Taking the plunge(pool is empty)

The current economic climate is so dry at this point that I cannot even accidentally bankrupt myself.
Yesterday I applied for an unsecured loan. I was declined. This, while not unexpected, is not indicative of my credit score. It's also not indicative of my current financial state, available credit, job history, health or any other possible factor that could be used in determining that my application contained some defect.
It is because no one is giving out loans.
Many people who tell you to just jump off the edge of the ship, the water's great, you can make it even in this climate are not taking this into account.
You should never, ever use your own cash as startup capital. If you succeed, great. But if you fail, you will have wasted the nest egg that you needed to survive while you plead for your old job back. Now, if you're a lawyer, or have independent income that's all well and good but most(99%) of us don't have that kind of resource available to us and can't count on anything but our wits. This leaves us to take out loans against our homes, personal loans and small business loans to get started. It's great if you can do it and it gives you the freedom to actually get your foot in the economy, creating an artifical cash flow until you gain momentum to really get started. You need this(you can't do everything on the cheap, just most things.) and mostly because the reason you are starting a business for yourself is that you aren't making enough money doing what you are doing.
Now, The Book says that you should start your own business even if you ARE happy with your current income level because you can free yourself from the actual responsibility of working for some jerk and making him money, instead of the other way around.
This leaves you with a few options. Since you can't walk into a Washington Mutual and ask for a loan anymore(don't walk into a WaMu for any reason anyway) you have to depend on other people who will give you money.
The problem with this is that these people are highly mobile and usually want to have a say in how you do business. Some of these people may be your mom. She always has suggestions.
Venture Capitalists, Grants, Relatives and Friends all will now be very interested in your day-to-day operations because your company is the now(hopefully) tangible representation of Their Money.
This defeats the purpose, really. To be honest, the point of quitting and starting your own company is to escape a boss, but you now have not only a boss who can fire you, but will invariably want reimbursement for every paycheck you have drawn. That's way worse than a regular job.

My advice? Wait. And Get Rich Slowly.