Alternative sources of debt financing are now available to small businesses as commercial banks cut back on small businesses loans.

Asset-Based Lending as a Source of Business Financing in 2012
Asset-based lending has been the lender of last resort in the business finance community, at least up until the recession of 2008. That's when this form of lending stepped in and saved many small businesses. Between 2008 and 2012, records were established in the amounts of asset-based loans made and the types of asset-based loan companies.

The Role of Microfinance in Loaning Money
Microfinance, a developing field in alternative sources of lending to businesses, is the practice of lending money to small, poor entrepreneurs. Microlenders have a number of difficulties with microloans to the poor and, in turn, the recipients of the loans have their own problems with the loans.

Use Micro Loans for Small Business Start-ups and Cash Flow Needs
Business loans have been hard to come by for small business since the Great Recession. Microfinancing and micro loans have come to the U.S. and have become viable options for small businesses needing small loans to get started, to beef up their cash flow position, and for those businesses who don't yet have a relationship with a bank.

Government Sources of Micro Loans to Small Businesses
Both state and federal governments offer programs that offer guarantees on micro loans from special lending intermediaries to small businesses that need some help. Government sources of micro loans may be more plentiful than business owners think.

Peer to Peer Lending – A Source of Small Business Financing
Peer to peer lending is a useful source of financing for small businesses. As credit has tightened in the banking sector, small businesses have had to look toward non-traditional sources of financing. Peer to peer financing is one valuable source of financing that has been tapped by small businesses and will probably grow in the future.

Accounts Receivable (Factoring) Financing
Accounts receivable can be pledged or factored to raise money for working capital needs.

Inventory Financing
Use your inventory as collateral to find financing for your working capital needs.

Credit Cards as a Small Business Financing Option for Business Startups
Small business owners are having to turn to credit cards to finance their new business. Since bank loans are hard to get due to the credit crisis, small businesses don't have much choice but to use credit cards if they want to start up a new business.

Financing with Hard Money Loans
A hard money loan is a risky asset-based loan based on collateral rather than the creditworthiness of the borrower.

Merchant Cash Advances as an Alternative Source of Small Business
A merchant cash advance is an alternative source of financing for small businesses. If a business can't get a bank loan, a merchant case advance is a viable alternative if a business has a cash flow problem and an immediate need for cash.

Purchase Order Financing - An Alternative Source of Business Financing
Purchase order financing is a non-traditional form of small business financing that more small businesses are using when they can't get bank loans.

Royalty Financing - An Equity Investment in Future Sales
Royalty financing is an advance to a small business, in the form of an equity investment based on the revenue from future sales of an asset. If you have an asset that will earn money, you may be able to use royalty financing for business credit.

Overview of Mezzanine Financing
Mezzanine financing is a risky form of financing appropriate for businesses in high growth industries.

3 Methods to Finance an Import Business
If you have an import business, or if you plan to start importing and selling products, here are four non-bank methods of financing your imported inventory. If you add importing to your business, your business finance skills have to become more diverse. You have to learn how to import and the basics of importing. Financing your imports is one of those basics.

Microfinance in the U.S.
This is a speech by the Chair of the Federal Reserve about how the concept of microfinance is growing in the U.S. to aid small businesses.

Kickstarter Campaign - The Seuss-Escher Lovechilde Goes the Whole 9 Yards
Artist Skye Lucking, About.com's Guide to GoArgentina!, recently launched her own Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to try to fund the project "The Seuss-Escher Lovechilde Goes the Whole 9 Yards.