in developing countries. The ideal candidate for assistance is an American company that enters into partnership with a well-established foreign business. To learn more about this agency, call 202-336-8799.     7. Insurance Companies and Pension Funds pension funds. Normally, neither is a viable lending source for small businesses. Some insurance companies have a small fund they can invest in businesses, especially if you can offer a combination of loans and investments. However, most small businesses will find money from less restrictive sources long before they make an application to an insurance company.     8. Advertising Your Project and Selling Stock to the General Public     Advertising and selling corporate stock to the general public through a public offering is very different from selling stock to your friends, relatives and business acquaintances. Following any of these procedures requires a knowledgeable attorney-dont try it without help. It can be an expensive, time-consuming process that can easily cost $200,000 in attorney fees, accountant fees and printing expenses just to meet government filing costs. If there is an underwriter (an investment company that guarantees to buy the stock at a discount), the costs are even higher.     However, the federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has promulgated a simplified Form S-18 to allow smaller businesses access to public capital markets. Form S-18 is generally available to companies offering up to $7,500,000 worth of shares to the public for cash. Also, SEC Regulation A is available to corporations making public offerings of up to $1,500,000. Note that even these less-cumbersome public offering procedures require considerable time and money to implement.     In addition, simpler and inexpensive "limited offering" procedures are contained in federal and state securities laws (briefly discussed in Section B2). SEC Regulation D contains three rules which simply require the filing of a Notice of Sales form with the SEC, instead of the more costly registration procedure. While two of these rules include a ceiling on the total value of the securities that may be sold ($500,000 and $5,000,000), one rule does not impose any upper limit on sales. Sales of securities under Regulation D may be made to an unlimited number of people defined as accredited investors (defined to include principals of the business, such as directors, executive officers and general partners, as well as outside investors who meet certain minimum investment, net worth or individual net income requirements) and to 35 or fewer persons who are non- accredited investors.     A number of states have adopted the Uniform Limited Offering Exemption (ULOE) in order to make it easier for entrepreneurs to raise money under Regulation D. With this program, the states that adopt ULOE consider that the state regulations are met when an offering meets federal Regulation D requirements. G. Conclusion     There you have it-the primary and some secondary sources of finding money to start your business. If you really believe in your idea, complete the business plan outlined in the rest of this book. Then contact all the sources listed above. If you have a good plan and refuse to take "no" for an answer, you will find the money you need. The Chinese say the longest journey begins with a single step. Lets get started. Chapter 5: Your Resume and Financial Statement     Overview