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Have you been watching the business news?  Companies of all sizes have lots and lots of cash in their coffers.  Millions.  Sometimes billions.  They just aren't spending it.  No kidding, this is real.

Companies have all of this cash because they are scared of the economy. They don't know if they will have paying customers in six months or a year, so they are stock piling their resources now.

This is an amazing opportunity for both new and growing businesses.  Instead of fighting for venture capital or angel investment, along with everyone else, take a stronger tack:  go after corporate partnerships.

Approach BigCo with a plan to make their business better, more competitive, more user-friendly, more customer-oriented.  Help to set their company apart as the true leader in the industry, whatever that industry happens to be.  That is the one approach that will capture their attention, because, as the top company in their field, they will have the pick of the litter for customers -- paying customers.

Position your company as a "value added" component to their business.

Then, with what to them will be a relatively modest investment, your company can get the funding it needs to do whatever it needs.

Funds aren't going to go to "my company."  Funds will go to "our edge, our development, our success."  Show how willing you are to be a partner to BigCo, and you just may end up as one.

Whether your market area includes Mexico/Canada or Ethiopia, there are two sites that can get you headed in the right direction -- one from the US Library of Congress and the other from the BBC. Both are FREE to everyone.

SITE: Portals to the World

The links are selected by area specialists assigned to the various regional divisions at the U.S. Library of Congress. .

Not only are the links chosen by objective experts, but each includes a short annotation, providing useful information on the scope of the resource. For instance, under "Culture" for Lebanon, the Daily Star site is described as "the most important English language daily newspaper in Lebanon, covers political, business and cultural news and events." Resources linked to from the country pages include Business/Commerce/Economy, Culture, Education, Embassies, Health, History, Media and Communications, National Security, Science and Technology, Search Engines, and others. Each resource category is clearly described, and its scope is defined.

SITE: Country Profiles

On this site, users can click on a nation or region and get a succinct, substantive description of the history, politics, and economic background of the selected country. Also included are basic statistics, profiles of governmental leaders, and other relevant data.

This is an excellent source for obtaining authoritative and credible information about a country. Not only is a highly readable narrative of the country provided, but links to recent news and resources and audio and video clips from the BBC news organization's own collection of information are also provided. The site appears to be updated in a timely manner too-we looked up Lebanon , and the entry included a discussion on the current escalation of violence between Israelis and Hezbollah.

Los Angeles-based Provenance Ventures has launched an early-stage venture capital firm, focused on social technologies. The firm has closed a small, $10M fund which it will invest in media and communications firms. The firm said that it plans to make 20 to 40 investments, ranging from $250,000 to $500,000 per company.

An organizer of a new angel investor group said that as many as three startups could attract capital from the Mid-America Angels before the end of the year.  Kansas is on its way!

Nationally, angels pumped $23 billion into 49,500 companies last year.

Women business owners have three top goals: to enjoy their daily work, increase profitability, and have the freedom to put into practice their own approach to work. Three quarters (75%) of women attributed importance to having greater flexibility for personal and family life, fulfilling a personal vision, and having more satisfying work relationships.

Sean Moshir of Patchlink Corp. in Phoenix is heading up a private equity firm, Moshir Venture Partners, that will provide seed-stage capital for technology startups with an initial focus on wireless/mobile, online media and entertainment broadcasting. Funding typically will be between $250,000 to $1 million, a range not served by the traditional venture capital community, Moshir said. The focus will be on Arizona companies as well as those outside the state.

The Florida Venture Capital Conference is looking for 25 high-growth companies to pitch their wares to more than 185 venture firm at its 16th annual event.  The conference will be Feb. 6-7, 2007, in Boca Raton.  Application deadline is Oct. 16, 2006.

Healthcare organizations such as Kaiser Permanente ($50 million fund), United Health Group and Ascension Health are active venture capital investors.  Their key to success:  keep within the niche they know.  Money is there for those who qualify.

If you have not read Guy Kawasaki's great article on the top ten lies that venture capitalists tell, do it now.  Don't pass GO, just read it.  No matter what kind of funding you may be looking for, this article hits the nail on the head -- 10 times!