Raising sufficient money for your investment requires a lot of technical plans. The first strategy is to access your cooperate body as a whole. Insure that your various executives are in good foam. Avoid bringing in friends and family members that are incompetent. Fill in your corporate executive positions with the most qualified professionals.

Another major area that requires proper inspection is your board of directors. How active are they? What are their merits in behaviors and formal activities like? They must have links that they intend to use generously in other to progressively move the company forward. These should be the ultimate qualities of your corporate body and board of directors because; it is the links in their portfolios and their personal values that you will use to generate viable and long term alliances and associates that will improve your company, after putting your business structure in good form.

Your listed board of directors must have a concrete deals that defines what each party has to contribute to the association. Do not make any assumption of leaving any thing to chance because this is a serious venture that you would not want to see collapsing down the road.

The diligent efforts you made to get the best corporate executives, with professionals and strategic members of board of directors, will earn you a huge success when the VC’s goes through the bio section of your business plan. The VC’s always look out for your ability to get the elite and specialized executive staffs with tested career that is yielding results with the previous business sectors they have being before.

When you have gotten these things in place, it only means that you are ready to set up a business plan. Look for a consultant that writers a first-class grade business plan and offers a corporate formatting and turn round service also. Let him go through your files and make some necessary corrections on them. In choosing the author of your business plan, you must do it carefully because the success of your company and ability to raise sufficient capital depends on it.

Having your company structured with your business plans in place, the next thing to do is distributing your business equity that defends you from charges of any kind thereby giving your financiers the comfort to know that you are ready for funding in case they decide to invest. You will need a private placement memorandum [PPM]. This is where the vital roll of your business plan author comes to play. He as an experienced author with absolute knowledge of your business plan will technically draft this document.

It is at this point that you become qualified to start meeting the business venture capital firms. Funding capital is always the last thing after all other processes have been completed. You can then go to the global venture capital market. Login to the internet and you will find many “Venture capital services” that has substantial contacts in the funding sector. They can also link you up with investors and equity companies that are looking for investment opportunities.

You can visit link for your venture capital loan

Read online: Venture Capital Strategy – Get Your Venture Capital Today From VC's

The problem with funding, at least in my case, is how investors looking for milestone growth rates (or a quick ROI) can influence a company’s direction in the early days of operations. This can place undo strain on a business while it’s just figuring out how to survive. In some cases, if investors don’t give a business ample time and space to figure things out, they can force a business to take unnecessary risks resulting in lost capital before the business is ready for prime-time. Similarly, a business can be forced to make unqualified assumptions or spend money in the wrong places in an effort to show investors that they are making progress.

Before I had a much of a sense for this type of dilemma, I presented my company to various investors hoping the cash would allow us to move forward at a quicker pace than our self-funded approach. Not so ironically, however, they didn’t want to spend money on us even though we had a healthy dose of paying customers and my SaaS operation was already earning money. Cumulatively, they cited many reasons:

* Your business is open to competition

* Your market size it too small

* You’re not the first or the largest of your competitors

* We’ve had difficulty in your industry in the past

Of course I don’t agree with those folks and wouldn’t be in this business if I did. But the fact remains, there was no golden-egg of a check forthcoming and at least initially we were on our own.

So, what might have happened to us if an investor had picked us up? As an example, take our first legitimate bite from the investment world. A small funding operation dug into our numbers and eventually offered us a deal but made the mistake of thinking our customer acquisition cost was linear. It was not and I was forced to pass on the opportunity. I couldn’t take several hundred thousand dollars with the expectation of linear growth that I knew wouldn’t materialize. The investors thought they could double our advertising budget and consequently double our business, but I knew that wasn’t the case because advertising costs had historically grown as more funds were invested. The quick turn they were looking for would not have materialized and things would have gone sideways with unpredictable results for the company.

After more searching we eventually agreed to an investment from another small group who gave us a sweetheart deal. We would get a small investment infusion each month for 20 months. It was perfect! We liked this format because it gave us cash flow and time to learn and grow. Problems started soon after as these investors didn’t take time to understand our business properly prior to investing, so when they made suggestions that didn’t fit the existing business plan, we couldn’t possibly follow through. Needless to say, the slow drip funding model we had negotiated quickly dried up and we were back on our own before reaching the $100k investment mark – even though the money had moved us forward. Had we hired people or committed to any long term service contracts, we would have suffered considerably when we lost our funding and might not have survived.

Even today and with all my experience looking for money, I’d still be willing to discuss an investor coming on board but I’d do it much more cautiously that before. We have managed to grow to nearly 500 paying and loyal customers with relatively little external investment, and we’re still growing today. If the right deal comes along we’ll consider it, but in the end I’ve concluded that it’s better to drive in the slow lane and reach your destination than to crash while speeding.

I think of this as the difference between a rocket ship and a cruise ship. We are the latter – slow and deliberate, but with demonstrable momentum. I’ll be the first to admit it’s taken considerable time and effort to grow, but if someone would have handed me $2M on day one, this company might not be here today. They say it takes 15 years to become an overnight success. I suppose that’s us, because we’re past the break-even point and we’re still essentially self funded.

Joel Slatis has been building web sites for more than a decade as an independent web developer and search engine optimization expert. His latest website, Timesheets.com, is a web based time tracking service was founded in 2004 and is operated via two web sites, TimeclockOnline.com and Timesheets.com. Today, Joel’s company tracks employee time for over 500 companies in more than 10 countries.

Read online: Why Start-Ups Should Beware of Investment Capital

One of the biggest reasons companies need funding is because they have cash flow problems. These can stem from lowered sales and slow paying clients. As a matter of fact, slow paying clients represent a major challenge for business owners. Accustomed to paying invoices in 30 to 60 days, it’s hard to ask clients to pay invoices faster. Especially when they can take their business to competitors elsewhere at any time.

If your biggest challenge is that you can’t afford to wait for your clients to pay, and your business is otherwise doing well, invoice financing may be the right solution for you. When used correctly, invoice financing can provide the needed funding to help your business.

To use invoice financing you need to work with a funding company that acts as an financial intermediary between your client and your business. Once you invoice your client, you sell the invoice to the funding company, who pays for it immediately. This gives you the funds you need to pay expenses and grow the business. The invoice financing company, who now holds the invoice, settles the transaction once your client pays in full.

One major advantage of financing invoices is that the funding company main interest is in buying quality invoices. That means that clients with few assets other than invoices from solid clients can usually qualify for this type of funding. Also, the funding is tied to your sales, and therefore is dynamic. It will grow with your sales volume. Invoice financing is a solution that works well for companies whose main problem is that they can’t afford to wait up to 60 days to get paid by clients.

About Commercial Capital LLC
Are you looking for business financing? We are a leading provider of invoice financing, a great alternative to a conventional business loan.

Read online: An Alternative to Business Loan Financing

If relinquishing control over your company doesn’t seem very attractive, you should consider another form of business funding. On the other hand, depending on the stage of your business’ development, and your end goals, venture capital could be the right solution for you.

After a period of significant growth, many small business owners are not equipped with the expertise to take their businesses to the next level-either maximizing growth or selling it for profit. A venture capitalist can bring managerial and technical expertise to aid businesses that are ready to take the next step. In a nutshell, venture capital is a useful tool for entrepreneurs hoping to build a company to flip for a quick profit. If your goal is to build a lasting business (that remains under your control), alternative funding options should be considered.

If venture capital sounds like a viable solution to your funding needs, just remember, venture capitalists reject 98 percent of all proposals presented to them. The market is highly competitive, and if your proposal is approved, the lengthy process-usually 6 to 18 months-has just begun. In order to obtain equity funding, you must present a sound proposal to outline the strategy and vision for your company.

Areas of interest for potential investors include the following:

- Strength of management

- Strength of brand

- Business strategy

- Target market

- Competition

- Big name clients

- Innovation

- Recommendations

- Intellectual property

- Barriers to entry

J. Mariah Brown is the owner and editor-in-chief of Writings by Design, LLC. To learn more about how Writings by Design can help your business formulate a fool-proof funding request, please visit us at http://www.writingsbydesign.com, or email your question to inquiry@writingsbydesign.com.

Read online: Venture Capital – Making the Right Move at the Right Time

A Coherent Business Plan

You might have an idea in your mind but it’s very essential to have it written down. This is perhaps the most common thing that goes unnoticed. A formal business plan will not only make your task more organized but also help you in keeping track of the progress made. A proper, well thought out plan will include everything starting from your business objective, budget, marketing strategy to the infrastructure, facilities available and how you want to implement your ideas.

Go Online

In this age of unprecedented technological development, it is absolutely indispensable to create a business website. The Web is the place where people look for virtually everything under the sun. So irrespective of the kind of services you wish to provide, announce your presence in the virtual world. Make sure that it creates the right kind of impression to your potential customers.

Pay Attention to your Image

This, in business terms is often referred to as the brand. When you set up a business, it is important that you reach out to as many people as possible. Try and come up with new ways to promote your brand. One good idea is to design a logo that will help people identify with the name of your brand. Other effective ways can be to distribute business cards, brochures, letterheads etc.

Spread Your Business

Networking is perhaps the most important step that you need to take in order to make your business venture successful. Word of mouth is arguably the best way to let others know about your enterprise. You will do well to join professional organizations like The Chamber of Commerce, where you will get to meet your counterparts and competitors.

Always Strive to Improve

Never be content with your achievements. Make every effort to better yourself. Measure your accomplishments with respect to the market. If you see that what you have got is towards the higher end, try and go even farther. The moment you are satisfied, you will stop to be the best. Always remember that your toughest competitor is yourself. So try and be a winner every time!

If you keep these five points in mind and go forward with this mentality, before long you will have a thriving business. Nothing succeeds like success, so the more you achieve, the more your hunger grows. Make the fullest use of this and you are sure to have a successful business venture!

Simon Johnnson is the director of content for Executive Gift Shoppe. They specialize in golf gifts and letter openers.

Read online: How to Have a Successful Business Venture

There are no shortage of projects of high potential in Asia from Dubai through to Shanghai. Whether it is real estate, a small or medium business or a major project venture, most need capital to develop the business to its full potential.

Whilst many Asian economies have high savings rates, such as China and Taiwan for example the movement of this savings into private investment is not as efficient as one may have thought. Many investors in Asia choose to put their savings into securities and the stock market or as cash. Private investors are not well organized compared to many developed markets. Japan and Korea may be the exception, but in general it can be quite difficult to for people to find a private investor. In a recent poll undertaken by Asia Business Investor on of the subject of raising capital in Asia, 72% of surveyed entrepreneurs said that that the capital raising process was difficult.

In Europe and the United States the capital raising process is more institutionalized. There are associations and networks well established where high net worth investors can view potential investment projects much more easily. The situation in Asia is the reverse, in the same poll, 85% of those private investors surveyed stated that finding potential investment projects was difficult. Hence, one could argue that the challenge in Asia is simply connecting those seeking investment with those looking to invest.

Informal networks tend to be the dominant form of capital raising especially for social and business networks where it is often just a matter of who you know. This is a very popular route in both the Middle East and certainly in much of East Asia for finding investors. This works well except the challenge for any person involved in capital raising is to maximize the number of potential investors to improve the chances of having a deal struck. In many instances, there are only a handful of known investors and they tend to be receiving a lot of investment proposals from their own network, so they many not necessarily be willing to invest. So, in effect

Nevertheless, there are a few organizations emerging specifically for angel investors and venture capitalists in Asia. These include Business Angel Network (South East Asia) in Singapore, Angels Shanghai and Arab Business Angels Network (ABAN) in Dubai. This should mature in the next few years and the region continues its rapid development.

One key issue with these is that they tend to have a strong technology focus and have much less the traditional businesses. This may be great for technology companies but most investment projects in Asia do not involve high technology start-ups, instead they are the traditional investments such as a hotel, a factory or an agricultural project.

The other option is to work with capital raising specialist firm to assist with the process. This typically involves amounts over US$10 million there are established capital raising private equity companies to handle this level in Asia. There are benefits for that approach as these firms do have access to investment capital, however at the same time many will not be interested in working on smaller deals less than US$10 million and there are normally significant costs incurred prior to any investment being successfully raised.

At this stage it should be noted that we have not included banks, the main reason is that in Asia as with many other locations they are not typically a source of investor capital. They work more in the field of working capital once the business is usually up and running, so they are not an option likely to be a major source of investor capital.

Magazine and newspaper advertising is another route used and does produce results, generally magazines more so that newspapers. The issue being that a magazine advertisement will run for a month whereas a newspaper ad generally tends not to be running each day due to the expense and secondly, the ad generally appears next to the wrong types of category. An investor is not going to be looking seriously at investing in a newspaper next to the motorbike for sale section.

The Internet is changing the landscape of raising capital by improving the communication process between investors and those seeking investment. The two main ways are social networking sites and specialist web sites which provide an investor matchmaking service.

Firstly, Social networking sites are a fairly recent phenomenon and they include more of the professional based ones such as LinkedIn, Ecademy, Plaxo and Xing to name a few. The professional connections involved do permit individuals to connect with others and this does on occasion result in a number of successful capital raising opportunities. It would be difficult to know how social network sites are but they have been known to produce results.

The most significant area rapidly developing are specialist websites that feature investment opportunities for investors. They provide a means whereby investors can choose from dozens of potential projects and those seeking an investor can find one. An on-line marketplace, in the truest sense where people find opportunities in a convenient location that is accessible 24/7. They can provide a great way of matchmaking investors to those seeking investment.

Asia has terrific opportunities at present and the chances of success are significant improved with the right attitude to finding investors. The road to raising capital requires a degree of flexibility in approach and the best option may be to ensure that the traditional methods be used alongside the more technologically advanced ones.

This article was submitted by Nicholas Cameron, Director of Singapore based Asia Business Investor.

Asia Business Investor connects investors to investment seekers in Asia with a web site featuring investment opportunities to investors. From Dubai, through to Hong Kong Shanghai and Singapore, covering the region with a focus on investment in Asia.

http://www.asiabusinessinvestor.com/Angel/AngelInvestor.aspx

Read online: Finding Capital in Asia and the Search For Angel Investors

The truth is that many new business owners feel they must prove themselves first before seeking outside funding to help drive growth, marketing, and sales. The perception here is that banks or venture capitalists are looking for solid track records and evidence of success, prior to wanting to contribute valuable funding. This dilemma presents a Catch-22 for many business owners. They feel that they need success to attract funding and this same funding is what is needed to generate success. While I cannot guarantee that following the tips outlined in this article will translate into funding for your business, they have been shown to help and it is certainly worth pursuing them. After all, for many, a business represents a life’s dream and, in this case, is it not worth pulling out the stops to help realize that dream? With that said, what can you do?

First, have a clear vision in mind for your business. If you don’t have a clear and written business plan, start working on one right away. There are numerous resources available to you to help with this and, believe me, it is definitely something that sources of capital will want to see. After all, a business with a plan is easier to see value in than one that just presents flash and hype.

Second, consider all possible types of funding sources. Sure, you may your own resources but this can be limiting for many business owners. Other types of capital sources can include: bank loans, business lines of credit, private lenders, and venture capitalists or angel investors. Each type of source will have its own lending criteria and it is worth knowing them as you work to raise money for your business.

Third, be willing to see the big picture. Your need for funding may currently be minor in scope and this can limit you if you only seek what you need in the next month or even year. Consider the larger scope of your business before seeking funding. What if your business becomes national, or even international, in terms of the customers it serves? What needs will you have then and will your funding account for this type of growth? When you look at your business in this light, you will start to pursue funding as aggressively as you pursue customers, and this will only fuel continued growth.

Last, give yourself a little credit and believe in your business. Just because you’re small now doesn’t mean you still will be in the near future. As a business owner, you are the voice of your company and you must believe that what you are pursuing is worth every penny of what a funding source will provide to you.

Dr. Matt Fagerness left the academic world to pursue his own dreams of business ownership and doing things “his way”. Today, he is a successful real estate investor, venture capitalist, business consultant, and author who has touched the lives of new entrepreneurs who are looking to build upon their own dreams of success. Focusing on written materials and coaching services for success-driven and business-minded people, Dr. Fagerness has a no-nonsense approach to starting and building small businesses that speaks volumes to the clients with whom he has worked. Dr. Fagerness and his various professional services are accessible by visiting http://www.chameleonfreelancing.com

Read online: Business Venture Capital – You're Never Too Small to Raise Money

It was these partnerships they embarked upon that created the rapid improvements in their businesses and profits.

Joint Ventures are where businesses merge and work together to contribute to, and share, profits, knowledge, resources, tools, markets, expertise, information etc. They can actually assume various different composition modes, dependent upon the type of partnership situation that is being formed, and for what purpose.

It might be that a group of smaller companies or businesses unite in order to stand up to, and be a force to reckon with, the bigger companies, or businesses, within their industry. Large companies or businesses will sometimes form mergers/ unions with fast-growing, smaller businesses that have demonstrated the right promise.

Smaller companies are also able to form business mergers/ unions with companies that have a big name within their industry in order for them to be able to increase their reach to larger communities/ globally.

It was approximated that around 25% of all of 2005 profits of around $40 trillion could be attributed to the fact these profits were as a result of businesses having gone in to JV partnerships with other businesses. This really then lends itself to demonstrating the importance small business owners should definitely not disregard the profits JV partnerships can also afford them.

Let’s take a look at a few of the valuable opportunities you can obtain from forming these JV partnerships.

o You can greatly reduce the lengthy amount of time you might ordinarily have spent yourself on business growth. If you currently own a small business, then forming JVs essens the need to continually be e.g. creating new products, therefore freeing up more time to be able to expand your market reach etc. All of these things do not occur immediately, as they take time to happen, so freeing more time for you to concentrate on one or two areas within your business growth, and do them well, instead of trying to do them all, and working with others who have expertise in other areas within the JV partnership and with them concentrating on those areas, the result would be that you all will only see your businesses grow and profit a great deal more.

JVing also enables you to attain more leads, hone in on the expertise of all who form the partnership, accumulate fewer costs, have further reach, achieve greater profits, merge lists etc.

o Your businesses’ credibility will be greatly enhanced. One of the most frequent problems faced by new businesses starting out is that they find it difficult to gain credibility in their niche market, and with their customers.

Forming JV partnerships with other businesses/companies that are already known and trusted will considerably improve your credibility with your customers.

o You are able to have new income sources. Usually small businesses/ companies don’t have sufficient funds and resources required for expansion and growth of their businesses.

Forming these type of JV partnerships with reliable, established, rock-solid partners, will result in your credibility, and profits etc, being able to be expanded for a much lower cost.

o You will be protected from competitors, of whom there are many out there, and, in all likelihood they will otherwise attempt to gain access to your business.

This is why a Joint Venture partnership with some of the big players out there will assist in lessening the likelihood of this occurring, resulting in building a solid business that keeps your competitors out, but which offers higher profits as a result.

Taking note of all these amazing benefits you can attain from forming JVs, you are more than likely extremely keen to commence going in to one asap. However, it is vitally important to not rush in and join in the first ones you come across. When a poorly carried out, and poorly planned, partnership is formed, and too quickly, then it is definitely fated from the start.

Then what secrets constitute successful Joint Ventures?

o You need to have clear objectives, knowing what it is you want to achieve with this partnership, right from the very outset. The partner(s) you might select might not have the same goals exactly as you have, but they should complement yours.

o The correct partner(s). The most successful partnership(s) should create a win-win situation for all involved. It is important to find people that are truly interested in JVing and that have set similar objectives to you, as, if this is not the case, and they are at odds with your objectives etc, you will more than likely be at loggerheads with each other in the not too distant future.

o Plan the Partnership. Work out a plan including how you will consult each other; negotiate with each other and the approaches to issues you will use. It is important to really be aware of, and understand, the various facets of the partnership you are actually getting into. Remember, the main thing you should be focussing on is entering in to a win-win partnership.

o Handle the JV partnership well. You are going to be in it for a long time, much like the relationship of a marriage – let’s hope, permanent. The basis of it should be established on trust and understanding. Once this type of successful win-win partnership is formed, it is then the time that the real work together can commence. When you find this type of JV partnership, it is so important to truly treasure it, and treat it the right way, as you would treat something that is extremely precious and valuable to you.

JVing really can work successfully for all those involved, but it is vitally important to understand the processes that form part of it so one has a smooth sailing relationship for the duration.

So…now it is time for you to go and find yourself a really good JV relationship, and I wish you all the best!

Good luck!

Visit http://www.listbuildingprofitsecrets.com to find out how to form successful Joint Venture partnerships the right way.

Carol Harridge is strongly regarded as a successful internet marketer, who has established her own opt-in list, that continues to grow.

Read online: The Power of Your Win Win Situation in Joint Venture Partnerships

Now DOUBLE IT.

That’s right.

DOUBLE IT.

There’s an old rule of thumb when it comes to raising capital: always ask for more money than you need.

This is for two reasons:

1. Your numbers may not be 100% accurate

Surprise! Yes, this does indeed happen sometimes. You plot and plan as carefully as you can, but you still somehow come up short. That city inspector that gave you a list a mile long when you thought it was only going to be a short one. The cost over-run on the rehab. Taxes went up on the property. It took longer to sell the property than you originally thought.

Don’t worry.

This is part of business. There’s no such thing as a perfect budget or financial projection. But, you can cover yourself in a major way by having more than enough capital on hand to deal with all issues successfully.

2. You may not get the entire amount you ask for

Surprise again. Although you may be seeking to raise $5,000,000 in your private money offering, you may not get the full amount in the time frame in which you need it. Certain factors outside of your control could affect this, such as the time table being moved up for the property closing. Sometimes an investor will back out of the deal (maybe junior spent all his college money). You just never know. So, you play it safe and aim to raise $5,000,000 instead of $2,500,000.

But Adam, isn’t this going to cost me money?!

You bet it will. Having more private money than you are allocating to financially performing projects will most certainly cost you a little bit of money. You’ll be paying returns on that extra money. But, let me address this further by giving you a third reason to raise more private money than you need:

it’s easier to ask for more money in the beginning than it is to go back with your hat in your hand and ask for more later.

One way makes you look intelligent and pro-active and the other way makes you look unprofessional (at best) and foolish (at worst). Neither one is a good face to put forth to your private investors.

There have been times in my business where I’ve sat on ‘extra’ private investor money for months and months because projects took longer to complete or the timing was delayed on a sale. Hey, this is life: things happen. Better to be prepared than to get caught with your pants down. I don’t want to go back to my investors and tell them that my company only achieved a 6% or 7% return on a project because we were capital starved. The investor might look at me and ask me why I didn’t just get more money up front. I don’t want to face that situation.

What this really boils down to is being pro-active. If you’ve ever read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, which is a timeless business success book classic, you’ll note that being proactive is Habit #1. This is for a reason. When you’re proactive in all aspects of your business – particularly with raising capital – your odds of success increase exponentially.

Adam Davis is a real estate investor, author, speaker and founder of Ultimate Private Money. He teaches real estate investors how to raise capital from private investors. Adam has completed hundreds of real estate deals- from single family house flips, lease options to apartment buildings, land contracts and hard money loans – all with none of his own money. All told, he has raised millions of dollars from private individuals to finance real estate deals. For a FREE audio program on how to get private money go to: http://www.UltimatePrivateMoney.com.

Read online: Rule #3 When Raising Private Money – Get More Than You Need

Although most business owners are familiar with how business loans work , few are familiar with factoring. The most important thing to know about factoring is that it is designed to help companies that cannot afford to wait 30 to 60 days to get paid for their invoices. Companies that sell products to other companies or the government usually need to wait 30 to 60 days to get their invoices paid. While some companies have no problem extending 30 days terms, many do and can’t wait. Invoice factoring solves this problem by giving your company an advance for the invoice. This minimizes the amount of time you wait to get paid and provides funds to cover business expenses.

When you factor an invoice, your company actually sells the financial rights to the invoice to the factoring company. Because of this, the transaction is structured as a sale, with two payments from the factoring company. The first payment, usually referred to as the advance, is given to your company as soon as you sell the invoice. The advance is about 80 to 90% of the invoice. You get the remaining payment of 10% to 20% (less factoring fees) once your client actually pays the invoice. This second payment is usually referred to as the rebate.

One major difference between a business loan and a factoring line is that qualifying for factoring is a lot easier and quicker. Since factoring companies are usually buying the invoices they factor, their biggest concern is the credit worthiness of the company paying the invoices. Because of this, small businesses and distressed companies can usually have a good chance of getting a factoring line, provided they work with a strong roster of customers.

Costs for factoring will vary but are usually higher than the cost of a business loan. Costs are determined by the size of the line, the credit quality of the invoices, the industry and the stability of the client’s business.

About Commercial Capital LLC
Looking for factoring? As one of the leading factoring companies, we can provide a competitively priced factoring quotes. For information, please call (877) 300 3258.

Read online: The Factoring Option – Learn How Invoice Factoring Works

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