FOREWORD

I wish I had this book when I started my first business.

I have long admired Kedma Ough, and this great book, Target Funding, only underscores what I already knew: Kedma is a committed, super-smart, talented, skilled, ardent advocate for entrepreneurs.

She is not the Wonder Woman of Small Business for no reason!

An entrepreneur herself, Kedma is clearly passionate about helping small businesses succeed. Whether it is her work with Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), or speaking at industry events, or her work with inventors, or now, here, with this excellent resource, Kedma’s mission is to help small businesses succeed.

Lucky you.

As mentioned, this book would have been so helpful when I started my entrepreneurial journey. Back in the day, I was an unhappy lawyer in a big firm with big dreams of small business. That is, I longed to leave the “comfort” of the firm and start my own law practice. The issue, as it is for so many aspiring entrepreneurs, was money. Where would I find it? How would I find it? What were my options?

In the end, I cobbled together a smorgasbord of funding—a little savings, a loan from a friend, an advance on an inheritance, and some credit card advances. It worked, but it was far from ideal.

Instead, had I had Target Funding available to me, I would have learned about a universe of options that I had no idea were available:

•    Funding options specifically for veterans, people with disabilities, women, or other diversity groups

•    Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), which offer microloans and often other types of business loans

•    Targeted sources of debt funding and equity funding

•    Grants and government contracts

It’s here. It’s all here.

The good news for you is that not only do you in fact have this book available to you, you have Kedma Ough as your guide. That means that one of the country’s leading small business advocates (indeed, she is a past winner of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Small Business Champion of the Year Award) will explain, in plain English, what your options are and which might make the most sense for you.

So, if you are looking to start and fund a business, you have most certainly come to the right place.

As I said, lucky you!

Steve Strauss
USA TODAY Small Business columnist
Author, The Small Business Bible