By Anthony Burke Boylan -- Word is the economy is poised to recover, but that doesn’t mean things are going to get easy.

Nobody has a precise roadmap to navigate the new environment, but it’s agreed that business financing and capital raising are going to continue to be a challenge, even as we resume a path to normal credit standards.

While banks are expected to revisit the novel concept of lending money once again, their standards still will be squeaky tight, requiring pristine balance sheets, superb credit, a model business plan, and key advisors, among other requirements.

Existing businesses and start-ups will have to manage more relationships and more variables in securing any amount of money.

The Federal Reserve Board put out relatively good news this week indicative of the modest times in which we live. (Fed Survey) A survey released Aug. 17 showed the number of banks tightening credit standards is beginning to ease since the last survey in April.

Of 55 banks surveyed, 19 reported they had tightened credit standards. The good news is that 36 banks had not tightened standards, a remarkable development considering the last time more banks reported no change than tightening was at the end of 2006.

Banks expect their standards to remain this tight or tighter until the second half of 2010. For non-prime households and firms below investment grade, the wait will continue for the foreseeable future.

The hidden gem: One bank reported relaxing standards. (Alas, the July 2009 Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices did not name this wanton institution.)

That’s right; in this climate one bank relaxing standards is seen as good news. Here is what a BusinessWeek blog, “The New Entrepreneur,’’ had to say about it.

“This survey asks about conditions over the last three months, so when a bank reports that it has tightened credit, that means raising standards from what they were in April 2009. By that point banks already had dramatically curtailed lending, pulling back throughout 2008. “ (BusinessWeek blog)

What does that mean for business? It means more work, more preparation and the help of more advisors to get the financing you would have had lenders tripping over themselves to give you in the past.

It means either bypassing traditional bank financing or supplementing it with new-era, non-traditional bank investors such as private equity, hedge funds and other options. Most of all, it means it’s not a time to go it alone.

“More than ever, companies need a comprehensive strategy to deal with banks, or to find alternative capital sources,’’ said Jacob Eisen, president of Capital Insight Partners. “They need expertise to communicate across a wide spectrum of capital resources.’’

As the economy struggles back to its feet companies across the board – including the banks themselves – will need help in working with their partners, investors and overseers.

These are interesting times in that many banks are in need of capital just as much as the businesses they traditionally serve.

Anthony Burke Boylan, a financial journalist and media consultant, is an advisor to Capital Insight Partners. Reach him at tboylan@capitalinsight.com.