Starting Your Own Business: Protection from a Fragile Economy

The Today Show recently featured a segment on entrepreneurship -- specifically, how many individuals are beginning to start businesses in response to a fragile economy and job market. As unemployment rises (currently up to 5.5%), many driven individuals find themselves without jobs and are forced to find creative solutions to their economic pressures.

Presented in the clip below is the story of Tracy Huges, founder of The Rum Cake Fairy Dessert Company. Tracy started the venture after being laid off from her marketing job.

The segment provides much highly useful information to new entrepreneurs, including the importance of having a good credit history, building trusting relationships with potential investors and creditors, and most importantly, carefully constructing a formal business plan. Business plans are a crucial step in the funding process, and are required documentation before pursuing capital from an SBA affiliate or micro lending institutions. While the segment places less focus on angel investors or venture capitalists, it’s important to note that such documentation is also a prerequisite for seeking equity funding as well.

Special attention is given to the personal loan management company Virgin Money (www.virginmoneyus.com [1]). Such companies allow their users to formally structure loans between friends and family, which can be a fantastic way to manage early stage debt.