You can call on your loved ones (families and friends) to finance your creative project. Compared to a bank loan, this solution offers the advantage of flexibility and ease.

Your loved ones can help you in a number of ways:

• Donation of money : it can be made by any means (check, transfer, money order or cash delivery).
• Loan money : when it exceeds €1,500, the loan must be subject to a written. It is possible to write a loan agreement signed by the two parties, or a debt recognition signed by the borrower alone.

When the loan exceeds €5,000, you must declare it to your company Tax Service (EFT) through the form 2062, together with your annual income statement.

Where more than one loan agreement with a unit amount of less than €5,000 are entered into in a calendar year on behalf of the same borrower or lender and their total exceeds €5,000, all contracts thus concluded must be declared by the relevant borrower or lender.

Loan contract declaration

As part of a business, your relatives can also enter the capital of the business and become associated by making a contribution (a sum of money or property). In this case, they will be able to benefit from a right to company benefits and a right to decision-making.

Bank borrowing is the main lever to finance a company creation project.

A loan from the banking system can cover up to 70% the purchase price. In general, the borrower is required to provide at least 30% funding. This requirement may vary depending on the company's activity and risk level.

Repayment of the loan is spread over a varying period between 5 and 7 years.

Different banks have different borrowing terms. It is thus recommended to do your research and compare the different interest rates, application fees, repayment periods or loan guarantee methods requested.

The bank is free to accept or refuse your request for a loan on the basis of business plan which you will have provided to him.

However, in the event of a refusal, the bank must motivate and argue his decision. A reasoned response allows you to determine the sensitive points of your case to adjust them. You will be able to reapply for a loan.

To ensure that the loan is repaid, the bank may to require guarantees :

• Actual Warranty (on pledge of the goodwill or the pledge of securities)
• Personal guarantee (in this case, the bank requires that the borrower personally vouch for the payment of the installments)

You can strengthen your personal contribution with a loan of honor Creation-Recovery :

• No interest : this is a zero-interest loan, you only pay back what you have been lent.
• Without Warranty : you undertake on honor to repay this loan. You will not be asked for a deposit or pledge on goodwill or securities.

The honor loan may be granted to any type of company excluding associations, foundations, SCI: titleContent and companies in difficulty.

The amount of the honorary loan varies between €1,000 and €90,000. Its repayment is spread over a period of 1 to 7 years.

Obtaining this loan makes it possible to make your project credible company creation in the eyes of the banks. It will be all the easier for you to convince them to agree a bank loan.

The main loan is granted to you personally and not in the company created/resumed.

The transmission development contract offered by Bpifrance allows to finance the following expenses :

• Purchase of goodwill
• Majority purchase of securities (shares)
• Acquisition costs
• Increased need for working capital
• Reimbursement of current accounts

The amount of the loan varies between €40,000 and €1,500 000. Reimbursement may be spread over a period of 7 years, with relief on repayment for the first 2 years.

The transfer development contract shall cover takeovers carried out as follows:

• either by the formation of a takeover holding company by natural persons
• either by Existing businesses in the phase of external growth (merger, acquisition, equity, etc.).

The buyer and the company targeted by the takeover must be TYPE/SMB created more than 3 years ago, capable of providing accounting documentation (balance sheet and profit and loss account) covering a period of activity of 24 months.

The Regional Council shall specify the eligible activities to the development contract transmission. These are generally company services and industrial activities. By contrast, operations to take over a company in difficulty are excluded.

In the context of a recovery, if a climate of trust has settled between you and the transferor of the company, it is possible to negotiate with him the conclusion of a vendor credit.

Seller Credit allows you to get a installment payment (payment in installments) of part of the price (50% maximum).

The duration of the seller's credit refund is 1-3 years. It is shorter than bank credit and thus increases company burdens.

This credit is also an important lever to reassure banks and obtain a bank loan. Indeed, the fact that the transferor takes the risk of resorting to it is a guarantee of confidence in the professional skills of the transferee.

In addition to the seller's credit, you can offer the seller a price supplement clause (or earn-out clause) which allows a portion of the transfer price to be indexed to the company's future performance. This allows you to spread out the payment of the transfer price.

To formalize the agreement, the parties must prepare a written. It is recommended to use a notary. The seller's credit can also be inserted in thefinal assignment deed or, further upstream, in the letter of intent.

The crowdfunding or crowdfunding consists of raise funds from a community of netizens who wish to support your project.

Crowdfunding is a good alternative for entrepreneurs who encounter difficulties in raising funds in the traditional way (e.g. bank loan). It helps bring to life any type of innovative project Creative, cultural, digital, environmental, social, etc.

The crowdfunding campaign takes place in a given time and on a dedicated platform (e.g. Ulule, Kickstarter, Kisskissbankbank...). The choice of platform depends on the nature of the projectsome platforms are generalist and others specialized.

This choice also depends on various criteria such as the success rate of the collections, the audience of the platform and the commission it collects on the contributions.

The crowdfunding can take 3 different shapes :

• Gift (reward crowdfunding): contributors give you money with no return on investment. A non-financial contribution can be offered (e.g. goodies, tickets for a company event, dedicated team photos...).
• Ready (crowdlending): the contributors grant you a loan that you will have to pay back, with or without interest.
• Investment : Contributors can finance the project by purchasing shares of your business. Contributors become full partners in the company and obtain, in return for their contribution, the right to the company's profits and the right to participate in decisions affecting the company.

You have the opportunity to finance your project by doing return investors to the capital of your business.

If you are creating/resuming a company in the the social and solidarity economy (SSE), you can use solidarity financiers such as France Active, la Nef or Crédit Coopératif.

A joint and several company produces goods or services to strong social and/or environmental utility. These companies operate in different fields and aim to to solve problems of general interest : fight against unemployment, exclusion, poor housing, development of organic farming, renewable energy, support for developing countries, etc.

To get the‘social welfare solidarity company’ (ESUS) approval, the company must meet the following conditions:

• The main objective of the company should be to seek social utility (support for vulnerable groups, territorial cohesion or sustainable development). This objective must be included in the company’s statutes.
• The burden induced by this social utility objective must have a significant impact on the profit and loss account or profitability of the company.
• The 5 employees or managers must not receive, on average, a remuneration greater than 7 times the SMIC and the highest salary of the company must not exceed 10 times the SMIC.
• The company’s equity securities should not be traded on a financial market.

Approval shall be granted for a period of 2 years for companies that have been in existence for less than 3 years at the time of application, and for 5 years for the others.

Professional micro-credit is intended for company creators or buyers, regardless of their sector of activity or their status, who cannot access traditional bank financing.

This is a loan from €12,000 maximum, usually with an interest rate of at least 5%. Its repayment term is Maximum 5 years. Microcredit may be repaid in advance.

During its repayment period, the loan is financially monitored by the association or foundation responsible for social support.

To take advantage of it, you must complete all the following conditions :

• The company must be less than 5 years old
• The company must not have more than 3 employees
• You're applying for microcredit because you couldn't get a bank loan
• The financing need shall not exceed €12,000
• A person must vouch for 50% the microcredit granted.

The main organization authorized to receive your business microcredit application is theADIE (Association for the Right to Economic Initiative), working at the national level. You can also contact France Active, Initiative France, Réseau Entrepreneur or Creasol.

You can subscribe to competitions reward company creators/buyers based on their industry.

The money you earn in a contest may be directly integrated into your company's equity.

Winning a contest can also help you get known, meet partners and gain credibility with banks and other investors.

It exists multiple categories of competitions:

• National competitions
• Regional Competitions
• Competitions reserved for under 30s
• Women-only competitions

On the national company aid base, you can identify the aid measures put in place by the State and at the level of local authorities (regions, departments, municipalities).

The amount and the arrangements for obtaining public aid depend both on the location of the company and on the spatial planning policy of each local authority.

State aid and local authorities database

State aid may take different shapes : direct aid, investment grants, subsidized loans, tax and social security exemptions, loan repayment deferrals, etc.

If you are a job seeker, 3 devices can facilitate the financing of your creation/recovery project:

• Company Creation and Recovery Assistance (Acre) : a temporary exemption from social security contributions at the start of business.
• Recovery and company Creation Aid (Arce) : financial aid paid by France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) consisting in receiving 60% of unemployment benefits in the form of capital.
• Support for the creation of company in the region (ex-Mother of Pearl) : each region offers a support system for company creation (replacing mother of pearl since 2017). Depending on the region, the support may consist of assistance in setting up the creation project, aid in its financial structuring and/or monitoring the development of the company.