Too many first-time entrepreneurs ignore the needs, desires, and goals of investors, focusing solely on their own needs, desires, and goals.
Try thinking of investors as a field of crops. Planting seeds is when you meet new, potential investors. You can’t harvest the day you plant. You have to fertilize and weed and in some climates water those crops if you want them to grow. If you just plant the seeds and walk away, there won’t be anything to harvest. Farming takes effort. You have to pay attention to those plants if you want a good yield. Attention includes:
Fertilizing. How do you fertilize an investor relationship? Simple. You share news. Both good news and bad news. At least quarterly, but if you want a higher yield, fertilize monthly.
Weeding. How do you weed the investor crop? Reports. At least quarterly financial reports. At least the income statement, if not the trio of P&L, cashflow, and balance sheet. Then as the crop matures toward due diligence, monthly financials, to avoid any last minute infestations ruining the harvest.
Irrigate. Do you want to maximize your yields? You have to spend the time and money on irrigation. In this metaphor, that is repaying loans and every other obligation. On time. In full. Leave the sob stories in the fertilizer bin and dig down to put every drop of water on the crop.
Be a hard working farmers and the odds go way up of turning those seeds into a profitable crop.
