Crystal Ball

Thinking about raising money, buying new equipment or expanding your work force in 2007? The new year is shaping up to be a relatively good time for these moves, say financial and management gurus.

Finding Funding: Despite political turmoil, high oil prices and rising interest rates, the financing arena is fairly strong. "Right now the economy is stable, companies are doing well and there are large pools of private capital that have not been fully employed," says Lawrence Gelburd, a lecturer at the Wharton School in Philadelphia. "So in a general sense, this is a good time to be raising money."

Personal funds and what Gelburd refers to as "friends, family and fools" funding remain the easiest sources to tap. But entrepreneurs are also finding angel investors and venture capitalists more accessible. "A lot of funds that were only funding software are more open to funding services and related companies," reports Sashi Reddi, 41, founder of AppLabs Technologies in Philadelphia, which recently raised $10 million in VC financing. "That's probably due to pressure from investors to put money that's been sitting on the sidelines to work."