Working on the side: Angelenos chase their entrepreneurial dreams, part-time.

Some do it to generate a little extra income. Others see it as an entree into a new career.

Still others consider it more fun than work.

Southern Californians of all types and incomes are venturing into part-time businesses ranging from consulting to manufacturing to service.

Never mind that the ventures often eat into leisure and family time, not to mention personal finances. In a place like Los Angeles, where entrepreneurial stirrings run strong, there's no shortage of those seeking to start their own businesses - while keeping their day job.

Just don't expect it to be easy.

"(They) will have to work twice as hard," said Alberto Alvarado, director for the Los Angeles District of the Small Business Administration.

But with that hard work, Alvarado added, comes the security that a primary job is always on hand in case the start-up business fails.

So how to get started?

A first consideration for aspiring captains of cottage industry is to determine what you want out of the enterprise.

If it's a labor of love - such as selling crafts you would make anyway as a hobby - then the needs are relatively small.

But if you're planning the business as a dependable source of secondary income - or as a launching pad into full-time self-employment - you'll need to spend more time assessing your potential market and developing a solid business plan.

Harry Spitzer, who advises start-up businesses through the Los Angeles County chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives, counsels would-be business owners to thoroughly research their intended field of pursuit.

The best way to do that, he said, is to spend roughly half a year working parttime in that field. For example, hopeful cosmetics sellers might try their hand at tele-marketing before buying their first shipments at cost.

Scoping out a potential business venture should also include a survey of what successful competitors are doing and what their customers think they could be doing better.

"If you keep asking customers, they will eventually tell you what you need to do to be successful," said Thomas O'Malia, director of USC's Entrepreneur Program.

Others advise even the smallest parttime companies to get all necessary government approvals (including a city business license) and liability insurance.

A part-time caterer without liability insurance, for instance, could find himself for herself in a fix if customers should come down with food poisoning after a catered dinner.

Another important consideration is scheduling - especially when holding down a day job and having family commitments.

Kathleen Allen, a professor of entrepreneurship at USC, advises part-time business owners to develop - and then adhere to - a schedule that tries to balance a person's family and both jobs.

"You really have to become an expert at leading two lives," Allen said. "You should be able to manage your time so your business on the side doesn't become a chore."

Serious home-spun businesses might also need startup capital to get off the ground, and a good place to turn is a bank that provides loans underwritten by the SBA.

Last year, the SBA's Los Angeles district led the nation in underwriting, or guaranteeing, close to 1,900 loans totaling about $504 million.

Most banks without SBA affiliation will refuse loans to startups or even to existing businesses with less than three years in operation. The SBA affiliation provides a security blanket, however, since the agency agrees to pay 80 percent of any defaulted bank loan it underwrites.

SBA guidelines call for applicants to put up one-third of their own money toward the venture for loans over $100,000. But banks may insist that applicants put up their own money for anything below that amount - a likely scenario for a part-time business.

First State Bank of California in Santa Fe Springs, for example, requires applicants to put up one-third of the loan amount.

Getting a loan requires a "down payment" and a solid business plan, said Andy Weaver, First State's SBA specialist.

"Applicants need to be able to sit down with me and intelligently talk about what they want to do," he said.

Clearly, a loan is not for "labors of love," but for entrepreneurs who expect to generate substantial part-time income.

Of the 30 or so small business loan applications that cross his desk each month, Weaver said he approves just two or three.

Most requests are turned down, Weaver said, because applicants fail to perform the necessary leg work to craft a viable business plan for their ventures.

"The wrong answer to 'How much money do you think you need?' is not 'How much money can you give me,' "Weaver said. "You need to know the amount."

Other business experts agree that a well-researched, well-prepared business plan is essential for any startup - even a part-time venture.

O'Malia said that foremost in the business plan should be answers to the following questions: "Who are my customers, how am I going to get to those customers and how am I going to fulfill those customers' needs?"

For help starting out, would-be entrepreneurs can turn to SCORE, an SBA-sponsored group of about 60 former CEOs and other business people.

SCORE offers free business counseling every weekday from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at its Glendale office at 330 N. Brand Blvd., Suite 190. For more information, call (818) 552-3206.

"We're like Dutch uncles," joked Spitzer, a retired executive with the Southern California Broadcasters Association. "We tell guys what they want to know, and we'll tell them the truth. We won't hold back."

Another resource for would-be startups is the SBA's Business Information Center at 3600 Wilshire Blvd., phone (213) 251-7253.

Alvarado said the center is stocked with computers, software and data bases that among other things can crunch through marketing surveys and budgets for just about any business. He also said the center offers numerous reference guides on in-home enterprises.