The most important thing to be clear about before approaching your loved ones for any type of financing is your big vision. And you need to know it inside and out, and be able to describe it well. You need to be able to clearly convey your big vision to your family, friends, or anyone you’re going to ask for support..

Because? Because they need to be able to SEE that grand vision in order to be willing to invest with confidence in their future.

Perhaps you want to leave corporate law and start your own practice dedicated to small children. Maybe you have a small practice that you could expand if you had some capital, giving people more work and more free time. Maybe your vision is to really take care of families and be the go-to attorney in your area.. Or maybe you’re looking to build the kind of business that is sustainable and an asset that can be passed on or sold in the future.

Which Your big vision is that you should be able to describe the value you will provide. And, what is most important, you have to enter correct alignment and in integrity with what is true for you. Let me give you that new definition of integrity. I used to believe that integrity meant doing what you say you’re going to do. It’s a pretty standard definition of integrity. That’s not the kind of integrity we’re talking about today. The kind of integrity we are talking about today is the kind of integrity that is the correct alignment between your words, your thoughts, and your actions. When you have that kind of integrity, you can go to a family member or friend and ask for financial support without feeling any shame, guilt, or fear..

Now, you may still feel it, but you can remind yourself,”Oh, I come in integrity. I’m not trying to get anything. In fact, I am asking this so that I can give more to the world.“And when that’s your ‘process,’ when your ‘process’ is to give more to the world, it’s very hard to say ‘no’ to that. If someone has the resources and is aligned with your integrity, then you’re very likely to say” Yeah”.

And so, I invite you to that space where enter into integrity with what you really wantthat you are not trying to achieve anything, that what you are really looking at is how you can give more value to the world.

Why you “should” ask

Think about it from this perspective.. Right now, anyone who has any wealth really doesn’t know what to do with that wealth. There are no big investments out there right now, certainly none that are safe, right? Bank accounts are not paying much money. CD, maybe you can get 1%. Treasury bonds, municipal bonds – these are the safe investments –they are not paying much in return.

So if you can make the case able to provide a better return on investment dollars not just financially but holistically, then you are actually doing the people in your life who have money a favor. You’re giving them a chance to feel really good about how they’re using their resources, how they’re using their resources not just to make a profit (which they very well could if they invested in you) but also to make the world a better place, to improve the world for future generations.

And if you are the child of one of these people, they will want to invest in you. You can be the best investment you can make not only for your future, but also for their future. You are also going to make the world a better place for them.

How to convey your vision

Traditionally, to raise investment capital, not from family and friends, but from investors, you have to craft the exact grand vision. You need to know and present exactly how these investors are going to get back not just what they give you, but much, much more, including how much they will be able to sell in the future (your exit plan).

It’s different when you go with family and friends. When you go to family and friends, they are really investing in you. They are investing in their belief in you. They are investing in your energy. They are investing in your certainty, in your clarity that you are going to do good with what they give you.

So when you ask for money, it’s important then be very clear about the problem you are going to solve for people and how that will affect their lives. That’s the overview we’re talking about. But not everyone is going to have that right away.

Now of course the more details you can provide the better, but sometimes you don’t have all those details yet and I don’t want you to wait because you need to start your journey now before you can even see the finish line.

One of my partners often talks about horizon lines. Sometimes you can only see the next horizon line. So you’re standing on the hill you’re on right now and you can only see a certain line of the horizon… You don’t know what’s on that line. Alright. Just share the horizon line that you can see. Then share it as clearly and powerfully as possible.

You enroll your family and friends in your vision to contribute to the world in a positive way.. You are making a difference not only in other people’s lives, but in their lives as well. Let them know that you are the best investment they can make not only financially, but for the well-being of the planet, of the people in your life.