My small business is averaging $5000 per month in revenue, uniquely on Amazon. I have tried Kabbage, but the sales are generated on Amazon.fr/.de/.co.uk (Europe version). Moreover, I am not a U.S. citizen, nor am I a resident in Europe. Again, this is a non-registered business, not a "real" business, but I still see that I have an opportunity with this. I occasionally stop listing on Amazon due to out of stock and I need to ask my supplier to send it more to the fulfillment center. Also, I only use around $5k. So, sometimes, I need to wait for payment from Amazon, which release a payment every 14 days. Is their a way to raise money for this particular situation? I know that crowdfunding could be a solution, but what would be the prizes/gifts as a reward for the backers?
I'd need to understand a bit more about your business, but I suspect one answer is to work toward getting an accounts receivable-based credit line. Amazon is a good company that pays it's bills. Lenders will either loan against the Amazon receivables or buy them from you at a discount. This approach is expensive but if cash flow is your issue, worth exploring.
In your situation, I would recommend raising money among friends and family since they know you best. Crowd funding is an alternative but from my experience, you really need to have something unique and different that will motivate people to help you out.
It sounds like you've got a problem of cash flow rather than a problem of raising capital. Capital can mean many different things, but what you need is cash flow.
There can be very flexible ways to solve cash flow problems. The two answers already provided are most common: line of credit and loans/investments from friends and family.
As for crowdfunding, the most effective rewards are usually very business- or context-specific. You probably won't get a satisfactory response without digging into the specific details of your company.
Let me know if you want to schedule a call.
https://clarity.fm/seanmpower
http://bansalpower.com/
Best,
Sean
