START A SMALL BUSINESS NOW?

Do you believe that starting your own small business during an economic downturn is impossible? It may seem that starting a business during difficult times would be a bad idea. But this could be the perfect time to start a new business.

Creative entrepreneurs have been able to take advantage of these difficult times by finding a need and creating a business around that need. For example, staging businesses (staging houses for sale) were hit hard by the real estate bust. But some took their business in a new direction by offering services that hauled junk out of abandoned houses. It has been a boom for them.

Many have found that having lost their job provided the push they needed to finally take the plunge and start their own business. Perhaps you've always wanted to do your own thing and be your own boss but fear or lack of funds or inexperience held you back. This is totally understandable. But how do you get past these stumbling blocks?

By putting your ideas on paper and discovering if your business idea is viable. How? By writing your business plan and learning once and for all if this is the time to take the plunge. A business plan forces you to do your research and flesh out your idea. It will determine if you are financially able to forge ahead.

A business plan will force you to see your business idea in full clarity and detail. If your business plan contains all of the required items you will have everything in your hands to tell you if you can or should proceed with your business start up.

Financing, or lack of financing, is often the monkey wrench in an entrepreneur's business plan. However, there are options. Real options. One such option comes from stimulus funds that have been provided for SBA loans. And, the qualifying criteria has been revised to make it easier for entrepreneurs to obtain these funds.

For SBA 7a loans (the loan most often used for small startups) the Recovery Act waives the fees for the guaranteed part of the loan (90%). But you do still need collateral and you still need to meet the other criteria (industry experience; your own infusion of cash). Visit your community bank for more information. However, be aware that as of this writing, this expires on December 31, 2009.

Starting your own business requires a lot of leg work and research. If you have the drive but lack the funds there is still hope. A new funding option is now available through peer to peer donations. This option cuts through all the red tape and is available to entrepreneurs regardless of credit scores. Entrepreneurs funding entrepreneurs is a new, but viable option. Learn more in the bio section at the end of this article.