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Small Business Grants :
Introduction
If you’ve been looking to open your very own business, you aren’t
alone. Every year an increasing amount of people decide to stop
working in order to make themselves rich by starting their own
businesses. For most of these people, obtaining the start-up
capital that is required is harder than one might think.
Small business grants are often a very debated topic with new
business people with a small amount of money and little access to
any other capital. We have all seen the many media claims about
"Free Government Grant for Small Business." It seems all too easy
to obtain these days.
Obviously, if it was really as easy as that, all you would have to
do is locate a government small business grant to apply for, submit
your application, and before you knew it you would have sufficient
amount of money to grow your business.
Most U.S. government departments, such as the Department of
Commerce, don’t provide any grants for help in starting a small
business. Grant programs are available through state programs as
well as many other groups. The grant programs are often awarded to
people in fields such as medicine or education, and they all have
most particular eligibility criteria.
The process of finding a small business grant program to apply for
and reviewing the requirements to getting can be quite time
consuming. After carrying out a two-week search for a medical
publisher, it was found that the requirements to be very specific
were difficult to meet.
Eligibility can be based on your location, and your business’ sales
revenue to the application date, years in business, sex, race, and
even for the purpose of your funding. If your business sets out on
a small business grant seeking mission there are a few questions
that you will have to answer. These are:
1. Do you have enough time and sufficient resources so that you
can search for a small business grant program and apply for it?
2. Can you afford to hire a consultant if you are not sure of how
to do it, or can you learn the grant application process on your
own?
3. Does your business need enough money right now for expansion or
can you wait up to a year?
4. If you do decide to request a grant, will it hurt your business
because it will be taking away time from selling and marketing?
If you would like to take a look at the small business grants which
are available, the best place to begin is the Catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance (CFDA). The CFDA lists thousands of grants from
all government agencies at no cost. Several business grants will be
geared towards minority business development or rural business
opportunity grants. Don’t overlook the other assistance programs
available such as equipment and training.
More about your
free business grant
guide! | |
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