How do I start a successful business? And what do banks look for to approve business loans?

They'll want a good business plan and collateral.

Credit is not being extended at this time, so your best bet is to borrow from family and friends and accept that YOU won't get a paycheck for 2 years.

As Sully stated, you first need a business plan. You need to outline what you want to do and how you expect to do it. You need to determine how much money you can afford to invest and how much of it you will need to sell to make a profit to cover expenses, reinvestment, insurance and salary. Venture capital is hard to come by, but not impossible if you have a skill or business idea that looks like it can make some money. What kind of business are you thinking of?

Sully is correct, unfortunately. My request for a business loan was turned down by 4 banks over the summer because they don't want to take chances with startups now.

I agree with the other posts.

And you should probably plan on not taking a paycheck for AT LEAST 2 years.

Running a successful business us hard. Make sure you know what you are getting into. The best way to start into something new is to be able to start it while KEEPING your current job. And then only drop the paying position once you are able to count on income from the new business (this can take several years).