Where the loans are Banks are the No. 1 source of small-business loans, according to a trade group. Sometimes the search comes full circle, as when entrepreneurs use money from personal savings or credit cards to launch a start-up or expand an existing company. ''Angel investors,'' family and friends in Wall Street lingo, are a popular choice, too.
Banks are another source, although they're more likely to work with established companies.
Here's a map to guide the way. He asks owners how much they can afford to lose, and how they'll deal with a cataclysmic loss. Crediting the piggy bank. The financial services giant offers information at its Small Business Exchange Web site. A publisher of paperbacks and legal forms.