Just A Girl and Her Music

There are many alternative funding resources that provide access to businesses, including those that are music focused. Government funding opportunities, such as through the Economic Development Administration, are available for specific company structures. In addition, there are several other resources for funding and business training that are not restricted to specific structures. The Opportunity Finance Network is a membership organization comprised of Community Development Financial Institutions. Their goal is to “provide opportunity in disinvested areas that mainstream finance has left behind”. They offer several programs for business owners to either provide funding or development assistance. One such program is their “Business Plan for Growth Training” program that is spread out over two days and costs $995 to join. This network does not have a strict qualification requirement and is a great resource for CDFIs to have a greater impact in their communities rather tha...

Andrea Cockerton Andrea Cockerton is Founder, Artist Director, and Pitch Consultant for The Dowsing Sound Collective. She also founded two other active companies, The Dosoco Foundation and Mudhut. Since 2004, she has advised nearly 500 entrepreneurs, CEOs, partners, trustees, and directors on “business critical pitches”. In a 2010 interview, when discussing a prior client’s success, Andrea commented that in her process, she sought to quiz her clients on everything an investor would ask because in any potential connection, investors would dig deeply to find out information about businesses. She stated that they “needed to know their facts inside out, and to prioritize in terms of what they wanted to say” (BrianofCambridge, 2010). This is absolutely a great suggestion. When crafting a business plan, it’s very important to know your business and be able to describe and provide details about the business better than anyone else. The pitch is arguably one of the mos...