I am not a fan of pre-cuts although it seems a lot of quilters use them. If by 'reproductions' you mean civil war era fabrics, that may also limit your market, but since I prefer modern quilt designs and fabrics, I honestly don't know how big/robust the market is for those fabrics. Lack of cash flow is the reason 90% of small businesses fail, so I am a little concerned with your comment about tight finances. However if you start small and keep your expenses down so you can have a good mark-up on the items you sell, it will help. Lastly, I don't know what the requirements are for getting a loan, but please check out KIVA.org. It is a non-profit organization that makes micro-loans all over the world, including the United States. I am an active lender on KIVA to help women businesses, and lately I have seen several small business loan opportunities on the KIVA website for borrowers in the United States--start ups and established small businesses like beauty salons, website developers, T-shirt printing businesses, etc. You might qualify for a loan through them as they specialize in small loans to small businesses that can't otherwise get loans from regular sources like banks.
Good luck to you!