Six Ways To Get Started

• Turn your employer into your first client

• Ethically take business with you

• Begin part-time, moonlighting

• Work part-time, "temp," take overload

• Finance your business with start-up funds

• piggyback; relying on spouse's income

Where To Get Free Business Counseling

• You can locate a local office from their national Web sites

• Small Business Development Centers: www.sba.gov/gopher/local-information/small-business-development-centers/

• S.C.O.R.E. (Service Corps of Retired Executives): www.score.org/

• Also try: Minority Business Development Center:  www.mbda.gov

• Chamber of Commerce: http://chamber-of-commerce.com/

• Regional Economic Development Associations

Sources Of Start-Up Funds

• Earnings from job (reducing the amount withheld from taxes. This requires changing your W-4 form.)

• Savings

• Credit cards (for lowest rates, contact CardTrack, Box 1700, Fredrick, MD 21702); www.cardtrack.com

• Cash settlements

• Disability grants

•      Inheritances

•      Retirement funds

•      Credit unions

•      Funds from investors

•      Life insurance policies

• A line of credit through a home equity loan

• Bank loans

• Loans from relatives or friends

• Loans from suppliers or colleagues

• Micro-loan programs (For local lenders, contact the Small Business Administration at (800) 827-5722 or the web at www.sba.gov/financing/microparticipants.html

• SBA-guaranteed loans for 75% to 80% of the loan

• Franchise financing: Franchise Opportunity Guide, published by the International Franchise Association http://www.franchise.org/ lists more than 20 bank and non-bank lenders for franchises

Where To Find Money On The Web

• www.americanexpress.com/

• www.quicken.com/

• www.venturea.com/ - articles Tips: Check out your credit rating with the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). to understand how your credit ratings are scored and weighted, see www.fairisaac.com/

• If rejected by any lender, always learn why.

For Women Only

• Count Me In for Women's Economic Independence. New York: $500-to $10,000 loans; $5,000 for star-ups at www.count-me-in.org/

• www.womensnet.net has two programs - The Women's Net Network and The Amber Foundation

Where To Find Grants

• Federal Government: The Federal Catalog of Domestic Assistance at www.cfda.gov

• State & Local government - contact your state rep. or senator

• Corporations give where they have plants an offices

• Council on Foundations to determine a community foundation in your area - www.cof.org

Where To Find People In the Business You Are Entering

• Their web sites located through search engines

• Online forums (MSN, AOL, Y!, etc.)

• Mailing lists: www.liszt.com/

• Newsgroups' archives: www.deja.com/

• Web sites of trade and professional organizations

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