When I was in school I set up a gardening business which kept me in beers at the weekends and music gear. I printed up the flyers myself on a photocopier and then cherrypicked the addresses with nasty looking gardens and of course, friends of the extended familly. Then when I went to college I got a student loan for a computer "to help me though the course" which I then invested in the stock market (seriously!). I with penny stocks that were actually getting a return (1 cent today, 1.5 cents next week, then back to 1 cent the week after and so on - so it was a case of buying and selling the same stocks over my entire time in college). I made about 10 grand from the initial loan of 1K over my 4 years in college which, I put to good use chasing women & drinkin beer... I think I even bought a guitar with it too :D

One serious piece of advice though, DON'T buy gear with anyone else. It may seem like a great idea now but bands come and go as do friends, and the last thing you want is to be gearless because you fall out with a friend who decides to keep the equipment. Been there had that done to me!

I'm afraid you're going to have to do it the old fashioned way... give up your weekend mornings and afternoons and work very hard! (unless of course you can get a large student loan and have an interest in the stock maket... :p )