Before you invest time, energy and money, it's important to do some serious self-analysis. In business, there are no guarantees. There is simply no way to eliminate all risks associated with starting a small business - but you can improve your chances of success with good planning, preparation, and insight.

Start by evaluating your strengths and weaknesses as a potential owner and manager of a small business. Before you go into any type of business carefully consider following questions:

Are you a self-starter? It will be entirely up to you to develop projects, organise your time, and follow through on details.

How well do you get along with different personalities? Business owners need to develop working relationships with a variety of people including customers, vendors, staff, bankers, and professionals such as lawyers, accountants or consultants. Can you deal with a demanding client, an unreliable vendor if your business interests demand it?

How good are you at making decisions? Small business owners are required to make decisions constantly - often quickly, independently, and under pressure.

Do you have physical and emotional stamina to run a business? Business ownership can be exciting, but it's also a lot of work. Can you face six or seven 12-hour work days every week?

A personal loan is an amount of money which you borrow from a bank, building society or other financial institution. Ordinarily, you will receive a lump sum. In return, you agree to make regular repayments, usually monthly. Assuming you have taken out a repayment loan, some of money you repay will go towards servicing loan and rest of your payment will be used to pay off capital and reduce outstanding debt.

A personal loan can be a good option if you have a number of debts which you wish to consolidate into one loan. In doing so, you ought to be able to simplify your affairs and often reduce overall cost of credit.