Wicked Start founder Bryan Janeczko said “Investing is a question of risk tolerance. You have to invest some of your own money so you have skin in the game. Investors will want to see that. But, if you can self fund, that’s better since you won’t have to bring on investors or headaches.”

Assuming you will bring on investors, what percentage you fund is not a “standard decision.” Notes Morris Bocian, President, Creative Business Planning Incorporated, “There are no hard and fast rules. However, investors feel like you should suffer some “pain” if the company goes out of business. For example if you need $300,000 to start your business, if you have a net worth of $500,000, your investor would want you to contribute significantly more than if your net worth were $10,000.”

Bocian commented that it doesn’t have to be all your money, either. “Often [investors] view friends and family money as that of the entrepreneur’s. They want to see that you and the people that know you best are confident in your capabilities, are fully committed to the venture and you won’t walk because its too difficult. They want to know that if things don’t work out as projected you will do what’s right to protect everyone’s investment.”

There are no formulas. “If you are looking to leverage your equity with say an SBA guaranteed loan,” Bocian says “Your SBA lender might require you to have a minimum of 20% – 25% of equity.”

Should you offer debt or equity in your business? Janeczko says “Debt is generally better than equity since it’s not ownership. However, for high-risk ventures like internet startups equity is often better since it’s riskier. Debt will have to be repaid with interest and may involve personal guarantees.” Bocian adds, “If you have assets, purchase orders, accounts receivable you might qualify for debt, whereas if there is limited or no assets, there is a good chance you are looking for equity.”

This part of your business planning is complicated. If you need help, we’re always around on the Wicked Start Community. (Just sign into your Wicked Start account and click the community link on the menu below the logo.)

1. 11 Ways Dating Is Like Starting A Company: Valentine’s Day is coming up and that means that love is in the air. But it doesn’t mean that entrepreneurship isn’t in the air, there are many reasons why courting a new love interest is peculiarly similar to building up a new business which provides us with a lot of great advice that’s applicable to both dating and entrepreneurship. Read on

2. Top Ten Investor Turnoffs Around Business Plans: “After struggling to create your business plan for months, every entrepreneur likes to think that their document is inspirational and will reach someone who is smart enough to see the brilliance of the idea, intuitive enough to recognize their business acumen, and enthusiastic enough to offer the money required to make it happen. Every serious investor, on the other hand, has a stack of these in their in-basket (email or real plastic) awaiting review, and is looking for the flaw or less-capable entrepreneur in each that predicts failure, allowing them to discard it like another piece of junk mail. Many VC firms and investment banks receive as many as ten plans per day, so it’s hard to get them salivating”. Make sure to not turn them off before they even get an in depth look at your business idea, be mindful of these “How-Not-To’s” Read On

3. Common Business Plan Mistakes You Must Avoid: Be aware, be very aware of these easy mistakes one can make when writing their business plan. Don’t say we didn’t tell you so! Read On

4. 5 Lessons Learned From My Company’s Low Point: Struggling to retain customers, unmotivated team? lack of a true company vision? Razor Suleman, founder of I love Rewards was in the exact same situation with his company. He was able to get his business out of its funk and these are the lessons he learned along the way. Read On

1. 5 Common Mistakes People Make When Jumping the Corporate Ship - Many people, especially those who have spent years struggling up the corporate ladder, dream of jumping ship and becoming an entrepreneur. But every job move is fraught with risk, and the move from employee to entrepreneur is on the high end of the risk curve. This is a big jump, especially in a down economy, so do your homework first on this one.

2. Finding Cash For Your Startup Part 1 -This is a very simple breakdown of different sources of financing for your startup company. Pick you poison? More like pick your lifeblood.

3. Bootstrapping Ideas From A Successful B2B CEO – Tips on how to self fund from CEO Elizabeth Charnock of Cataphora who grew her own small business into a large scale company.

4. Top Tips For Changing Your Business Plan – Changing your business plan doesn’t have to be a struggle. Advice from Carolann Jacobs, president of Vivid Epiphany, a coaching consultancy for SMBs in Plano, Texas.

• A Peek Behind the Angel Curtain Reveals 3 Secrets to … – All of this has contributed to the slowing of our economy over the past two years, but is now finally showing signs of rejuvenation.  With angel investing expected to pick up slightly in 2011, here is a “look behind the curtain” to see how one very successful angel investment group tracks and considers its investments.
• Entrepreneurs Don’t Just Think Outside the Box, They Shatter It – Want some entrepreneurial inspiration? Point your browser to Shatterbox, an online community that profiles young professionals and entrepreneurs through short videos.  The company was founded by Amanda Holt, a 25-year-old New Yorker who graduated college in 2007 and had some uninspiring jobs. Then she decided to interview people on camera about their dreams — an effort that became Shatterbox. Read on!
• From Digging Ditches to Advising Young Entrepreneurs – Matt Wilson, the founder of Underceo.com talks about his own entrepreneurial journey.
• Top 10 Small Business Trends for 2011 – What’s on the horizon for us entrepreneurs? It looks optimistic, read on!

Welcome to 2011. It’s a new year and many of us take this opportunity to embark to make New Year resolutions, whether it’s a diet, kicking a bad habit,… or even starting a business. I personally believe that more businesses will be started this year than ever before due to chronic high unemployment and people simply wanted to create their own economic opportunities. Combine this with the low costs of launching a business- thanks largely to the decreasing costs of technology, and you’ll see a proliferation of newbie startups. I’m excited by it all and that’s why I’m here. To share my experiences as a corporate refugee turned entrepreneur who’s founded or cofounded multiple businesses.

It’s always inspiring to read stories of success. When we hear about entrepreneurs who literally sold everything they had to start a business from a garage, toiled away for several years, and then ended up selling to a multinational firm— who wouldn’t get excited? This fuels our very own dreams and desires for launching a successful business. This was certainly true for me when I thought about and ultimately founded an earlier business, NuKitchen. However, the reality of taking an idea and turning it into a meaningful business is quite another story. The effort and energy involved is substantial from structuring the business, raising money, hiring the staff to getting the marketing plan in place. Many entrepreneurs will attest to the amount of energy that must be invested to make your business asuccess, from depleting your savings to countless hours devoted to building the business.

Anyone who’s in the early stages of starting a business or just thinking about it, should be aware of some of the harsh realities of starting a business. After all, at least 50% of all new businesses fail according to the SBA. My goal here isn’t to dissuade you from starting a business- really, it’s not- but instead to get you to take off your rose colored glasses. Plan before you take the plunge. Before I left corporate America to become an entrepreneur, I spent over a year planning my new business launch.You know what? It paid off because after 5 years of building that business, I was able to sell it to apublicly traded company. Even if you don’t want to sell your business, you’ll need to make sure that it’s meeting your objectives- at the very least profitable. I’m convinced that if you follow a plan thatincludes getting experience, networking, getting the right amount of funding, hiring or partnering withthe right people, and implementing a marketing strategy, you’ll be off to a good start. I’ve been advising startups for a long time and getting these elements in place helps to build a solid foundation. My advice, be passionate but be prepared to invest a lot of time and energy in the process. You can be among the entrepreneurs who turn their dreams into success stories. Keep me posted on your progress.

• The Entrepreneur’s Role As CEO – How does an entrepreneur become a good CEO? What does being a CEO really mean?
• Balancing Entrepreneurship and Parenting – How to Become a Successful Mompreneur or Dadpreneur – Contrary to what many might suppose, parents make great entrepreneurs, since many of the skills learned and applied as a parent are equally applicable to a successful business career.
• New Year’s Resolutions For Entrepreneurs – Want to raise your game in 2011? Here’s advice to get started now.
• Listen Up! 15 Essential Small Business Podcasts – Check out these small business podcasts, they make for great listening and great small business learning.

• Sizing Up the Pros And Cons of Serial Entrepreneurship – For some business owners, the thrill wears off after a business is established and going well. Once a new venture reaches that point, it’s tempting to hand it off to someone else and start a whole new project. That line of thought leads directly to the path of serial entrepreneurship.
• Momentum: The Key to Making Your Big Ideas Happen – It doesn’t matter whether you’re running a marathon or running a business – momentum is key. If we can take small steps to execute our big, bold business objectives every day in 2011, it will be infinitely easier to stay focused, make great strides, and blast through the roadblocks that inevitably come up.
• Suffering from Business Burn Out? Fight Back With These 6 Tips – As an entrepreneur juggling all the responsibilities of starting one’s own business, it’s so easy to burn out. Consider these steps to protect yourself from running dry.
• A Great Business Plan Begins With Engaging the Customer – Customer satisfaction shouldn’t be just a part of your marketing plan, it should be the foundation of your business plan.
• Grow revenues before seeking VC funding – “Entrepreneurs often view venture capital as the quickest way to raise cash, but increasing your company’s revenue may be a better solution in the long run.”

• Five Financing Trends for 2011 – When it comes to funding options for startups, new ideas seem to come along every season. Some may be old ideas dressed up in a new way, while a few may be something we really haven’t seen before. It isn’t certain which ones will become the new black of small business and which will disappear with this year’s hemlines. But here are five financing trends for 2011 that could have an impact on your company.
• Outsourcing to Freelancers & Consultants – 5 Tips for Getting it Right (and Lawful) – Here are some tips to help you navigate the process of finding, hiring and managing freelancers, consultants, and independent contractors.
• The Early Failures of Famous Entrepreneurs & What They Learned – When we think about the true legends of the business world, it’s easy to put them on pedestals. Surely, we tell ourselves, the people who produce multi-billion dollar fortunes are a different breed than the rest of us. And seldom (if ever) do we picture them failing at anything. Yet when you look back on the real-life histories of iconic entrepreneurs, there is plenty of failure to go around. In fact, these early setbacks were often instrumental in shaping the careers of these storied figures.

• Startup Fundraising is a Time Sink — The Trials & Tribulations – One startup’s personal grueling experience with fundraising for their company.
• Don’t Let Fear of Failure Stop You from Growing … – “I believe that people must periodically step outside of their comfort zone to grow as a company and a person. In fact, as you do this, you will discover that your comfort zone expands. Doing this will empower you to request bold things that may elicit comments from your peers and associates like “outrageous, overreach, impossible.” You can overcome these naysayers and your own inclination of fearing failure by your preparation for this bold request, which I like to call The Ask.”
• A Rose Maybe, but Not Your Business – Would changing the name of an old business necessarily make it better?
• How to Budget Your Own Salary – Wondering what to pay yourself when you’re a master of your own domain i.e, an entrepreneur/small business owner/your own boss? Use this nifty equation to determine what you can afford to compensate yourself.

• Start-Up End Of Year Legal To Dos – Charley Moore, Founder and CEO of Rocket Lawyer discusses the legal “loose ends” many startups should not forget to complete before the close of 2010.
• Starting a Part-Time Vs. Full-Time Business – Even if you ultimately plan to run your business full-time, starting on a part-time basis can offer several advantages. It reduces your risk because you can rely on income and benefits from your full-time job. It also allows your business to grow more gradually.
• New SBA lending program promising approval in minutes – The Small Business Administration has announced an all new “Small Loan Advantage and Community Advantage Loan Initiatives”  program.
• How to Avoid Burning Out At A Software Startup – “Working in a software startup is hard. You will work incredibly long hours, and you will work harder than you thought you were capable of working. Not only that, but the software you write will break, and when it does the only person responsible for fixing it is you. There’s a lot of pressure resting on your shoulders in a startup, pressure to succeed, pressure to perform.” So the ultimate question is, how do your protect your biggest asset: you from burning out?