Grants for Starting a Small Business

For the past few weeks I’ve been blogging about starting a business, selecting the right domain names and choosing a cool or catchy business name, so I thought today I would back it up further… to the beginning point for most entrepreneurs — money.  Some entrepreneurs fund their start-up business from a wide range of sources , savings, venture capital, or even a rich uncle.  Today, I want to focus on grants for starting a small business.  The article below discusses several great ways to procure the startup cost for your business, in particular the US Government, at Grants.gov.  It talks about the thousands of grant programs available that don’t need to be repaid and are quicker than going through a bank; even if you can find a bank who’s lending now a days. 

There are, of course, other programs available which can be found through the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance and the Small Business Investment Company which has invested in over 90,000 companies and awarded over 30 Billion dollars over its Fifty year run…two of these are Staples and Apple Computer.

Applying to these agencies requires time, patients and quite often a business plan, something I’ve discussed in an earlier blog. (Check it out here http://brandings.com/brand-blog/writing-a-business-plan).  One of the more humorous parts of the article states, if you are “wondering where you will find the time to spend researching and putting together a comprehensive business plan, or if this sounds like a whole lot of work, you may want to consider a small online business,” I say if you can’t invest the time for this, maybe a small business is not for you! 

I hope this article helps you find the funding for your business and please post any questions or comments you may have.  Oh, once you find the funding please call a Brandings Client Service Team member today at 1-800-852-8900 (international callers 1-310-246-5100) or simply click here to contact our office via e-mail: info@brandings.com

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Grants for Starting a Small Business – 4 Places to Begin Your Search

If you are planning on starting a small business and want to find funding to help there are many programs available that can assist you financially. Grants are a great way to fund a new business because they are easier to qualify for than traditional bank loans and they do not need to be repaid. Here are four places to start your search for grants for starting a small business.

Grants.gov is a website where you can find federal grants for starting a small business and apply for them. This site provides access to all of the grants available through the 26 federal grant-making agencies. They have over 1000 grant programs available and award approximately 500 billion annually.

Another place to check for access to grants for starting a small business is the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) website. Here you will find a list of all federal programs available, financial and non financial assistance programs. They aim to help you identify what programs fit your specific needs and help to provide communication between the Federal Government and Local Governments.

Grants for starting a small business can be found at the Small Business Investment Company. They embody a partnership between the Federal Government and private investors. Since their inception in 1958 they have awarded over 30 billion in investments to over 90,000 businesses. An interesting bit of information is that Staples and Apple Computer got their start up money from this company.

Another company to look into for grants for staring a small business is the Small Business Administration. This organization not only provides funding but counsels, assists and protects the interests of small business. This is all in an attempt to protect free competitive enterprise and maintain and reinforce the economy as a whole. They partner with public and private organizations to help you start and grow your business.

Grants for starting a small business are not hard to come by. The problem is in the preparation. You will need to be sure that you have a comprehensive business plan completed before applying. A review committee will want to see that you have researched and put in place a plan for long term profitability and marketability. You must know your market, know your competition and most of all, know how you will survive once you are up and running. This will require a great deal of study and more than likely, some professional advice.

This all takes time, research and more time. If you want to start your own small business but are wondering where you will find the time to spend researching and putting together a comprehensive business plan, or if this sounds like a whole lot of work, you may want to consider a small online business. Online businesses have very small start up costs that you can usually fund yourself. They also do not require ongoing costs such as wages, supplies and rent.