Granting Your Wishes
Award money can help finance your start-up, but be careful in taking its availability for granted.
Q: Where can I find reliable
grant sources for starting my own homebased IT consulting business,
and what are my chances of receiving funding from them?
Name withheld
A: Grants for starting a
business are few and far between. A search through The Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance (www.cfda.gov) will lead you to two types of grants:
one for rural businesses and one for minority business enterprises.
However, even for these, there are qualifiers.
Eligible applicants for the rural money are public entities and
nonprofit corporations that may in turn award money to the
residents they serve. They have a strong emphasis on helping
existing businesses grow. Similarly, the grants for minority
enterprises are awarded only to established businesses and
community organizations.
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Some individuals may find grant money for starting a business
from vocational rehabilitation funds administered by state agencies
serving the disabled. One way to find out if your state will do
this is to contact your state representative or senator.
From time to time, private grant money is given to very small
businesses. For example, The Amber Foundation (www.womensnet.net)
favors businesses already underway, although this foundation has
not awarded grants in two years.
As you can see, grants are neither readily available nor easy to
get. Thus, most people start a business by bootstrapping,
tightening their living expenses, turning to savings, lining up
business in advance or cajoling loans from family and friends. If
you qualify, you can apply for a federal microloan administered
through private organizations in various communities. Visit
www.sbaonline.sba.gov/financing/microparticipants.html
for more information.
Paul and Sarah Edwards' most recent book is The
Entrepreneurial Parent. Send them your start-up business
questions at www.workingfromhome.com or in care of
Entrepreneur.