Geoffrey is a keen dangerous sports enthusiast. He would like to set up in business as a sole trader organising dangerous sports events and activities. His business idea is that people would pay an annual subscription that would allow access to his website and a range of discounts on the fees for dangerous sports events. While he expects the idea to be a winner, because there are so many likeminded enthusiasts, he feels it likely that he will need some start-up finance to equip an office, install a couple of phone lines and pay for some help with administration.

He estimates that he will need about £10 000 to get things up and running before the subscriptions start to appear in large numbers.

Geoffrey has just left university with accumulated debts of around £8000 so he has no money to put into the business. His parents refuse to give him any money for the venture. He has come to you for advice on the best ways of financing the start-up.