How To Finance Your New Small or Home Business
Grants - Government Funding For Eligible Businesses
Government Grants for Those Eligible Are An Excellent Means To Finance Your Business
 You've likely been enticed by the headlines on late night TV imploring you to take advantage of all that "free money" the government is giving away in the form of grants.
Almost anyone can get these funds, and your worries are over, right? Wrong.
While there are grants available from the government, they are usually for specific programs and research projects.
There are no grants available from the SBA for small businesses per se, though there are some for specific research projects. See their website for details.
Many states offer some grants to small business, but this is a state by state proposition, and varies by the region and the current economic climate of the state in question.
These grants are usually connected with education or medicine, and have quite specific criteria for application.
You can spend a great deal of time researching and applying for grants, and the reality is that unless your business is involved in an area that is closely related to the grant, the chances are slim you'll be awarded.
If you want to try and see if there are any applicable grants that may be right for your business you should look into the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CDFA).
They compile lists of federal grants that are available and list them for free. (No need to buy that late night infomercial catalog!)
Should you decide to apply for a grant, things you should know about the process include:
- It's lengthy, and complicated.
- It will divert time away from your primary business.
- You need to either learn the process or assign someone dedicated to this task.
- It's not much different from applying for a loan.
While it may appear as though millions are being tossed around every day to almost anyone, the reality is that for a small business person in search of startup capital, grants are tricky at best. Give this one some thought before venturing in too deep.
What's Next
Next In This Guide
Part 16:
 Assets For Cash - How Can You Tap In? - Find out what assets you may already have that could be a source of cash for your business.
Previous In This guide
Part 14:
 Partners - A Source of Help And Business Financing - Taking On Business Partners Is A Way To Get Financing, Share The Workload And Responsibly. But There Drawbacks To Taking On Partners.
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