Business grants are neither everywhere — nor nowhere. They are there. But it takes creativity and some bush beating to find them and claim them.
Where, oh where, has that business grant money gone? Everyone talks about business grants. Few seem able to actually find them.
Some, in fact, claim that business grants are everywhere; some claim they are as rare as a trout tooth. The truth, dear Watson, lies somewhere in between.
“Business grants are there for the asking!”
If you have done so much as a single search for “business grants”, you have most certainly discovered those web sites that proclaim, “They’re here — in my directory. Satisfaction guaranteed, m’am.”
Yeesh. I can hear the carnival hawker in the echo.
And it’s not just one site that makes such claims. No, many sites that make this claim. One gives your money back if you send in a reject letter from an agency you applied to; another says you are buying “soft goods” that can’t be returned. No matter. It’s all the same pitch.
“Good luck, Buddy. Business grants just aren’t there!”
When I found one site that claimed that business grants are a fantasy, it was actually a relief. Wow, an honest person.
Well, this person may have been honest, but she hasn’t done her homework.
“There are business grants to be had.” (This is my voice)
They are not growing on trees, but they are there. Consider, for instance, these scenarios:
Scenario No. 1 — A Local Need
An experienced pre-school teacher sees a tremendous need to provide pre-school care for children in a low income area so their parents can go to work in a new plant being built nearby. Where can she go to get a grant to start her business?
Answer: The U.S. Dept. of Education is a good bet. The local county or state government might have money available, too. Even the new company being built might chip in with space and supplies. (If the pre-schol expands, and becomes very successful, and even lucrative, it can still open more branches, franchise, or expand. In short, it, too, can still be profitable.)
Scenario No. 2 — A Scientific Need
A brilliant scientist wants to team up with a university, use their Ph.D. fellows to do research, and pin down the gene for one particular type of cancer. She has good credentials and high hopes. Where can she get a grant to start her company?
Answer: The U.S. National Science Foundation may indeed have something. (If the company proceeds to make this discovery, it is still able to sell stock, take in investors, or sell the patents. In short, it can still be profitable.)
Scenario No. 3 0– An Emergency Need
A second generation Indonesian entrepreneur sees the devastation in her homeland caused by the tsunami. With her business contacts and experience, she knows she can help re-build her country. Where does she go for a grant?
Answer: USAID probably has $20 million or so on hand for just such a project. In fact, as I write this, that is exactly the situation. (This is not a “profit making” venture. However, somewhere in the $20 million grant, she will of course pay herself, and will be able to lay a strong foundation for a future business.)
How Do I Find The Bushes To Beat?
Are these three examples just aberrations? Emphatically, NO — there are LOTS MORE where these came from. It’s all a matter of knowing where to look.
And it is a matter of being creative. Rarely can a person simply raise her hand, say, “Here I am, ready to take your money!” The bigger the grant, the more creative the approach needs to be, and the more experience the businessperson needs to have. But the money is there, waiting for creative, experienced entrepreneurs to claim it.
Your Pro: MaryAnn Shank has helped thousands of entrepreneurs find and tie down the right financing. Her site is based on her decades of experience. Her knowledge of business grants, and business plans for angel investors, for the SBA, and for alternative financing, is there for the taking.
Business Plan Master
Create stunning and successful business plans for business grants, SBA loans, angel investors and alternative financing.
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