How to Present
My Informal Project to
People of Resources?
ARNAUD SEGLA
Arnaud Segla
How to Present My Informal Project to
People of Resources?
ISBN KDP: 9781790726752
Legal deposit
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, 2017 Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, 2017
Book and cover design: ASSOUKA
Cover illustration: © Uber Images
Translation: ldoron – Fiverr.com
admin@thewisemencouncil.com.
Sommaire
Sommaire 3
Introduction 7
Before we begin 8
THE STEPS TO THE PRESENTATION (PROFILING, PREPARATION, PRESENTATION, PURSUIT) 9
PROFILING 10
PREPARATION 12
THE FORMAT OF THE PRESENTATION 13
THE CONTENTS OF THE PRESENTATION 14
THE EXECUTION OF THE PRESENTATION 16
THE PURSUIT 19
Conclusion 21
This handbook introduces the notion of fundraising in informal entrepreneurship. This is a sector where investors are scarce as to the nature of the project that initially play a social role of guaranteeingsufficient income for an economic player and his/her family. The concept of wealth creation and value is not sufficiently emphasized to ensure the dynamism and performance of the sector.
However, in order to support the transition of this information economy toward a humane system in the liberal system, we must revisit our paradigm regarding investments and returns on investments, while judging the social importance of informal business projects and according them the credit to become an economy of recovery from the adaptation failures of Western economic models in the third world.
Here, we will simply show a few easy steps to solicit funds from people of « resource».
“Each Human is
important to the eyes of God.”
Introduction
The informal sector is one where project financing is difficult. The absence of investment capital in this sector is often justified by the lack of guarantees or personal contribution by the economic players and by the low return on these projects which of is often used to acquire an income of subsistence instead of the pure creation of wealth and value. The common solutions to this involve microcredit, crowdfunding (in the form of tontines), and with patrons in the entrepreneur’s entourage. The solution I choose to develop here as a guide to raising funds for informal business projects is solicitation of people referred
to as « resources».
Before we begin
This handbook is unique because it takes into consideration an issue already addressed by current liberal capitalism with the notion of pitch, social economy of crowdfunding, and other forms of initiative. The informal economy must create solutions using elements of its socioeconomic context, notably family and community solidarity. It should be noted that Attitudes are changing, and, in fact, it may be disappointing that the infatuation to help those close to us is not the same as it once was. This is not to mention the disappointment of the community of stakeholders such as the community of the diaspora which finances projects that don’t see the light of day or fail due to mismanagement, just to name two cases. Still, to ensure a boost to African economies via the performance by the informal sector, we must dare to build bridges of solidarity following the example of other cultures so that the entire sector can be converted to capitalism by incorporating the human touch, which it lacks due to economic oppression, speculative financing, and past geopolitical privileges in some countries.
THE STEPS TO THE PRESENTATION (PROFILING, PREPARATION, PRESENTATION, PURSUIT)
The presentation of an ethnic or informal project is peculiar, firstly, because we must go and speak to people of resources (who have financial means) who are not real investors, and, secondly, as it doesn’t concern innovative projects such as startups. Rather, it concerns projects of source or of complement to revenue set to grow. We generally identify 4 steps:
• Profiling of people of resource
• Preparation of the presentation
• The actual presentation
• The pursuit and continuation of persuasive efforts and solicitation
PROFILING
It is important to choose the right people to solicit for fundraising (assuming that you have already assessed your needs). Ideally, the person of resource should not give an amount depriving him/her of economic power. The person should not be aware of his/her contribution. Hence, the need for multiple people of resources to reach your target sum.
Profile of people of resource:
• They can be family members
• Colleagues
• Members of the generational class who have succeeded socially
• Tontine groups
• Friends
• Third-party people invited to the presentation
• Third-party people you meet
You can follow the principle of targeting which Crowdfunding uses, except that yourfundraising is done essentially physically and not only online.
PREPARATION
A successful presentation involves a well-conducted preparation. This implies identifying the profiles for solicitation well, mastering the format, contents and execution of the presentation, and, lastly, having a strategy for continuation and pursuit:
It is good to identify these needs in advance and to have a minimum amount of funds (savings on your own efforts) before starting to ask people of resource.
The identification of profiles must be made by preparing a written list of known people and others to solicit. Then, you need to have an idea of the type of fortuitous person to whom the presentation can be presented.
Mastery of the three elements of presentation necessitates serious work by setting a target for outcomes and impact.
For the pursuit and continuation of persuasive efforts and solicitation, a relationship strategy is necessary to avoid being stifling, but at the same time, increase your chances of obtaining funds through frequent reminders and showing perseverance in the project.
THE FORMAT OF THE PRESENTATION
The presentation of an ethnic or informal project must be relatively simple. It usually consists of a pitch or speech (depending on the type of meeting) with distribution of written material or, eventually, a slide show for those with the necessary equipment.
The choice of type of meeting should depend on the type of audience and of the current objective of the fundraising process. For one-on-ones (for strong fundraising), anticipate a pitch and then a question and answer period. For meetings, invitations, activities, or group meals, anticipate a speech, written material, and some informal business plans.
In all cases, give informal business plans only to those who show interest or for individual meetings where the potential for fundraising is high. In the latter case, the business plan can be submitted in advance to justify the pitch and promote questions during the meeting.
THE CONTENTS OF THE PRESENTATION
The contents of the presentation can consist of the following:
1. Introduction
2. Portrait and vision
3. Reason and utility of project
4. Presentation of project (products and services)
5. Market and positioning
6. Environment of project (the others, trends)
7. Needs for a successful project
8. Costs and revenues of the project (enclose the cash flow budget)
To develop elements of the contents, summarize the informal business plan in a nutshell.
THE EXECUTION OF THE PRESENTATION
To conduct the presenation, make sure of the following three components:
The audience has the necessary documents to follow along with you (mainly, the project needs, costs, revenue, and even its cash flow budget).
The rest of the information should be spoken by you.
Make an appointment with the contact person at the end of the presentation to recover the funds set aside for you and discuss terms (gift or interest-free loan). In the case of group meetings, pass a basket around to collect funds. In this case, inform the participants that the fundraising will take place at the end of the meeting so they can take the necessary measures.
You have either 1 minutes (pitch) or 15 minutes (speech) to present your project. Remember : it’s a good idea to start with a minimum amount of funds (your own savings) before starting to ask people of resource for funds.
In terms of discourse, use simple phrases to introduce your ideas:
1. Introduction:Hello, my name is… and I will present my project…
2. Portrait and vision:I am a… I think…
3. Reason and utility of project:The idea of launching my project came to me… It will serve to…
4. Presentation of project (produits et ou services):Mon projet consiste à…
5. Market and positionning:The market in which I’ll evolve is…
I will offer products/services of… in…
6. Environment of project (the others, trends):Factors influencing my project are… other market players are… major trends are…
7. Needs for a successful project:I already possess… But for my project to succeed I need…
8. Costs and revenues of the project:Here’s what my project costs… Here are my revenues… (Here’s what I could earn in a few months…)
For a pitch, only present points 1, 4, and 7.
THE PURSUIT
After the presentation, it is important to make an appointment with the stakeholder to collect funds and discuss terms. In the event of promises, specify deadlines and inform them that a follow-up will be done. For group meetings, collect the funds directly at the end of the meeting or make a list of people who have made promises and do a followup to collect funds.
The collection strategy is based on intervals and time. It is better to target times when people obtain their income or moments when meetings happen naturally for member of your entourage if these meetings happen on a regular basis. If not, establish a schedule for collection considering the occupation of the person and the delay with which he/she usually responds.
Do not give up if you have the feeling that you are wasting time. Some people are willing to help you but do not always have the means or don’t think about it at the right time. For this reason, it’s better to collect small sums directly than to wait for larger sums in vain. The ideal is a payment made in small amounts.
Don’t forget to thank your people of resource for their time even if they don’t contribute to your project. They can testify to you attitude or may change their minds in the future.
Conclusion
The presentation of an ethnic or informal project to a person of resource is simpler than the pitch required by a classical entrepreneur. However, the issues are the same since they are required to collect the required funds to start their business. It’s a matter of profile, which doesn’t allow some to speak the same technical language than others. This is justification for the public to restrict fundraising these projects in our case. This public, which is essentially made up of our close entourage or influential members of our community, must be sensitive to its role as a solidarity link and beginner of success stories whose benefits, sooner or later, will come back to this same community. Thus, the diaspora at large are the choice players to play the role leading role in investing in the informal sector by (re)establishing a sense of trust on both sides. It is on this condition that we can really talk about economic revival of regions under domination that are called « emerging » or « developing ».
Photo: Awa LakeDiop
Arnaud Segla M. Sc., M. Sc. Admin., CAPM. Consultant, Manager and coach in ethnic, informal and corporate entrepreneurship. I organize and animate learning activities and accompany many entrepreneurs in the attaining of the objectives of their business project.
Since 2009 I offer consulting services for ethnic and informal entrepreneurship projects within the economic and identity development for migrant workforces. I associated myself with every helping stakeholder to realize my vision with the business The Wisemen Council.
“Making informal economy a quality alternative to the liberal system.”