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If you need capital to expand your business, don't assume that an investment banker has the answer. "Investment bankers want you to think that they own the capital markets," says Daniel Kolber, president of Kolber Securities Corp., in Atlanta, who raised $90 million as executive vice-president at Air Atlanta. "But if you're resourceful and willing to do the legwork, you don't need them," at least not when you're looking for modest sums of, say, $50,000 to $2 million.

Kolber -- who has raised capital for everything from oil-and-gas partnerships to real estate deals to start-ups -- says public records of real estate purchases and other investments can prove invaluable for leads. For one thing, they'll identify people who have have "the assets and the inclination." Where can you find the appropriate records? That depends on where you live. In most states, real estate records are kept at the local registry of deeds. For the names and addresses of limited partners, you may have to visit the secretary of state's office or a county recorder's office. If you're looking for investors in a public partnership, you generally have to check the back pages of prospectuses.

Once you've lined up your investors, all you need is a good lawyer to structure the deal.