Just pondering my options to raise capital for a small business. I know very little except that it's a long and involved process. It will probably also involve an attorney and an accountant.

Has anybody out there ever done this before that can speak to the process, how it went, etc.?

Thanks,

Mike

I have not done public, but I have bought and sold S corp shares and LLC memberships.  That is actually pretty simple paperwork, the hard part is dealing with your fellow owners.  It really is a financial marriage for the long term.  The first thing you have to have and be prepared to live with is a buy sell agreement written by a good lawyer.  The next thing to be prepared for is differences in opinion on how things should be.

I talked to a lawyer for about getting some investors a couple years ago and its not easy.  Depending on how you find the investors, you fall under a bunch of securities exchange laws and it gets really complicated if you offer for sale outside your own state.  

This is a case where you really have to find a good lawyer with experience in the subject in your state.  Its not like asking whats the best AR, its complicated business based on your situation and state/federal laws.

Thank you!

I would prefer to simply bring on non-owner investors with a note at x% interest for a y year term, but potential investors may be more interested in going the partial ownership route.  I'd really rather not deal with the headaches of partners with differing vision/ideas, but it may be the only way to go.

The out-of-state part isn't surprising but is damn depressing.  One of the potential investors I'm considering is out of Texas and the stock would be issued in Wisconsin.

Mike

You are discussing two different options right? One route being selling shares of your company and the other is getting a loan, correct? I recommend you pick up a corp idiots guide or Robert Kiyosaki's book on Owing your own Corporation. It would take but a weekend to go through the material. I'm no expert, but I own a corp, there are more than one class of shares. You can have common shares and preferred as well, you can set aside stock this is non-voting. Even if you sold some stock to raise capital, you control the percentage of ownership.