Small Business Financing

Hi,
I am writing a free small business guide to help new business owners with the financing process. Please help me gather some information. Any help would be great. Below are some examples of what I am looking for, but feel free to talk about things related to small business finance.

(1) What are some small business financing mistakes that you personally experienced?

(2) What online resources/websites provided information that really helped finance your business? What are some websites that did not help as much?
What are your thoughts on the SBA?

(3) What are some of the best ways to finance a business when loans are not an opinion? ( Ex. bad credit scores, recent startups, or poor revenue)
How did you overcome?

(3) What are some experiences with borrowing from friends? Did you use a promissory note? why or why not?

(4) What was your experiences with merchant cash advance?

(5) what are some specific advice for certain types of business ( Ex. restaurant, hair salon, bars, consulting, etc. )