Try to get Stakeholder Financing for Your New Business

Try stakeholder financing. Andrew Zacharakis suggests having a customer pay you in advance for something you are going to deliver in the future. Then, use those funds as seed capital. It's not as far-fetched as it may sound--many entrepreneurs pay their own suppliers in advance.

"In construction, for example, if you remodel your house, your builder is going to ask for a third of the money upfront to get started, another third at some point in the middle and the final third on delivery," Zacharakis says. "That kind of financing can be used across industries."

On to Funding your startup business from friends and family...