Should I go on Shark Tank to save my business dream?

Dear Aunty B,

I started my business a year ago and I really need an injection of cash to keep it afloat. I’ve been watching the new Shark Tank show on television. Would you advise that I try going on the show? It seems like it could be the perfect solution to my cash flow issues.

Darren,

Castlemaine

Dear Darren,

I’m a keen Shark Tank viewer as well but more in the sort of way that people are drawn to staring at a car crash even when they know they shouldn’t. I can’t tear myself away from the television screen each week watching those poor entrepreneurs getting mauled by the nasty sharks as they struggle to remember their turnover figures or reveal their pets are their “fur babies”. 

Is funding the only thing you are looking for from Shark Tank? If so, there are easier and less demeaning ways to get it. Try approaching your bank for a loan, consider angel investors, government grants or you could even look at crowd funding. You can find information about all these options on SmartCompany.

Only consider going on Shark Tank if you want something more than cash. Do you want the publicity for your business of an appearance on national television? Or do you want to harness the particular expertise of one of the sharks as an investor and partner in your business (because remember you will have to give away a stake)?

And please promise me if you do go on there that you make sure you know all the financial details of your business inside out and back to front. I don’t want to witness another mauling.

Be Smart

Aunty B.