The life of an entrepreneur may not always be easy, but plenty of us small business owners wouldn't trade what we do for a living to return to dull lives spent under staid fluorescent lighting and a maze of grey corporate cubicles for almost anything in the world.

However, sometimes the price of living out your passion comes with the cost of a cash crunch during a downtime when sales from your company are sluggish. Or, perhaps your small business income is plodding along just fine, but you're in need of extra cash in order to grow your business at a faster pace.