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To be able to start a business, money is definitely needed! And, it is not easy to produce the money to finance a business startup especially in times of economic recession. It would be like finding a needle amidst a farm. Other people find it an opportunity to start a business if the stock market is down because it would be the best time to find talented employees. In addition, during an economic downturn, renting an office space will be cheaper. All of these statements are facts, but in reality, it is not that easy to start a business in times of economic downturn because it will take an extensive effort and creativity to get money from investors to finance your business.

Here are some guidelines if ever you will decide to start a business amidst the recessionary environment and if a need to raise money comes.

1. Borrow from ones’ self- Most of the time, the money that an entrepreneur saved is used to fund a start up business. Almost about 30 percent of initial fund comes from the savings. Instead of just taking the money and putting it into the business, it is better to lend the money and pay yourself back at a later date. Proceeds from future revenues or future investor are the reasonable sources of the money that you can use to pay yourself back.

2. Borrow from relatives and friends- The time honored way to produce money to be used to start a business is borrowing from relatives and friends. With banks high interest rates to loans and low interest rate to depositors, borrowing from relatives and friend is a win-win situation. You can benefit because loans from someone you know usually have a lower interest rate that range from 2-3 percent compare to a market rate. It will also benefit them because the interest that they can get is 1-2 percent higher than high yield savings rate.

3. Borrow from people who are tolerant- For startup business, it is difficult to estimate revenue so think a lot before taking on short term loans. Debt that needs to be repaid in a short span of time is riskier so it would be better to find supporters within your network that gives a grace period on repayment.

4. Borrow online- There are now numbers of financing alternatives on the web that finances small businesses like the On Deck Capital. You can also borrow from strangers through person to person loan website. Through Google, you can find companies that will match you with an individual lender based on your posted request for funds. Entrepreneurs can find these sites to be helpful especially in times of crisis, though the interest rates are a little bit high.