Franchises, Insurance Agencies, Co-op - Traditional Funding May Be Difficult

Some non-traditional funding sources are State Revolving Funds, where the state provides an initial grant or loan to a revolving – loan fund agency, who then lends the money and receives repayment.  The agency uses the loan repayments to make new loans.

Privatization:  This is the private development of public services traditionally provided by a public agency; the sale of state-owned enterprises to private interested parties.
Partnerships: Public-private partnerships and public-public partnerships are two basic types of cooperative partnership ventures. 

Co-op involvement assists economic development.
 
Franchises have a proven success rate, compared to regular businesses. Some franchisors require prospective franchisees have large amounts of available cash, while others require less liquid capital.   Many franchisors already have funding sources set up for potential franchisees.  A win-win for some franchisees is to find a business partner who has the investment capital and is willing to work for a percentage of the profit. 
The Small Business Administration, through a Guaranty Program, offers a variety of loans to assist small businesses acquire the funding they need, but have been unable to obtain through traditional funding sources by applying at regular banks.  The SBA loans come from private lenders.  In order to obtain a SBA loan, you must have already attempted to obtain a traditional loan or other forms of financing, and have exhausted all of your personal finances and have a sufficient amount of equity.  Your business must be a for-profit enterprise in the United States or its possessions. 

Family and Friends:  Are viable sources of alternative funding.  In fact, it is quite common to do so.  They will usually want a say in business decisions.

Angels:  This term applies to equity investors who have a strong relationship with the business owner, and are willing to take a risk.  They do not lend money to business owners.  They hold control over decisions made within the company.  They have pooled their resources and investments in the form of loans, mortgages and equity investments.

Venture Capital Investment Groups are also investors, as opposed to lenders.  Their projection is for a 20% to 40% annual rate of return.