Question

Topic: Other

Sponsorship For New Business

Posted by Anonymous on 6/9/2009 at 10:27 PM ET 50 Points
I am starting a modern concierge company and in need of at least 5K for start up fees. My plan was not to utilize traditional funding such as bank loans, small business loans, etc. I thought of an idea to secure at least 10 sponsors for my business who would "donate" 500.00 each. In lieu of the funding, I would advertise the prospective company on my company's website, vehicle advertising, and marketing material that would be given to my clients.

I wanted to get opinions on if this would work and why, and how I could go about pitching this request to companies. My business plan is compelling, but I don't know if advertisement in exchange for monetary donations would suffice.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by michael on 6/10/2009 at 12:48 AM Accepted
    That's not a lot of money to start. So...you might want to simply charge $500 upfront and then they use your service until it runs down.

    If they have the fees upfront it won't be a problem

    Michael
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 6/10/2009 at 10:12 AM Member
    You may be able to trade for services-in-kind. For example, signage from a local printer, gas cards from a local station, etc.

    People would want to be assured that your business will complement theirs (same professionalism, same target market, etc.). Instead of trying to get 10 sponsors at once, focus on a couple and produce ROI information for the sponsorship (or at least testimonials). The next round of sponsorships would then be much easier.
  • Posted on 6/11/2009 at 6:21 PM Author
    Thanks Michael and Jay Hamilton-Roth. Trade for services is not a bad idea and I will consider that too. However, my main goal is to secure start up cash before I even open the doors to assist with the upstart fees. I really like Michael's suggestion to charge 500.00 and offer my services in exchange. I would do this in addition to displaying the company's logo on the website and marketing material. A lot of the companies that I will contact were not selected randomly. I did hand pick companies that are within the same target market, could possibly gain business from my clients, and whose overall "look and feel" complements mine and vice versa. I still plan to shoot for 10 and I'll see what happens. If I pitch this plan to a business owner asking $500 from him/her (or maybe they'll choose to do so collectively from employees within the company) in exchange for $500.00 worth of my services and in addition to being able to take advantage of free advertising on a professionally designed website and marketing material for several months, who knows what could happen. I think that's a very good trade. I plan to start making contacts by the beginning of July. Will keep everyone posted. Thanks again.
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