(And dude, I totally could use a wife. We both could.)

Yeah, basically for financing you're looking at a few options: traditional bank business loan, subsidized loan (maybe for women in business? But yeah do check with SCORE/SBA) or personal loan (individual or multiple private investors).

Raq, check out Tara Gentile and Danielle LaPorte for ideas of kickstarting a biz, and as far as venture capital, look for small business loans and loans focused on female small biz owner loans.

First thing you must do -- write a business plan. You will need one to get a loan, yeah, but I didn't need a loan, and I found that writing a simple one REALLY helped me pinpoint what I offered, what I wanted to focus on, and what I needed and what I needed to do.

You guys know my story: I was teaching, did a few freelance gigs over the years, wrote a bunch of resumes for friends and family. But I never, never, never would have been able to take the FT freelancing step without Dan's income -- my paycheck from my last teaching gig carried into July, and I got my last on on 7/25 and if I'm not pulling in 100% more income in 1 months I will be getting a PT job to bridge the income gap. Have to.

I don't know what kind of biz you're planning on going into, but like amych, my start-up costs were rather low, as I am selling my services. So far -- $20/month for PubMarketplace membership, $10 for webhosting, $25 in business cards. I worked out a trade-in-kind with my friend who's a graphic designer for my logo, which saved me hundreds. PayPal Merchant was free, except for the 1% (I think) they skim off any transaction, and I got a bares-bones account at my bank for business.

I'm saving for the $145 for a EFA membership for a year, and I plan to have more expenses for flyers and perhaps a conference or two in the next year. I'm also gonna have to pony up for a trip to an accountant in the next month, just to have a helping hand the first time or two I file quarterly taxes.

amy, I had no idea you were not at the looniversity anymore. I've been a sort of detached buffista lately, but that is cool news.

Very cool! (I sort of wondered what you were posting about in your post (like if it was a side job or what) but I didn't get around to asking. see: bad buffista above)

Dude, no worries! I announced the end-of-job here when it happened, but really didn't babble much about the new thang for the first few months while I was in total head-down try-to-make-it-go mode -- one of the reasons I was so psyched for this thread to start up was that I knew as soon as I saw it that I'd love a place for Buffista support but had been, you know, NOT TALKING ABOUT IT. duh.

oh, and again, THANK YOU ERIN FOR THE NICE THREAD!

I got laid off my Imagineering back in 1999 and started looking for a new job. While that was going on I just picked up whatever design work I could. I got connected to a studio that did the dialog recording for cartoons and was one of their overhire folks for about a year and a half, I taught part time, and all kinds of crazy things. I realized about 2 years later that I wasn't really looking for a full time job any more, and that somehow I was always working. I rarely knew beyond about 2 weeks what my next gig was going to be, but somehow it just come happening. From there it's just been a 10+ year slow build, adding rental equipment, getting bigger clients, adding staff, all kinds of stuff. If you'd asked me in 1999 if I would consider being a small business owner and having employees, I would have laughed at you.

Along the way I discovered that I really enjoy running a business. Who knew.

Along the way I discovered that I really enjoy running a business. Who knew.

Right? Being my own boss is one of the best things in my life. Terrifying, but my own terror!

Most people I know who started a business, ND included, had some very lean years before they finally either started being profitable or decided to get another job. I have so much respect for you brave, entrepreneurial spirits who take that plunge. It has tremendous rewards, but it sure isn't an easy road.

Yeah, I had a lot of years of just barely getting by while working myself almost to death. I had two roommates and was making ends meet by designing 4 or 5 tiny theatre shows a month for a few hundred dollars each.

I'm fine with some reduction in income. Actually I am fine with a lot, if it's relaced by psychic income.