Capital is the lifeblood of your operation. Your strong will can keep you from giving up even in the darkest hours, but lack of money will ensure that the doors to your business will be closed and locked in the morning. Fortunately, many young entrepreneurs can get away with hitting mom and dad up for a loan to buy some computer equipment or to lease some office space. However, if you do hit up Mom for a loan, make it a point to pay her back as quickly as you would a banker. Maybe even quicker.
Family ties are tight, but money has snapped the strings of many a familial relationship.
Both a bank and a venture capitalist expect to see a detailed business plan, and they'll review it with the meticulous eye of an IRS agent combing through a drug lord's tax return. If someone doesn't want to sit down and hammer out a business plan, I don't want to talk to them. No one will arrive to place a crown on your head, but you'll know in lots of little ways. Phone calls to customers will be taken instead of screened. And phone calls from the phone company looking for bill payments will stop altogether.