Unless you have some sort of magical business idea that is going to require no startup capital at all, the key to getting a business off the ground is getting an investor to trust you with their money. To do that you are going to need to do the best job you can risk proofing your business model. People are naturally risk averse.

This was a big one for me. Like I said earlier in the guide, I could have made a lot of money with my original business model, but it was just too risky. It was never going to happen the way I had planned it because nobody in their right mind would have loaned me $250,000.

Here is an exercise you can do to help sort out and minimize risk.

· Make a list of all the stakeholders that are going to be involved in your new business. Customers, investors, suppliers, and competitors.

· Take a piece of paper and draw four separate boxes. This is your SWOT sheet. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You have to include this list in a business plan anyway and it’s a great tool that helps you think about your idea so I recommend you do this early on.

· Label each section and imagine you are each different stakeholder. Pretend you are a customer and write down anything you can think of about your business in each box. Then pretend you are an investor, a competitor, and a supplier. This should help you see your risk from a big picture perspective.

Remember, if you take your business plan to an investor and the investor tells you it’s too risky, ask why! You can always make adjustments to further risk proof your business.

If you can, its helpful to talk to an expert.