by Lorne Yacuk

Created on: February 14, 2009

When considering how to finance your own new small business, you must understand that all your financial needs will not be satisfied from one source. Following is a set of ten sources that you must seriously examine.

1. YOUR OWN ASSETS

Your first search for financing is "in your own back yard".

Consider all the cash assets you have - savings, bonds, certificates, educational funds, etc. that can provide you with a cash foundation. You cannot "hedge your bets". You might leave yourself a modest "nest egg", but you must realize that you will have difficulty in persuading anyone else to contribute to your business is you are not prepared to make a significant investment yourself.

Remember this money is an investment, because your intend to be successful and receive back a higher return on your equity than you can get on the personal cash sources you are liquidating.

Consider all the assets you can liquidate. You must be prepared for early sacrifices if you wish to reach your long-term goals.
For example, you might sell a second car, a piano, a large screen television set, and a variety of other items that you can turn into cash. Again, you must adopt the attitude that this liquidation of assets is an investment.
You expect to retrieve these sacrifices later.

Consider what you can contribute "in kind". There are obvious items like a car (dedicated to the business), furnishings, computer, and the like. This reduces your need to pay cash for business necessities. Such contributions must be considered as part of your business, not part of your home life. For example, computer related items need to be used for business purposes, and not used for video games.

2. FAMILY AND RELATIVES

The term "family" means the extended family.
The reality is that the majority of extra financing you need comes from your extended family (or friends, which is treated in the next section). Be prepared to approach many members of your family, even if you do not have a close relationship with them. Expect many rejections, but also expect happy surprises. Approaching family members has many advantages:

They are accessible. As a family member, you have a built-in introduction

They may feel some obligation to help you

They may be looking for financial investments with higher returns than regular avenues

They may have "in kind" contributions

They may have practical experience which is useful to you

They may have contacts that you normally would not be able to access.

When you approach any family member,

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