An essential commodity
Money is to a business what food is to a living organism. Businesses that run out of money effectively starve to death.
The parallel works on another level as well. Just as the nutrition requirements of organisms change as they grow and age, so a business’s money needs change as it matures. Private borrowing may suffice when the business is in its “infant” stage, but more sophisticated types of funding may be needed as the business grows.
Even experienced managers who are not finance specialists can find finance frightening, and this is usually one of the first areas where management teams feel they need to add expertise. A few simple concepts can make financial management more understandable.
Money is a commodity. It is bought and sold in markets, and is more or less expensive according to the laws of supply and demand. As such, it is one of several commodities that a business needs to function, along with labour, raw materials and the like.
When managing finance, it may be helpful to think of money in commodity terms. How much money is the company going to need? Where can it get the money? What price will it have to pay for money from each source?
Many businesses start with the entrepreneur’s own resources, supplemented by private borrowing from friends and family. Steve Jobs famously sold his car to raise enough money to start Apple. This kind of money is very cheap, with little or no interest required, and personal relationships mean that good borrowing terms can usually be had. However, supplies of this sort of money are often limited and cannot be replenished.
The other staple of the small start-up is bank lending. However, banks’ willingness to release money should not be taken for granted. Bank financing is expensive, even during times of low interest rates. Small business loans are much more expensive than mortgages, for example.
Very attractive businesses can sometimes get funding from venture capitalists. These range from business angels - private investors who put in a few thousand pounds to help a start-up or rescue a struggling company - to very large venture capital institutions, often specialising in particular fields such as biotechnology.
A good venture capitalist can be a powerful partner, providing management expertise as well as funding, but care must be taken to build a strong alliance between the venture capitalist and the investee company. Remember that venture capitalists want, in exchange for their support, a slice of your profits and equity; that is how they make their money.
Once the business has grown and proved itself, it may be time to think about floating it on the stock market. Selling off equity allows substantial sums to be raised quickly, which can be ploughed back into the company. What entrepreneurs sometimes forget is that when they sell equity through the stock market, they are effectively selling the company. They no longer own it; the shareholders do. Some high-profile entrepreneurs have been dumped from their own boards when they forgot this simple fact.
Every method of raising finance has its hazards, yet without money there can be no growth. It is tempting to try to be debt-free and fund everything out of cash flow. Probably fewer than one business in 10,000 actually works in this way. If we remember that money is a commodity, we can see debt and equity financing not as troublesome and complex things, but as simple ways of making more of this commodity available for use.
Economists have for the past 300 years been urging businesses to borrow more in order to create liquidity, which will allow them to grow and expand. Paradoxically, it seems, borrowing creates wealth.
企业生命周期系列: 借贷产生财富
资金对于公司的意义，就像食物对于有机生命体一样重要。公司如果资金用完，实际上就只能饿死。
这在另一个层面上也说得通。正如生命体对营养的要求会随着它的成长及年龄的增大而改变，一个公司对资金的需求也会随着它的稳步发展而发生变化。在公司刚刚起步的阶段，私人借贷就足够了，但随着公司的发展，就需要有更多复杂的资金来源。
即便是经验很丰富的经理人，只要他不是财务专家，就会发现财务是多么可怕。这通常是管理团队发觉最需要增加专业技能的领域之一。不过，要使财务管理更容易理解，只需掌握几个简单的概念即可。
第一，资金是一种商品。它在市场上买卖，价格随供求规律而起伏。如前所述，它和劳动力、原材料等一样，是一家公司要运作起来所必需的几种商品之一。
当我们进行财务管理的时候，如果能从商品的角度出发来考虑资金问题，会比较有帮助。公司将需要多少资金？从哪里获得资金？从各个来源获得资金时将付出什么代价？
许多公司起步时，用的是创业者自己的资金，再加上向亲朋好友借的钱。一个著名的例子就是斯蒂夫?乔布斯(Steve Jobs)把自己的汽车卖了，以便能筹到足够的钱成立苹果电脑公司。这种资金很便宜，几乎不需要、或者根本没有任何利息，而且，通过私人关系借钱，意味着条件通常也不错。但是，这类资金的供应常常很有限，而且无法追加。
小型创业公司的另一种资金来源是银行贷款。但是，不能想当然地认为银行就一定愿意发放贷款。即使在低利率时期，银行贷款都是很昂贵的。比如说，小企业贷款就比抵押贷款贵得多。
那些很有吸引力的公司有时候能获得风险投资家的资助。这些投资者的大小也有所不同：有的是天使投资人(angel)，即投下几千英镑帮助一家初创企业，或挽救一家苦苦支撑的公司的私人投资者；有的则是规模很大的风险投资机构，它们常常专门投资一些象生物工程这样的特定领域。
一个优秀的风险投资家可能成为一个强有力的合伙人，除了投资之外，也能提供管理方面的专业意见。但要注意的是，若要在风险投资家和被投资公司之间建立起一种牢固的联盟关系，务必要小心谨慎。要记住，风险投资家想要的，是你利润和股份的一部分，以作为他们投资的回报，他们就是靠这种方式赚钱的。
一旦公司发展壮大，能够证明自己了，也许就可以考虑让它进入股票市场了。发行股票可以很快筹得丰厚的资金，随后又可以将这些资金投入公司运作。不过，创业者有时候会忘了，当他们通过股票市场招股的时候，他们实际上是在出售公司。他们已不再拥有它，股东才是公司的所有者。已有一些高调的创业者因为忘记了这一简单事实，而被自己的董事会踢了出去。
每一种融资方式都有危险，但没有资金就无法成长。想要不背债务，只靠现金流产生所有资金的想法无疑很诱人，但在每一万家企业中，用这种方式运作的很可能连一家都没有。如果我们还记得资金是一种商品，我们就能明白，债务融资和股权融资并不是那么麻烦和复杂的事情，而只是寻得更多这种商品的简单方式而已。
过去三百年来，经济学家们一直在鼓励公司借更多的钱，以建立流动性，这样公司才能发展扩张。所以，看上去有点自相矛盾的是，借贷产生财富。
