Selling Property To Raise Up New Business Capital

The drive toward entrepreneurship is so strong that some people sell property to raise capital. In 1977, Alice Cunningham worked for the Department of Labor. Nei­ther she nor anyone in her family had any experience owning or running a business. Then she met her future husband, Blair Osborn, a professor at the University of Washington, and they decided to start a business so they could work together.

Wooden hot tubs were a relatively unknown product that the pair believed had great growth potential. So they started Olympic Hot Tub Co. in Seattle, Washington, to construct and install these tubs. To finance the start-up, Alice sold a triplex she owned in Berkeley, California, which was a source of ongoing income. But real estate investment wasn’t the type of business Alice and Blair had in mind.

“We wanted to do something together, and we believed in the future of the product,” Alice explains. “But it was a huge transition from being a specialist to being the one who sells the product and empties the trash and everything else. In a small business, you’re it.” (more…)

| Estate |

Get Business Capital From Life Insurance Policy

A business owner may be able to borrow against the paid-up cash value of a life insurance policy to obtain capital for requirements of a start-up or ongoing company.

In the late 1970s, Steve Birge was working in Vermont restaurant he could spend his free time skiing. He noticed that the restaurants needed fresh produce. So he approached fellow skier Mark Curran to join him in starting Black River Produce, which is now headquartered in Proctorsville, Vermont. They pooled some cash and got a loan for a Volkswagen bus to pick up fresh fruits and vegetables from the Boston wholesale market two and-a-half hours away and transport them back to Vermont ski resorts.

“I wanted to get in to something that was a constant need,” Steve says. “Everyone has to eat. Produce is good for you. The government gives you free advertising about the value of eating fruits and vegetables. This was something I saw as a great need.” (more…)

| Legal |