Coming up with money for a small business can be a difficult proposition, one that’s dependent on a company’s stage of life and its financial condition.

As entrepreneurs quickly learn, money for a startup can be very hard to come by. The problem is that the majority of lenders, whether they’re banks or venture capitalists, won’t commit funds to a business without a track record or an owner who hasn’t already had success in a previous enterprise.

“Whoever is giving the money is doing the classic risk-reward analysis,” said Ed-Paulson, author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Starting Your Own Business” and a small business owner. “The riskier your company appears, the less likely you are to get the money, and, if you get the money, it will be more expensive to you because they’ll be taking more risk.”

Many entrepreneurs finance businesses themselves, but this route has some pitfalls.

One option that many choose is borrowing on their personal credit cards or taking out home equity loans; the advantage of either is that the owner doesn’t have to supply a business plan or company books to get the money.

The drawback is a business that doesn’t succeed, or unexpected personal problems such as a severe illness.

“If anything turns out not to work as you planned, it can put you and your business in serious financial jeopardy,” Paulson warned.

Owners should be sure they have plenty of personal cash reserves, something many find hard to do because it’s so tempting to put every available penny into the business. Paulson’s advice is to set aside enough money to cover your living expenses for the first six months that your business is operating.

Moreover, he said, a new business needs the support of an owner’s spouses and children. Their lives are also affected when family funds are invested in a company.

Another route for early-stage financing is borrowing from relatives and friends. Again, there’s no need for documentation, but it’s also fraught with the possibility of personal disaster if the business doesn’t work out and you can’t pay them back.

Paulson suggests not borrowing the money. Friends and family should invest in the company, with the understanding that they might lose money on the deal.

But you also need to choose your investors carefully, he said, adding that “they need to be sophisticated enough to understand what they’re getting themselves into.”

It can be easier for a more established business to get financing, but your company’s financial history will determine whether you succeed or fail, and whether you can get the most favorable terms.

It’s a good idea to get as much information about financing as you can before you walk into a lender’s office. Remember that a loan officer’s impression of you matters, and the more savvy you show yourself to be, the better your chances are of getting a loan.

There are online resources that can help you. The Small Business Administration’s Online Women’s Business Center includes a “Finance Center” at www.onlinewbc. gov/docs/finance. Click on “How do I qualify for a loan?” and you’ll get an overview of the process, including some of the factors a lender considers in deciding whether to loan money to a small business.

If you need help in getting your company or its books in shape to qualify for a loan, you can get help from one of the SBA’s Small Business Development Centers, which can be located at www.sba.gov/sbdc, or from SCORE, the organization of retired executives who volunteer to help small companies. Contact SCORE through www.score.org or by calling 800-634-0245.

You’re likely to need a business plan no matter what phase your business is in. A business plan should be a comprehensive document about your company and its operations, including details of your product or service, the process and costs involved in producing it, who your customers and competitors are, your marketing plan and hiring plans.

A lender will be looking at the business plan for evidence that your company is being run in a well thought-out manner, and that you are a careful, serious manager. So your plan needs to be carefully researched and written.

Building Small Business is a weekly column on the topic from the Associate Press.