All the great ideas and training in the world won’t help if you don’t have the cash to launch your business and support it through the lean years. If you can’t get a conventional loan, your business can starve.

That’s where the Small Business Administration (SBA) comes in. The SBA won’t lend you money directly or hand you a grant, but it will guarantee the biggest part of bank loans obtained through its authorized lenders.

SBA outlines how its funding programs work and details its various loan programs at www.sba.gov/financing. Basically, though, you apply for an SBA-guaranteed loan through one of its thousands of partnering financial institutions. The lender asks for SBA backing.

Under the agency’s most popular program, 7(a), it backstops 85 percent of loans up to $150,000, and 75 percent on larger loans. (SBA guarantees top out at $1 million.) And there are permutations on the basic program that make 7(a) loans even more advantageous.

If you don’t need much cash, an SBA Microloan may be just the ticket. Specifically targeting start-ups and young businesses, Microloans provide up to $35,000.

Certified Development Company (504) loans, on the other hand, provide growing businesses with money to buy land, buildings old or new, machinery and equipment.

When you’re in a seasonal crunch, you can also get a short-term loan or line of credit to carry you through.

Of course, the SBA isn’t a pushover. It wants to give you a chance to nurture your dream, but like any other lender (except maybe your mom), it wants proof that you’re credit-worthy and that your business plan makes sense.