
they understand how theirmoney's being used and what that's
unlocking for them later on.
So everything is very, thereare some general like tricks of the
trade or rules of the road.
But when you get into the morepersonal, I won't call it personal,
(46:31):
but relational kind ofcontracts, you determine what those
terms are and then you workout those terms like that's, that's
how you are engaging.
So grants, debt and equity allcan play a really great role in like
the capital stack of acompany, how they're, how they're
(46:51):
or business.
But you just got to know whatcard to play and how you want to,
how you want to fund, how youwant to grow and what that type of
funding is going to provideyou and what risks you're taking
on by taking on that type of funding.
(47:51):
You just shared so much information.
Well, I know for thelisteners, you can pause and rewind,
you can take notes.
I'm an instructor, y'.
All.
So I'm sorry, this is.
And thank you.
Like you're giving this awayfor free.
Like you just did a completeoverview for those out there that
they don't know what theiroptions are.
They're on their island,they're all alone.
(48:12):
They don't.
Let's, let's talk about thatfor a minute.
We do it all the time,especially as women, small business
owners.
We bootstrap.
We're building the plane as wefly it, whatever.
Whatever phrase you want to use.
We do this because we have todo it.
And we figure it out.
We do it all the time.
But when it comes to money,it's dangerous.
It can be dangerous.
(48:33):
It can end your business.
And these things are out there.
And if you don't know whatoptions there are and what you actually
need, your money.
I'm so glad you said thatbecause so many people are like,
I just need the money.
Especially when Covidhappened, oh, yeah, I got this money,
get this money, get this money.
Like, but what are you usingit for?
And it's all gone.
And.
And it could have been useddifferently and better for myself
(48:54):
as well.
I think you just have to takea minute.
What do you need it for?
And what are the options yougave in three wonderful chunks?
And so many other options in those.
And I'm not saying, you know,hitting that email that comes to
you every day from that oneplace, you know what I'm talking
about?
It says, hello, and there areso many other options out there.
(49:15):
And you have to really thinkabout what it is you need and find
somebody like Crystal who canhelp you really figure out what it
is.
Because not understanding andnot talking to people that you care
about can lead to verydangerous outcomes.
End Rant.
Can I.
Can I say, you know, no matterwhat you do, you never want to approach
(49:37):
anything from a fear mindset.
Like, you can't.
And so to the point of, youknow, being scared, you know, it's
okay to be scared, but so manyof us can back ourselves into a place
of desperation because.
Because we have such fearabout what we don't understand.
So feeling, taking the time torecognize there are people out there
(49:59):
who aren't, who have your bestinterest at heart.
Like, it's a good thing forthem to help you because it's helping
everyone.
Like, the more informed youare, you can help inform someone
else.
And so taking the time tounderstand your options can put you
at a place of peace when youare approaching, okay, I need to
(50:20):
get this funding.
Like, the scarcity mindset,the fear mindset, and working out
of anxiety are horrible placesto run your business.
Now, I know that asentrepreneurs, all three of us are
entrepreneurs, all three of usare business owners.
Like, we'll have those monthswhere, like, where are you?
Said she was going to pay menext week, so I get it.
(50:44):
But it's and that's, it's themindset, it's the heart posture.
I know that this is gonna work out.
So you have to have a positive outcome.
And I'm gonna do everything Ican to avail myself of the information
I need so that I can make adecision and then have more faith
than fear when you'reapproaching it.
(51:06):
I just, I feel like that's soimportant and I love you guys.
Always focus on focus.
So like I think the, the focuswas the theme of the conference.
Yep, the conference last year.
So you know, what are youfocused on if you're.
Yes, it can be very.
I'm, and I'm not negating thefact it can be very scary when you
(51:29):
see bills coming in and you'relike, okay, how am I going to pay
that?
Like where is that coming from?
Where am I going to get thesources of funds?
But that's when you don't wantdesperation to take you to a hard
money lender where the theyare have take gouging your money
every week.
And it's like as I've seen,I've heard and seen 71% that's interest.
(51:56):
Stop it.
Like you're done before youeven start.
And you'll get the, like youtalked about those emails you leverage
even with harmony lenders.
I'm not, I'm not 100% againstHarmony lenders.
They have their purpose andyour utility when you need them,
but you only use them when youknow how to leverage them.
You do not use them when you are.
(52:16):
Your backup is up against thewall and you feel desperate.
So we want to avoid thedesperation piece.
Talk to someone.
You have myself, you have allthe other wonderful women who came
on before me and who arecoming on after me who can help you
navigate.
I just gave you the name of anamazing organization and they, they
(52:37):
want to lend.
Like these organizations thatI talked about, they want to lend.
Launch New York is equity development.
So they're in their kind of aspecial case.
If you are in that high growthrange, you'll talk to them.
But the other three, they wantto lend.
Your bank wants to lend.
And we work with the banks.
Like we do not compete.
We find we're better together.
So take the time to reach out.
(52:58):
Like you said, we're not, wecan't be island to ourselves.
And it's difficult when youare the only person doing all the
things.
You're the accountant, you'rethe bookkeeper, you're the operations
specialist, you are thecustomer service rep. You are everything
to Your business.
Yes.
Take that.
It is.
It can be a lot.
But prioritize understandingwhat your options are so you can
(53:19):
make an informed decision.
Decision as opposed to adecision based out of scarcity.
And thank you.
So that's just my.
I have one last question, ifyou're willing to share.
You talked about the littlefolder on your desktop.
And with all of thisinformation and as we're navigating
what our next steps are andwhere we want to go, what are the
top things that you thinkevery business owner should have
(53:40):
in that folder ready to go?
You know, I think from ourtalk the last time I got had a checklist
for you guys.
So let me see.
You definitely want to have.
Okay.
Your taxes.
Now, listen, let me come backon screen.
I'm sorry, I had the thing infront of my face.
You gotta have your tax returns.
That's like an important thing.
(54:02):
Even if you need to have yourtaxes, you need to have your books,
so your uses, you know, yourbalance sheet and your income.
Income statement, or we callit profit and loss statement.
Either one, you got to showhow you're making your money.
And there are templates outthere that you can utilize, and there
are organizations out therethat you can utilize if you don't
(54:23):
know how to do that.
The Small Business Developmentcenter, the one in Monroe County.
Oh, no, wait, it's not in Monroe.
Isn't a Monroe.
I think we have one.
Okay, I know there's one, andthen there's one in Cattaraugas,
and then you know, the Buff State.
If you're in Buffalo, whereveryou are, there is a Small Business
Development center near youbecause they're nationwide, they're
(54:43):
ran by the sba.
Okay.
Or funded by the sba.
So your.
Your personal tax return, yourbusiness tax returns.
If you never filed taxes foryour business before because it's
fairly new, then your ownpersonal tax returns.
You're going to want to knowsome aspect of your credit, right?
So your.
That's your personal know.
And if that's another.
(55:04):
I. I've meet so many peoplewho say, I. I haven't looked at my
credit scores.
I just don't want to know.
Pull off that band aid.
You got to know.
You got to know.
I mean, honestly, like, my OldNavy credit card sends me updates
on my credit score.
Like, it's out there, it's accessible.
Like, it's everywhere, hidden.
But I, like, get updates.
I'm like, Old Navy's tellingme, like, what my credit score is.
(55:26):
I get the same ones, right?
My Old Navy, my band ofAmerica, all of them.
They send me credit wise.
Oh, you have a hit on your credit.
Something happened.
Thank God for the monitoring.
Right?
We that's a whole conversationfor another day.
You know in terms of howaccurate those scores are.
But understand having someeven credit karma, like it's not
the best thing in the worldbut it gives you some understanding.
(55:49):
But talk to a specialist first.
Like if you need to know.
Yeah, we do.
I do a free consultation anddepending on what it looks like,
looks like we can get you setup properly to for financial readiness
and success and credit success.
So but yes, understand whatyour credit history looks like and
then personal finance,personal financial statement that
(56:16):
might just be like you know,some of everyone, all of us don't
have your budget.
That could just be your budget.
Right.
But on the side of yourbusiness, if you have books understanding
what you did in the lastquarter and then a business plan.
So if you don't have one ofthose, come see me or go to Score
(56:37):
Score.
I work with Score Buffalo andsometimes Score Rochester.
You know they have a reallycomprehensive and I feel easy to
use business plan templatethat I have actually utilized in
my courses when I'm teachingmy students.
I love it and it walks youthrough each of the components that
(56:59):
you need.
Whether you need a hugebusiness plan or a small one.
Another thing that you can useis business model Canvas.
But they're going to want tosee that you have a plan in place
for your business.
And the biggest thing is theuse of funds break down.
I need $35,000, I need $25,000to purchase this equipment.
I need $10,000 for to hire apart time person to operate it.
(57:22):
And then I need $5,000 to.
Wait, did I do that right?
To say 20,000 to purchase10,000 for the operator and I need
5,000 for training.
And that's what it's using I'mutilizing it for.
But I know that if I get thisequipment it's going to ramp up my
production by 40 or 50% and Ishould be able and have expectation
to pay you back within six months.
(57:45):
That's just I rattle that offmy head.
But that someone can walk youthrough that so that you can be ready.
And what I love about our CDFIis that if you don't have this information,
they'll work with you.
They'll send you to theresources so that you can get it
all in place so you can comeback to them because they want to
lend you, your bank wants tolend you money the CDFIs.
(58:06):
When I'm leaving you money.
Investors are looking to invest.
They're just hedging their bets.
They want to make sure it'sthe right risk for them.
So people want to give youmoney, have that mindset.
They want to give me money.
I just have to make sure I'mgiving them the right information.
So if we shift our mindset alittle bit to not be so scared about
it, recognize I have somethingthat people need, I have something
that people want.
So let me shift my mindset,make sure I'm prepared so that I
(58:29):
can offer them the bestsolution for themselves.
Even, even if it's investingin me, even if it's providing me
that loan money, I'm gonnahelp pay, I'm gonna provide them
the money they need in thelong run, whether it's paying back
a loan or the returns thatthey're looking for.
So love it.
Well, Crystal, if someone'slistening and they want to reach
(58:50):
out to you, how do they reach you?
Awesome.
I sent over, hopefully y' allhave the slide up there for me.
But on that QR code, on thatslide, you can scan it.
It takes you directly into myintake form.
You can fill out some very, Idon't take a lot of information,
just some very key informationabout your business and what you're
looking for support with.
You'll get an email, once youclick submit, you'll get an email
(59:12):
right back to book your 15minute discovery.
Call with me and we can goover anything that you need to talk
about.
So let's give some parameters.
So whether you need strategicplanning services for your business,
whether your business, if yourbusiness is informed and you need
formation services, I can helpyou with that.
(59:33):
I do work with nonprofits.
I'm just going to throw thatout there.
So if there are nonprofits whoare looking to form, I do 501C formation.
And then if you are a form andestablishment business and you're
looking to have thisconversation around funding, because
that's what we're talkingabout today.
Let's sit down.
If you need credit support,put that in the link and then I'll
(59:57):
probably shoot you anotherlink right before we meet.
And if you want to, if youneed strategic planning or organization
services, you can fill thatinto the form as well.
So I'll.
It'll route you to, to theright link for me and the way to
get the support that you, thatyou need.
(01:00:21):
Also, I think also I have myLinkedIn and my Instagram and my
Facebook on there.
So you can connect with me onsocial platforms.
I do post, I do share tips.
I'm building a community Ihave not specifically for female
Christ centered entrepreneursbecause, because that's, that's,
that's my real niche.
(01:00:41):
If you're looking to connect,I have, have some really great planning,
some really great things inthe works that are being planned.
So leading up to a retreat, Ialso have a course out there and
I can, I found linked but Ican probably send it over to you
on how to supercharge yourbusiness strategy.
So many times people areworking on their business but they
(01:01:05):
haven't created a plan,they're just kind of winging it.
You know, they're out theretaking things as they come and being
very active instead of proactive.
So I have a course on how tosupercharge your business strategy
and I think what I'll do isI'll send over a link and I'll also
send over a coupon code.
So if someone's interested in,you know, getting connected and taking
(01:01:25):
that course and getting theirbusiness on track, it helps you walk
through creating a strategicplan as well as outlining your goals
and as well as understandingthe next steps for your business.
Awesome.
So thank you, Crystal.
Thank you for giving us all ofthis information and time on your
(01:01:48):
vacation.
I hope it is perfect outsideand you get to enjoy the rest of
it.
Wonderful.
I can see it right there.
It's beautiful.
So this, this is, is, this isa good, this is my pleasure.
A great way to spend my afternoon.
So thank you Crystal.
Awesome.
You're welcome.
(01:02:19):
All right.
Well that was Crystal Wallacefrom CMW Services.
I have so many notes.
That was so much information.
That was awesome.
And she did all of that on hervacation, which I'm very appreciative
of.
So, so much information.
So hopefully there wassomething absolutely all of you in
(01:02:40):
that fun thing.
People get so nervous aboutfunding and it's comes from such
a desperate moment when you'reworried and you don't know how, how
to pay that next payroll orsomething breaks.
And in business nothing isinexpensive, you know.
Well and I think it's.
We think about funding whenwe're at the bottom.
(01:03:01):
Like we need to think aboutfunding like everything else when
we're doing well.
Like just because you have themoney in the bank doesn't mean that
you're going to pay to replaceyour air conditioning units.
Just because you have themoney in the bank doesn't mean you're
going to buy a new piece ofequipment because that money still
is your cash flow that youneed for everyday operations.
So I think that I knowpersonally, I feel like, oh, I need
(01:03:22):
funding now because I don'thave any money.
Not, oh, I could use fundingeven though I've got money.
Well, I think that's whyconversations like this are incredibly
important.
And you all need to bookmarkit because you need to think, if
my walking cooler goes, thisis the best thing to go for.
If my.
This, this, this, this, thisis then.
So when these things dohappen, you're not app.
You're not operating from thatpanic mode because you never.
(01:03:46):
It's okay, right?
And that is okay.
Absolutely.
And it's a great write off.
Parts of it are reallyimportant to have to your accountant.
Yeah.
Well, thank you everybody for listening.
I know that was a longepisode, but you hopefully learned
so much.
And like I said, pause,rewind, take notes.
And reach out to Crystal.
Absolutely.
And reach out tous@bossyrockrocmail.com or on our
(01:04:11):
socials.
Bossy Rochester, we'd love tohear from you.
Share this with.
Share this with somebody thatyou think needs to hear it.
Be bold and then.
And then be bold.
Wow, this is awful.
We'll try again and then bebold and then be bossy.
Foreign.
Welcome back to Getting Realwith Bossy, the podcast that tells
you what it's really like tobe a business owner.
And you are joining us in themidst of our Summer of Money podcast
series.
And we are going to be talkingto Crystal Wallace today from CMW
(01:40):
Services, and she's going totalk today about funding, all the
different types of funding youcan get and how to do it smart, smartly,
intelligently.
Smartly.
Intelligently.
How to do it smartly and notfrom a place of fear.
I mean, that is my drive.
I. I'm okay right now.
Summer, the end of summer isusually like the worst, but we've
(02:03):
actually been.
We've been getting some bigparties in, so I'm just rolling with
it and being.
Being very grateful that, thatit's, that it's not terrible because
I'm about to go out for threemonths on surgery.
I mean, I will be able.
I'll be able to.
I can't wait for that episode.
I'll be able to work, but it'sgoing to be.
(02:26):
And it's our busy season.
September, end of Septemberthrough December is our season at
both places.
And I'm going to be immobile.
Well, that's going to be a fun episode.
And right now, we just bothgot back into town.
Rochester survived withoutboth of us here, surprisingly still
(02:47):
standing.
And the cost of going onvacation is like.
Are we talking financial orlike emotional cost?
Because I think they both needto be discussed at some point.
All of it.
It is so hard to go onvacation as a business owner, but
I, I do it and I try to do itregularly because it is important
for our families to faces andfor us to.
(03:08):
To see our spouses and not ina business way.
We need it.
And our staff and our fam, weall need it.
We just need.
We need that time to regroup.
You can't do it here.
Yeah.
So it costs a lot.
It's stressful as all hell,but we do it.
And we're back and we areready to.
To go forward and continuethis amazing podcast series.
(03:31):
And we hope you guys learn alot today and enjoy the episode.
FOREIGN.
(04:24):
Welcome back to Getting Realwith Bossy.
Today we are here with CrystalWallace from C. CMW Services.
Crystal, we are so glad tohave you here with us today.
Thank you so much.
I'm happy to be here.
It's awful.
That's excellent.
Now, Crystal, we were so luckyto meet last year when Crystal presented
(04:45):
at our seminar series.
Or no, it wasn't even ourseminar series.
We had A full on conferencelast year.
So we were so glad to have you back.
We've been thinking about youever since.
So we're grateful for you tobe here and share your knowledge
towards the end of our Summerof Money series.
Also, let's just side note,Crystal is on vacation.
(05:06):
I know.
So thank you for taking timeout of your vacation.
We know how hard it is tovacation as a business owner and
here you are doing a podcast interview.
So thank you.
Listen, the world is prettybig and the Internet works everywhere.
So I'm here.
So that's amazing.
Crystal, can you tell us alittle bit about you and what you
(05:28):
do?
Yes.
So hello everyone.
Crystal Wallace, the chiefconsulting strategist at CMW Services.
We help businesses formlaunch, fund and grow.
That covers a lot of differentservices, but mainly actual formation
support the than helpingcompanies get their launch and their,
(05:53):
you know, some people, thewhole launch thing is kind of a,
you know, some people love it,some people don't.
But helping you get yourbusiness to a place where you're
ready to actually receivewhoever your clients or customers
are.
That includes like back endsystems and all that funding.
Funding, which is, I thinkwhat we're going to talk about today,
you know, is helpingbusinesses navigate how to get funding
(06:16):
when they're ready forfunding, when bootstrapping is necessary,
like helping them understandwhat business funding is and what
it isn't.
There's so many sources ofinformation out there about funding
and there's so many ways to do it.
We want to, I want to helpbusinesses navigate that.
It can be pretty treacherousand then grow.
(06:38):
So I work with startups and Ialso work with businesses who have
been established and helpingthem with everything from strategic
planning, strategic managementconsulting and then also some change
management as well as in someinstances stepping in in a fractional
capacity.
So yeah, we do a bit of everything.
(07:01):
However, strategic planningand strategic consulting is where
we focus mainly.
So.
Very cool.
So what I know you said thatfunding is, is a, is a broad range,
but since we're in our moneyseries, can you give us like a brief
overview of the differenttypes of funding that are out there?
Absolutely.
So when I'll start, I guesswith businesses always feel as if,
(07:26):
okay, I need $100,000 so I canget started.
Right.
And they're like, where do Iget it from there I was automatically
think I'm going to go to a bank.
Where do I.
Well, I think most businessesor most entrepreneurs or business
owners haven't taken the timeto step back and say what type of
funding do I need?
And there's funding typicallysits in like three buckets.
(07:47):
So there's grant funding whicheveryone is always looking for.
And you know, it can,sometimes it's there, sometimes it's
not.
There's a lot of differenttypes of grant funding so we can
talk about that a little bit.
There's debt financing whichmost people are most accustomed to.
So whether you're working witha bank, whether you're working with
(08:10):
institutions such as acommunity development financial institution
which I'll talk a little bitmore about and I have affiliation
with that help you with loans,credit products, something that businesses
need.
And a lot of times people Ifeel like that's a cuss word because
(08:30):
they view have such a negativeview on debt.
So debt financing is a reallygreat way to fund your business.
It's just navigating what thatlooks like for your business needs.
And then there's equityfinancing which is money that you
don't necessarily have to payback but there is an expectation
(08:53):
from the investor of a return.
So and that can be anythingfrom angel investing from seed funding
to full on venture capitalistswhere folks are sharks or I like
to say dolphins are providingyour business with their expertise
but also their money to seeyou fund and grow rapidly.
(09:14):
Like that's the whole point.
So typical funding and thenthere's self funding and we not not
self the credit tool but youare your business and the owner is
putting money into thebusiness to help see it grow.
And the revenues that thebusiness might generate also are
(09:34):
being put back to the business.
So that's bootstrapping andthen personal owner investment into
the business is considered,it's an investment but it's the owner
is putting their equity stakein there.
So those are the three and ahalf to four different buckets in
which funding sits.
And I know especially withbanks, I know banks want to see the
(09:56):
owner putting money in.
You know, if the bank's goingto give you money, they want to know
that you have something on theline because then you're more willing
to want.
To keep the business going inthe game.
And it's not just banks.
I'm going to say anyone who istrying to give you money, a grant,
another investor, evenpotential partners, they're going
(10:17):
to want to see what yourinvestment into your business is.
And there's so many schools ofthought because some again some people
have seen these tiktoks go toXYZ bank and they have a no doc loan
for 100k.
So just start your LLC and dothis and.
And you know, those are methods.
Right.
But I'm a strategic planner.
(10:39):
I'm a strategist.
I feel like you got to have aplan, walking into it to know what
you need to do.
And so hopefully podcasttoday, we can navigate with some.
That looks like for some folks.
Yeah, I'm trying to find thatstatistic from the other day about,
like, how many women arebootstrapping and not going with
traditional funding to starttheir business.
But it's quite high.
It is very high.
(11:00):
Men who just walk into a bankor 6 inches.
So this is very important,very important topic today.
Yeah.
So I really want to start.
So what.
What is the thing you.
You see more most often?
Well, I think since we startedwith grants, I'll start there.
(11:22):
You know, we went through apretty interesting time about four
or five years ago.
Call Covid.
Right.
And.
And during that time, therewas a of lot of opportunity for a
small business.
It was kind of unprecedentedwhere you had the opportunity to.
Businesses had the opportunityto get all kinds of grant funding.
And it was very atypical inour country's history, and I would
(11:49):
say it could be consideredatypical moving forward.
Grant business grants havealways been available, and they did.
They kind of sit in different ranges.
So you'll have grants that arefrom public and private sector.
Private sector.
So public grants, sometimesthey're like, through your municipality
(12:09):
or where you live.
Right.
Your county might have a grant.
Your city might have a grantfor small businesses.
And there's a lot of criteriayou would need to meet in order to
qualify for that.
Then they're like specific grants.
So maybe, I know in the cityof Buffalo, there's often been grants
for.
For signage or marketing oreven building revitalization.
(12:30):
So some aspects of your.
Your business might be able toreceive funding to help you, you
know, market grow, build commerce.
It's all centered aroundeconomic development.
But then you also have some atthe state level as well.
So they're the shout out toEmpire State Development if we're
in New York State.
So.
So New York State ESD has alot of grant programs.
(12:57):
They're very numerous, butthey're very specific.
Right.
So there are some for clean energy.
There are some for, you know,startups who are looking to take
on equity investment.
There are some for, you know,businesses that are going to help
bring commerce into some ofour, like, border regions.
So there are tons and tons ofgrants out there.
(13:19):
There.
You just have to see what youqualify for.
One of the caveats, I wouldsay or grants are, I would say, let's
call it a cautionary sale.
So knowing how much time youwant to invest in a grant, to apply
for a grant, then they're theprivate sector grants.
So corporations, nonprofitorganizations, they might have grant
(13:44):
funding for specific types ofbusinesses, maybe demographically
diverse businesses orbusinesses in a certain industry.
Trade organizations and tradeassociations also have, or maybe
their members.
So if you are a part of theHorticulturalists of America, I'm
just making that up.
There might be a grant foryour business for specific, you know,
(14:09):
need or something that theyfind is a need in the industry.
And so they might be offeringgrants for that.
There's literally grantseverywhere, but they always require
research and then they alsorequire a lot of your personal and
your business's information.
And you always have to havethis trade off of how much information
do I want to share about meand my business to be able to get
(14:33):
$5,000.
Now, in the grand scheme oflife, if you're just starting out,
$5,000 could be make or breakyour business.
Right.
And so, but if you haveaspirations and goals to be making
way more than $5,000, you haveto understand what's the trade off
for your, for your time, yourenergy, your information, your privacy
(14:55):
and your money.
That's a really, really good point.
So I don't think people, thinkpeople understand that sometimes.
Yeah.
And it's one that a lot offolks who work in the entrepreneurial
ecosystem, like we have tobalance that because sometimes nonprofit
(15:15):
organizations are those whohave funding for clients, like for,
you know, a specificpopulation, whether it's underserved,
whether it's economicallydisadvantaged or it's in a specific
sector, they need informationbecause they have to report that
information back to whomevergave them the money.
So you are, you know, givingup some level of your privacy when
(15:40):
you are looking at applyingfor these grants.
Now the same can be said forloans, the same can be said for equity,
but it's just.
And with grants, grants areconsidered what we call non dilutive.
So are most loans.
So it means that you're notgiving up any ownership in your business.
Right.
So the expectation is that nothaving to pay that back, you know,
(16:06):
and not giving up anyownership can be very appealing.
But what are you giving up?
Are you, you're giving up yourtime, you're giving up key information,
you're giving up quite a bitin order to be able to provide, you
know, potentially get some funding.
The other piece is howcompetitive is this big grant?
(16:28):
Like a lot of these grants areso competitive.
You're competing withliterally hundreds of, sometimes
tens of thousands of people,sometimes hundreds of thousands of
thousands of people.
I will refrain from usingcertain, you know, there's certain
databases that are out thereand then who is behind.
So y' all gonna get me on my little.
(16:50):
It's a really interestingpoint that what is your privacy worth
to you?
Because really, when it comesdown to it, everything is so personal,
especially with money and howwe're spending in our business and
what we value and how we wantto do it.
But we talk a lot about timeand the time you put into things,
right.
A lot of grants you have tofollow up.
(17:12):
There's not only the time, ifyou get it, you have to follow all
these procedures post grantand you might.
Have some reportingmeasurement measures.
And then there could be like,if you don't meet the requirements,
even after the grant, theymight want that money back.
So you really have to know theins and outs of it.
One thing I can say, andwe'll, I know we're on grants, I'll
(17:34):
move over to debt in a minute.
No matter what type of fundingyou are looking for, you need to
have what's known as like afunding folder, right?
And it's like a key set ofdocuments that are typically needed
for any type of funding you'regoing to go for.
So what makes some grantseasier for some people to get is
(17:54):
that once they've created asystem or like a folder that has
all the key documents, all thekey information in it, and so, and
they actually have written outlike narratives and things that can
easily be placed into a grant application.
All grant applications aredifferent, but it helps you to be
able to apply because youunderstand, you know the language,
so you're able to plot that inthere, tweak it, how you need it
(18:16):
for the particular grant, andthen you can apply in mass for grants
and see what happens.
So the other piece I wanted tobring up is that a lot of grants
are research based.
So a lot of the grants you seeat the federal level and even in
the private level are based onsome ongoing research that a business
might be doing and that mightfit some entrepreneurs, but that's
(18:38):
not necessarily going to fitall entrepreneurs.
And so I recommend that youmeet with someone who understands
how to navigate that processif you're really interested in going
after grants.
A small plug for, you know,CMW services, if you're interested.
But you know, just getting anunderstanding of what type of documentation,
(19:00):
what type of questionquestions are going to be asked what's
the format?
There's literally a formatwhen you're going after grants, even
proposals.
And I know we're not reallytalking about that right now, but
like going after differenttypes of contracts, there's a format
that you need to follow inorder for it to even be considered
or reviewed or considered success.
You know, get into the running.
And so long and short of it is you.
(19:21):
Grants are really great if youcan get them.
They typically require a lotof your time, a lot of your energy,
and a lot of your information.
Should I shoot over to debt alittle bit?
Yeah, I mean, I think that's the.
That's the natural step.
So again, sometimes debt isconsidered a curse word.
(19:42):
And the.
Just because so many peoplehave negative connotations when it
comes to money, they havenegative connotations when it comes
to lending and borrowing.
And maybe they got that firstcredit card when they were in college
and they did a horrible jobwith their credit.
And so it.
Maybe it took some time.
Right.
(20:02):
I saw this commercial,commercial as a taco was haunting
them 20 years later becausethey wanted freshman in college.
And that's because there's just.
So this.
There's so little financialreadiness taught unless it's taught
to you on purpose.
Right.
So so many of us don'tnecessarily understand how credit
(20:25):
works, how debt works.
And small plug.
I'm also a credit supportspecialist, so that's something we
could talk about.
But so many people don'tunderstand how it works.
And so business credit is insome ways a reflection of your personal
credit.
And you really have toestablish personal credit first before
you go after business credit.
(20:45):
But not in all cases.
But going back to just debt ingeneral, you want to have an understanding
of your financial relationships.
Number one, so that's your ownpersonal finance relationship with
money.
But then also the financialinstitutions that you are connected
to, debt does have to be paid back.
(21:06):
Like you're literally takingon an obligation or an interesting
take.
You're taking on obligationand a promise to pay whomever's lending
you money back with interestby a certain period of time.
Right.
And so your credit worthinessis like your history.
It's saying, hey, you know, Idid these things before.
And so you can feel confidentor not so confident giving me money.
(21:30):
Now, when it comes to debtfinancing, I sit in a couple different
spaces.
So through one of my clientconnections, I'm a part.
I work with a group of peoplecalled Capital Connect, which fund
small businesses throughoutall throughout New York State.
(21:55):
It's a consortium of fourcommunity development financial institutions,
or CDFIs.
And due to redlining anddiscriminatory practices in the past
by banks in certain areas, incertain demographic and economically
(22:15):
depressed areas, we have theseinstitutions that are supposed to
work with and make funding andcapital accessible for all.
So specifically, we work withthe those who are in small business
and who are looking to scaleand grow their businesses.
So launch New York WestminsterEconomic Development Initiative,
(22:38):
which is solely based inBuffalo, the enterprise center at
Pathstone and Pursuit Lending.
We all have a differentgeographic reach.
Pursuit Lending has thelargest reach that can lend to all
of New York State.
Pathstone is focused onBuffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Puerto
(23:00):
Rico.
Launch New York covers 27counties, 35 counties actually, in
all of New York State.
So western New York, upstate,the southern tier, part of the capital
Region.
And then, as I said,Westminster is solely located in
Buffalo and Niagara counties.
(23:22):
But we have a tool calledcapitalconnectny.org and if you go
to that website, you can typein, you know, you literally fill
out a small application and itsends you to all four of those institutions.
By doing so, you're connectedwith the institution that has the
(23:42):
lending instruments that arebest for you.
So you're gonna provide alittle bit of information, not too
much, but just a little bitsomething that you would provide
to your bank if you went tofill out a loan application.
So not too much social.
None of that's required.
Just really how long you'vebeen in business.
What, what are you looking forin terms of funding?
(24:03):
Do you need other support?
And we get you matched, andwe're connected with a lot of the
organizations within theecosystem that do business development.
So some of those other needsthat a lot of businesses have can
also be satisfied through that.
But with debt financing, yougot to pay it back.
And no matter what type offinancing you need, you always need
(24:26):
to understand what you'reusing it for.
A use of funds is so important.
Many business owners say, Ineed $100,000, but they can't tell
you what do to use it for.
And so not being able todelineate that is a red flag for
many, for investors, forgrantors, and for financial institutions.
(24:50):
Because specifically thefinancial institution, they want
to know how you can pay them back.
You want to know, and theywant to know if the money they're
providing you is giving youthe opportunity to generate more
revenue so that you can paythem back, because they want to get
paid back.
So a lot of times businessesare wary of that because we really
(25:13):
have to pinpoint where thatweariness or that weariness comes
from, I think is really a lackof understanding of their operations.
And yes, entrepreneurship canbe a gamble in any way, right?
But if you know you haveconsistent cash flows coming in and
you know you have consistentrevenues and you've already mapped
out how this use of funds canhelp you bolster that, like through
(25:35):
your projections, which afinancial institution is going to
ask you for, you can have someconfidence that this influx of money
is going to help me yield thisoutput in terms of revenue, in terms
of production, in terms of sales.
And that that's what they'relooking for.
So that, that binder, thatpacket I was talking about, financial
institutions look for your,your personal information.
(26:01):
So your personal debt andfinancial obligations in most cases,
as well as any obligationsthat your business has currently.
They're going to want to know,like your tax returns, see that you
file.
They want to see that yourbusiness has been viable and has
been in existence for a minute.
And they want to see your books.
That's another scary word forsome business owners.
(26:23):
But whether you have anaccountant or you're using a software
or you have an Excel sheet,whatever it is, they want to see
that you've accounted for whatyou've brought in.
A lot of times business ownersmight say, well, I have it all in
my square.
I said, okay, well that's astart, right?
If you can show that you'vebeen receiving, you have receipts
and then maybe you can showhow you pay for some things, that's
(26:44):
a way for you to potentially,potentially, you know, get the ball
rolling.
But they're going to want tosee, most of them are wanting to
see your actual financialstatements, right?
And then also use of funds.
So how do you plan on using it?
How long do you think it'sgoing to take you to see the conversion
(27:05):
of what money you put intoyour business?
How is that going to turn intosales and, or revenues and then that's
some indication on when you'llbe able to potentially pay them back.
And then as long as you're agood, you're able to really start
(27:27):
showing positive paymenthistory to them.
That can unlock more fundingfor you.
And I think also understandingwhat type of funding you need is
important.
Sometimes people automaticallygo to credit cards or to some other
funding and get in where youfit in.
But for financialinstitutions, you might need a line
(27:47):
of credit, specifically if youhave a product based business or
you need to purchase inventorya lot, you know, a line of credit
or something that you can drawfrom when you're needed and then
pay it back very quickly whenyou get your receipt of.
From your receivables.
That'll be really, that goes along way to showing the bank, okay,
you know, there is viabilityhere with this business.
(28:07):
And they're going to continueto, you know, we can continue to
lend to them.
They're going to continue tobe a good steward of our money.
So I'll pause her.
Do you think a line of creditis a good place to start?
Um, I think a line of credit,I really think it's a.
Depends.
My answer is it depends, right?
(28:30):
If you need.
And then it also depends onthe use of funds like so if you need
to purchase a piece of equipment.
A line of credit is not what Iwould recommend.
I would recommend maybe a loanor an asset loan from your bank or
from one of the otherfinancial institutions to help you
if you need to be able tomanage cash flows for the next maybe
(28:51):
three months or six months,maybe the line of credit.
Or you also look at some ofthe other types of financing that
are out there that maybe yourbank is not going to provide you.
But you always want to.
When it comes to debtfinancing, you always are measuring
the cost of capital, so howmuch money you're going to be borrowing
(29:11):
to the.
And also the, the time framein which you have to repay that,
comparing it with how thatmoney is going to how fast you can
pay it back, essentially.
And so sometimes if you need aquick influx of cash, but you know
that you have guaranteedreceivables coming in to cover it,
(29:34):
you might take a higherinterest, you might take money at
a higher interest because youknow that you're not going to hold
it very long.
It's going to, you know,you're going to it pretty quickly.
But what I will say is itreally does depend.
And that's why again, pluggingcapital connect, plugging talking
to and having someone that youcould talk to about money.
(29:55):
And there are you.
I want to share like you'renot wasting people's time if you're
trying to get the informationyou need.
Now, the Internet has a lot ofgreat information, but if you need
to talk to someone, book thatfree consultation, go into your financial
institution, connect withcapital, connect like I talked about
(30:18):
previously, you know, take thetime to just get the information
you need so you can feel more informed.
If you need more guidance,that's when you need to talk to somebody
who has a bit more time and availability.
That's when you work with aconsultant, maybe like myself, to
help you navigate what thatprocess looks like.
And then given that this is,you know, bossy rock, what's your
(30:42):
sister circle look like?
Like, what does your group of,you know, the folks that you work
with, that you havecamaraderie with, that you can, you
know, maybe someone in yourcircle has navigated that path a
little bit further down thanyou, and they can provide you some.
Some insight on how theynavigate it, but you don't want to.
(31:02):
I find a lot of businesses arein isolation, so they're.
The business owners are, intheir minds.
They're not thinking about allthe research out there.
They don't know, and they.
There's so much informationout there on the Internet that needs
to be validated.
You want to talk to someone.
So I do recommend, like,taking the time to connect and talk
to someone about what, whatoptions are out there.
(32:08):
I think there's a level of.
We talk about the lonelinessof entrepreneurship.
Yeah.
There's a level of it'sexpected that you know everything.
But when you're on your islandand you're all alone and you're like,
people expect me to knoweverything, but I don't know.
And then you just react.
Right.
And people are so stupid,scared so often to talk to people
(32:29):
and to acknowledge that theydon't know and to ask the questions.
And that's really what ourfocus is in this series is here are
all these different peoplewith all these different versions
of conversations about money.
Talk to them or use thispodcast to be like, hey, did you
hear what they talked about?
What do you think about that?
Or have you ever done that?
And I think that's what, likeyou said, your sister circle, whatever
(32:52):
you, your group is, and if youdon't have one, find one.
There's so much community outthere, questions.
And you need to talk about itbecause there is a lot of debt.
Debt isn't always scary.
It's terrifying.
But it's also, you know,something that's necessary, especially
in business ownership.
And I think that that's reallyhard to navigate.
(33:13):
But, yeah, ask the questionsand see what's out there.
Before we move on to debt fear.
I just had a question aboutinterest rates.
Okay.
In this economy, I was waymore open to debt before this economy
because interest rates were so accessible.
Like, they weren't.
(33:33):
It didn't feel like you weregetting robbed when you borrowed
money, where now you'relooking at the interest rates and
you're like, oh, my gosh,like, it's going to take me so much
longer to pay this back.
My Bills are going to be somuch higher.
I.
Are there services like youhad talked about, the services before
for the underdeveloped areasand people doing business in those
areas.
Do they have better interest rates?
(33:56):
That's a great question.
I will say that some.
It really depends on the product.
I'm not going to quote toomany of what too many of the rates
right now because they couldhave changed from the last time I
had conversations with my team.
But I know that many ofpursuit impacts don't have products
(34:18):
that have fixed rates.
And so you're gonna.
You're borrowing money.
Unless you have prime credit,you're gonna expect to be somewhere
in the 8 to the tens, right.
And it used to be the fours tothe fives in terms of percentage.
So you have to set your expectation.
I was working with a clientoutside of, you know, a personal
(34:41):
client that was not happy withthe rates that he was getting and
the quotes he was getting for the.
He wanted to refinance one ofhis properties or something like
that, and he wasn't.
He kept like acknowledging.
I remember when I could justwalk into a bank and they would just
hand me.
When he said, we're not inthat time or era right now.
(35:02):
We're not there.
Like you said, man, this rateis so high.
So you're gonna.
The longer you wait, this rateis just gonna increase.
And so sometimes we have toacknowledge the fact that this is
where we are.
And if you wait, I mean,rates, yes, they could go down, they
could plummet.
But then that's another signalthat we might not.
(35:25):
We might not necessarily be in that.
But the longer you wait, morethan likely the cost of capital is
going to go up.
So you want to.
If you have a really good dealnow, you can't compare it to the
times when rates were super low.
You just can't.
Because that's not where.
That's not the environment weare in right now.
And you're competing withpeople who have the funds or who
(35:47):
have the availability to getthose types of funds now at the rate,
and it's not going to cost them.
So you want to.
The other piece is you alsowant to weigh how much money you
need to borrow.
Goes back to the whole use of funds.
People want to store up moneyfor a rainy day.
Right.
But not when you're borrowingit at 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13%.
(36:08):
Like, you don't.
You have to really weighwhat's going to be best for you.
And really, those going backto the financial projections, going
back to Having some form,something you can point to, to say,
okay, I know it's not 100%accurate, but this at least gives
me a bit more confidence thatin this economy, in this time, I
know I have these somewhatguaranteed options available to me,
(36:32):
so I can feel confident atleast taking this amount of money.
Does that make sense?
So you want to weigh theobligations that you have, you want
to weigh the receipts that youhave and make sure that you have
some ability to pay that money back.
There are also, I want totouch on this Pathstone, wedi and
(36:57):
I think now Pursuit all havestarter loans for startups.
So you might not have anydemonstrated sales, but you need
some funding.
They do all look at yourpersonal credit.
And so you also want tomeasure just when you're dealing
with debt, you want tounderstand what they're looking at
(37:17):
when they make a loandecision, what the underwriters are
looking at.
So when you're first startingout, nine times out of 10, unless
you have personal relationshipwith an institution like a bank,
we'll talk about that in aminute, they're going to look at
your personal credit, right?
They're going to run your credit.
And so that might not alwaysbe the defining factor for banks.
Typically it is, right?
(37:38):
For not many of the CDFIs thatI work with, it is a factor, but
it's not the only factor.
And so I think the lowestscore that most of them look at is
like a 580 in most cases,which is, you know, not credit at
all.
Right.
So they recognize that you'regetting started.
The rate is a little higher.
I think it's somewhere between9 and 10%, but that's not horrible.
(38:04):
And some of the loans are assmall as $500.
So depending on what you needthe funds for, you can really get
that little influx of capital.
And the repayment terms are so lenient.
So that's another thing.
When you're working with acdfi, you get those, those benefits
(38:27):
going to.
Now, if you have somewhat of astrong banking relationship, let's
say you banked with local MNTfor many years, fill in the name
of the bank.
Most banks, if they have abusiness lending department, they're
going to be apt to really drawon the strength of that relationship
and offer you credit.
(38:47):
Even when maybe traditional,if you were just walking off the
street, you might not be ableto get that.
So you want to leverage whatrelationships you have, because I've
seen it happen where theybypass certain requirements in order
to be able to, to offer you,even if It's a minimal amount, something
(39:10):
to just, you can get your footin the door.
Right.
And you begin to build.
So like I said, when you'regetting started, you're going to
look at personal credit.
But that's the opportunity foryou to build business credit.
And those profits profiles are separate.
If you are a personalguarantor for your, for your business
credit, the decisions you makeover here initially will factor.
(39:33):
But most of those loans willnot report to your personal, they'll
start to report to your business.
And that's what you want.
You want that, you want tobuild a business credit profile.
So you get to the point whereyou do not have to rely on your own
personal credit to guaranteealone your business and the strength
of your business can securethe funding that you need.
(39:54):
Right.
To continue to scale and grow.
Want to talk about equity financing?
Sure.
We all dream.
A lot of people I know and,and the thing is it's a lot more
accessible than a lot than you think.
If you think.
(40:14):
Well, it is if you think atits basic form.
A partnership is a form ofequity financing because you're splitting
some of the initial investmentand the risk of the, you know, company
succeeding or failing withsomeone else.
Right.
And so they're investingsomething in order to have an equity
(40:35):
stake in the business.
And as the business scales orgrows, they stand to gain or lose.
So you're sharing some of thatrisk with someone.
But when you're looking totake on investors, when you're looking
to take on individuals who aregoing to put in their time, energy
and money into the business,you, some of the things that we talked
(40:58):
about before aren'tnecessarily applicable.
Like some investors might wantto see, they're going to want to
see personal financestatements, but they're not necessarily
going to see your credit score.
I can't speak for all of them,but some, most of them won't.
They're looking to alsounderstand what, what, what you want
to use that money for.
(41:19):
And then you also have tounderstand what their, what their
expectation is on return.
So whether or not they'reexpecting high, fast, rapid growth
and so they're looking formillions of dollars in return as
you hit some really largeliquidity event or like let's say
(41:40):
you sell your business or yougo to IPO or if they're looking to
grow with you, be a source ofcapital and they're looking to, you
know, for long term connection.
So it's, there's looking atthe opportunity for them to grow
their own personal wealth.
They understand the Risk, theyunderstand the reward and they're
(42:00):
willing to invest time andenergy to get you to a certain place.
There's also so, and there'sso many different types of equity.
There's like I said, justgeneral partnership like when you're
splitting pieces of the pie,but they have equal stake or they
have some proportionate stake.
There's angel investors, sothey typically have a smaller piece
(42:24):
of the piece pie but they'reproviding the money to help you get
started, to get funded.
We typically call that like afriends and family round.
And that's typically at thestage where a startup is vetting
their idea and so they so themoney there's probably much higher
risk because we don't know ifthe business is really going to be
viable or not or the idea isgoing to be viable.
(42:47):
But you're willing to takethat risk to see what happens.
And so that's definitely angel investing.
Then there's like smallinvestment groups that are looking
or even investment clubs thatare looking to put in a certain amount
of money to diversify, youknow, their portfolio.
(43:09):
They're looking so they'rewilling to invest as like one investor,
but it's multiple people.
Like a, they call it SPV orspecial purpose vehicle, but typically
like it's one LLC that'll comein and invest into a business and
they're, they have capitalcalls so they're like putting money
in at a certain time.
They're typically a part of afund and so they're investing in
(43:31):
at a certain time.
And then you'll have VCs whohave probably goo gobs of money and
they are at some point lookingto see this company go to an initial
public offering or be acquired.
And so that's at a much.
That company is typicallylooking to fund at a much larger
(43:53):
scale.
So.
And they're also looking tosee that company fundraise multiple
times.
So most, let's say, I thinkyou really have to look at the nature
of what you're offering as abusiness to determine what's going
to be the best type of equityfunding for you.
Most lifestyle Main streetbusinesses probably are looking for
(44:16):
partners, looking for silentpartners, looking for angels, but
folks who can help them scaleto the next level.
Right.
And then companies that aredeemed somewhat high growth, they're
looking, they have acompletely different trajectory in
mind.
They're looking to exit.
They're always looking topotentially be at the place where
(44:40):
they're making their moneyback in terms of investment of what
they put into the business.
They don't necessarily have tobe the one who's going to be the
CEO at all times.
They're going to get a boardof directors.
They're probably going to be acorporation and they're going to
continue scaling beyond,beyond, you know, one fundraiser
(45:01):
or two fundraises.
So the product and the serviceand what's being offered typically
dictates the type of investoryou're going to match with.
And the use of funds againdetermines the type of funding you're
gonna choose.
So you wouldn't get aninvestor for you to purchase a piece
of equipment because mostthat's better suited for debt financing
(45:24):
because it has, you know, it'sa fixed asset.
It's typically has adepreciation model that's connected
to it and you're utilizing itto help you, you know, grow rapidly.
But not necessarily, it's notnecessarily tied directly to revenues.
So an investor might,necessarily, might want to help you
(45:44):
fund your next hire or amarketing campaign, something that
has direct tied to increased revenues.
I would say a VC at least.
Now some investors, and someinvestors also want to know the relationship
that a business has with debt.
(46:04):
So you don't want to get aninvestor to help you pay off debt
unless you've had thatconversation with your investor and
they understand how theirmoney's being used and what that's
unlocking for them later on.
So everything is very, thereare some general like tricks of the
trade or rules of the road.
But when you get into the morepersonal, I won't call it personal,
(46:31):
but relational kind ofcontracts, you determine what those
terms are and then you workout those terms like that's, that's
how you are engaging.
So grants, debt and equity allcan play a really great role in like
the capital stack of acompany, how they're, how they're
(46:51):
or business.
But you just got to know whatcard to play and how you want to,
how you want to fund, how youwant to grow and what that type of
funding is going to provideyou and what risks you're taking
on by taking on that type of funding.
(47:51):
You just shared so much information.
Well, I know for thelisteners, you can pause and rewind,
you can take notes.
I'm an instructor, y'.
All.
So I'm sorry, this is.
And thank you.
Like you're giving this awayfor free.
Like you just did a completeoverview for those out there that
they don't know what theiroptions are.
They're on their island,they're all alone.
(48:12):
They don't.
Let's, let's talk about thatfor a minute.
We do it all the time,especially as women, small business
owners.
We bootstrap.
We're building the plane as wefly it, whatever.
Whatever phrase you want to use.
We do this because we have todo it.
And we figure it out.
We do it all the time.
But when it comes to money,it's dangerous.
It can be dangerous.
(48:33):
It can end your business.
And these things are out there.
And if you don't know whatoptions there are and what you actually
need, your money.
I'm so glad you said thatbecause so many people are like,
I just need the money.
Especially when Covidhappened, oh, yeah, I got this money,
get this money, get this money.
Like, but what are you usingit for?
And it's all gone.
And.
And it could have been useddifferently and better for myself
(48:54):
as well.
I think you just have to takea minute.
What do you need it for?
And what are the options yougave in three wonderful chunks?
And so many other options in those.
And I'm not saying, you know,hitting that email that comes to
you every day from that oneplace, you know what I'm talking
about?
It says, hello, and there areso many other options out there.
(49:15):
And you have to really thinkabout what it is you need and find
somebody like Crystal who canhelp you really figure out what it
is.
Because not understanding andnot talking to people that you care
about can lead to verydangerous outcomes.
End Rant.
Can I.
Can I say, you know, no matterwhat you do, you never want to approach
(49:37):
anything from a fear mindset.
Like, you can't.
And so to the point of, youknow, being scared, you know, it's
okay to be scared, but so manyof us can back ourselves into a place
of desperation because.
Because we have such fearabout what we don't understand.
So feeling, taking the time torecognize there are people out there
(49:59):
who aren't, who have your bestinterest at heart.
Like, it's a good thing forthem to help you because it's helping
everyone.
Like, the more informed youare, you can help inform someone
else.
And so taking the time tounderstand your options can put you
at a place of peace when youare approaching, okay, I need to
(50:20):
get this funding.
Like, the scarcity mindset,the fear mindset, and working out
of anxiety are horrible placesto run your business.
Now, I know that asentrepreneurs, all three of us are
entrepreneurs, all three of usare business owners.
Like, we'll have those monthswhere, like, where are you?
Said she was going to pay menext week, so I get it.
(50:44):
But it's and that's, it's themindset, it's the heart posture.
I know that this is gonna work out.
So you have to have a positive outcome.
And I'm gonna do everything Ican to avail myself of the information
I need so that I can make adecision and then have more faith
than fear when you'reapproaching it.
(51:06):
I just, I feel like that's soimportant and I love you guys.
Always focus on focus.
So like I think the, the focuswas the theme of the conference.
Yep, the conference last year.
So you know, what are youfocused on if you're.
Yes, it can be very.
I'm, and I'm not negating thefact it can be very scary when you
(51:29):
see bills coming in and you'relike, okay, how am I going to pay
that?
Like where is that coming from?
Where am I going to get thesources of funds?
But that's when you don't wantdesperation to take you to a hard
money lender where the theyare have take gouging your money
every week.
And it's like as I've seen,I've heard and seen 71% that's interest.
(51:56):
Stop it.
Like you're done before youeven start.
And you'll get the, like youtalked about those emails you leverage
even with harmony lenders.
I'm not, I'm not 100% againstHarmony lenders.
They have their purpose andyour utility when you need them,
but you only use them when youknow how to leverage them.
You do not use them when you are.
(52:16):
Your backup is up against thewall and you feel desperate.
So we want to avoid thedesperation piece.
Talk to someone.
You have myself, you have allthe other wonderful women who came
on before me and who arecoming on after me who can help you
navigate.
I just gave you the name of anamazing organization and they, they
(52:37):
want to lend.
Like these organizations thatI talked about, they want to lend.
Launch New York is equity development.
So they're in their kind of aspecial case.
If you are in that high growthrange, you'll talk to them.
But the other three, they wantto lend.
Your bank wants to lend.
And we work with the banks.
Like we do not compete.
We find we're better together.
So take the time to reach out.
(52:58):
Like you said, we're not, wecan't be island to ourselves.
And it's difficult when youare the only person doing all the
things.
You're the accountant, you'rethe bookkeeper, you're the operations
specialist, you are thecustomer service rep. You are everything
to Your business.
Yes.
Take that.
It is.
It can be a lot.
But prioritize understandingwhat your options are so you can
(53:19):
make an informed decision.
Decision as opposed to adecision based out of scarcity.
And thank you.
So that's just my.
I have one last question, ifyou're willing to share.
You talked about the littlefolder on your desktop.
And with all of thisinformation and as we're navigating
what our next steps are andwhere we want to go, what are the
top things that you thinkevery business owner should have
(53:40):
in that folder ready to go?
You know, I think from ourtalk the last time I got had a checklist
for you guys.
So let me see.
You definitely want to have.
Okay.
Your taxes.
Now, listen, let me come backon screen.
I'm sorry, I had the thing infront of my face.
You gotta have your tax returns.
That's like an important thing.
(54:02):
Even if you need to have yourtaxes, you need to have your books,
so your uses, you know, yourbalance sheet and your income.
Income statement, or we callit profit and loss statement.
Either one, you got to showhow you're making your money.
And there are templates outthere that you can utilize, and there
are organizations out therethat you can utilize if you don't
(54:23):
know how to do that.
The Small Business Developmentcenter, the one in Monroe County.
Oh, no, wait, it's not in Monroe.
Isn't a Monroe.
I think we have one.
Okay, I know there's one, andthen there's one in Cattaraugas,
and then you know, the Buff State.
If you're in Buffalo, whereveryou are, there is a Small Business
Development center near youbecause they're nationwide, they're
(54:43):
ran by the sba.
Okay.
Or funded by the sba.
So your.
Your personal tax return, yourbusiness tax returns.
If you never filed taxes foryour business before because it's
fairly new, then your ownpersonal tax returns.
You're going to want to knowsome aspect of your credit, right?
So your.
That's your personal know.
And if that's another.
(55:04):
I. I've meet so many peoplewho say, I. I haven't looked at my
credit scores.
I just don't want to know.
Pull off that band aid.
You got to know.
You got to know.
I mean, honestly, like, my OldNavy credit card sends me updates
on my credit score.
Like, it's out there, it's accessible.
Like, it's everywhere, hidden.
But I, like, get updates.
I'm like, Old Navy's tellingme, like, what my credit score is.
(55:26):
I get the same ones, right?
My Old Navy, my band ofAmerica, all of them.
They send me credit wise.
Oh, you have a hit on your credit.
Something happened.
Thank God for the monitoring.
Right?
We that's a whole conversationfor another day.
You know in terms of howaccurate those scores are.
But understand having someeven credit karma, like it's not
the best thing in the worldbut it gives you some understanding.
(55:49):
But talk to a specialist first.
Like if you need to know.
Yeah, we do.
I do a free consultation anddepending on what it looks like,
looks like we can get you setup properly to for financial readiness
and success and credit success.
So but yes, understand whatyour credit history looks like and
then personal finance,personal financial statement that
(56:16):
might just be like you know,some of everyone, all of us don't
have your budget.
That could just be your budget.
Right.
But on the side of yourbusiness, if you have books understanding
what you did in the lastquarter and then a business plan.
So if you don't have one ofthose, come see me or go to Score
(56:37):
Score.
I work with Score Buffalo andsometimes Score Rochester.
You know they have a reallycomprehensive and I feel easy to
use business plan templatethat I have actually utilized in
my courses when I'm teachingmy students.
I love it and it walks youthrough each of the components that
(56:59):
you need.
Whether you need a hugebusiness plan or a small one.
Another thing that you can useis business model Canvas.
But they're going to want tosee that you have a plan in place
for your business.
And the biggest thing is theuse of funds break down.
I need $35,000, I need $25,000to purchase this equipment.
I need $10,000 for to hire apart time person to operate it.
(57:22):
And then I need $5,000 to.
Wait, did I do that right?
To say 20,000 to purchase10,000 for the operator and I need
5,000 for training.
And that's what it's using I'mutilizing it for.
But I know that if I get thisequipment it's going to ramp up my
production by 40 or 50% and Ishould be able and have expectation
to pay you back within six months.
(57:45):
That's just I rattle that offmy head.
But that someone can walk youthrough that so that you can be ready.
And what I love about our CDFIis that if you don't have this information,
they'll work with you.
They'll send you to theresources so that you can get it
all in place so you can comeback to them because they want to
lend you, your bank wants tolend you money the CDFIs.
(58:06):
When I'm leaving you money.
Investors are looking to invest.
They're just hedging their bets.
They want to make sure it'sthe right risk for them.
So people want to give youmoney, have that mindset.
They want to give me money.
I just have to make sure I'mgiving them the right information.
So if we shift our mindset alittle bit to not be so scared about
it, recognize I have somethingthat people need, I have something
that people want.
So let me shift my mindset,make sure I'm prepared so that I
(58:29):
can offer them the bestsolution for themselves.
Even, even if it's investingin me, even if it's providing me
that loan money, I'm gonnahelp pay, I'm gonna provide them
the money they need in thelong run, whether it's paying back
a loan or the returns thatthey're looking for.
So love it.
Well, Crystal, if someone'slistening and they want to reach
(58:50):
out to you, how do they reach you?
Awesome.
I sent over, hopefully y' allhave the slide up there for me.
But on that QR code, on thatslide, you can scan it.
It takes you directly into myintake form.
You can fill out some very, Idon't take a lot of information,
just some very key informationabout your business and what you're
looking for support with.
You'll get an email, once youclick submit, you'll get an email
(59:12):
right back to book your 15minute discovery.
Call with me and we can goover anything that you need to talk
about.
So let's give some parameters.
So whether you need strategicplanning services for your business,
whether your business, if yourbusiness is informed and you need
formation services, I can helpyou with that.
(59:33):
I do work with nonprofits.
I'm just going to throw thatout there.
So if there are nonprofits whoare looking to form, I do 501C formation.
And then if you are a form andestablishment business and you're
looking to have thisconversation around funding, because
that's what we're talkingabout today.
Let's sit down.
If you need credit support,put that in the link and then I'll
(59:57):
probably shoot you anotherlink right before we meet.
And if you want to, if youneed strategic planning or organization
services, you can fill thatinto the form as well.
So I'll.
It'll route you to, to theright link for me and the way to
get the support that you, thatyou need.
(01:00:21):
Also, I think also I have myLinkedIn and my Instagram and my
Facebook on there.
So you can connect with me onsocial platforms.
I do post, I do share tips.
I'm building a community Ihave not specifically for female
Christ centered entrepreneursbecause, because that's, that's,
that's my real niche.
(01:00:41):
If you're looking to connect,I have, have some really great planning,
some really great things inthe works that are being planned.
So leading up to a retreat, Ialso have a course out there and
I can, I found linked but Ican probably send it over to you
on how to supercharge yourbusiness strategy.
So many times people areworking on their business but they
(01:01:05):
haven't created a plan,they're just kind of winging it.
You know, they're out theretaking things as they come and being
very active instead of proactive.
So I have a course on how tosupercharge your business strategy
and I think what I'll do isI'll send over a link and I'll also
send over a coupon code.
So if someone's interested in,you know, getting connected and taking
(01:01:25):
that course and getting theirbusiness on track, it helps you walk
through creating a strategicplan as well as outlining your goals
and as well as understandingthe next steps for your business.
Awesome.
So thank you, Crystal.
Thank you for giving us all ofthis information and time on your
(01:01:48):
vacation.
I hope it is perfect outsideand you get to enjoy the rest of
it.
Wonderful.
I can see it right there.
It's beautiful.
So this, this is, is, this isa good, this is my pleasure.
A great way to spend my afternoon.
So thank you Crystal.
Awesome.
You're welcome.
(01:02:19):
All right.
Well that was Crystal Wallacefrom CMW Services.
I have so many notes.
That was so much information.
That was awesome.
And she did all of that on hervacation, which I'm very appreciative
of.
So, so much information.
So hopefully there wassomething absolutely all of you in
(01:02:40):
that fun thing.
People get so nervous aboutfunding and it's comes from such
a desperate moment when you'reworried and you don't know how, how
to pay that next payroll orsomething breaks.
And in business nothing isinexpensive, you know.
Well and I think it's.
We think about funding whenwe're at the bottom.
(01:03:01):
Like we need to think aboutfunding like everything else when
we're doing well.
Like just because you have themoney in the bank doesn't mean that
you're going to pay to replaceyour air conditioning units.
Just because you have themoney in the bank doesn't mean you're
going to buy a new piece ofequipment because that money still
is your cash flow that youneed for everyday operations.
So I think that I knowpersonally, I feel like, oh, I need
(01:03:22):
funding now because I don'thave any money.
Not, oh, I could use fundingeven though I've got money.
Well, I think that's whyconversations like this are incredibly
important.
And you all need to bookmarkit because you need to think, if
my walking cooler goes, thisis the best thing to go for.
If my.
This, this, this, this, thisis then.
So when these things dohappen, you're not app.
You're not operating from thatpanic mode because you never.
(01:03:46):
It's okay, right?
And that is okay.
Absolutely.
And it's a great write off.
Parts of it are reallyimportant to have to your accountant.
Yeah.
Well, thank you everybody for listening.
I know that was a longepisode, but you hopefully learned
so much.
And like I said, pause,rewind, take notes.
And reach out to Crystal.
Absolutely.
And reach out tous@bossyrockrocmail.com or on our
(01:04:11):
socials.
Bossy Rochester, we'd love tohear from you.
Share this with.
Share this with somebody thatyou think needs to hear it.
Be bold and then.
And then be bold.
Wow, this is awful.
We'll try again and then bebold and then be bossy.
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