iBank Matches Small Biz Owners, Lenders

To use these tools, businesses pay a one-time membership fee ranging from $50 to $300, depending on the amount of money requested. Lenders can list themselves for free but gain access to extra bells and whistles for a small fee.

Still, getting money these days is a tough proposition. Before the Bear Stearns meltdown earlier this year, about 81% of the 350,000 businesses in the iBank network were getting contacted by a funding source. Now, only about 41% have their phone ringing. In addition, there's more competition, with 10,000 new members jumping into the network each month. While the money is getting tighter for businesses, iBank's revenue is up.

So what can a business do to stand out and secure the needed capital? For starters, Markel says those with assets are in better shape than those without because they're able to offer them as collateral. Markel adds that the biggest mistake businesses make when seeking funding is overconfidence, and assuming they can go back to the same source of capital. Markel says to try to access every source possible to find the money your business is looking for.