How should a small business go about getting a business grant or loan?

Answer 1

Contact the Small Business Administration (SBA)

I think their web address is sba.gov

You can google them to find it.

Answer 2

Check with imisidro about grants -- she's the #1 Answerer in the Business & Finance section and has great information about grants.

The business of lending is a dense one and should be researched properly. To get started, I suggest contacting the Small Business Administration (SBA). Entrepreneur also offers a great site dedicated to money & finance – see below for both.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can about the process. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* How to Get a Small Business Loan: A Banker Shows You Exactly What to Do to Get a Loan (Small Business Series, No 1) by Bryan E. Milling
* The SBA Loan Book: Get A Small Business Loan--even With Poor Credit, Weak Collateral, And No Experience by Charles H. Green
* The Insider's Guide to Small Business Loans by Dan M. Koehler

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 3

Research other businesses similar to the one you wish to start and make sure that you have enough capital to make the project interesting for the lender. If its not a win/win, they won't be interested.

Create a business plan, detailing goals and expectations for your business, include pro-forma balance sheet and income/overhead projections for the business for at least the first two years.

Contact the SBA to find a preferred lender in your area, then submit the plan to the lender, along with detailed financial statements and professional resume's for all principals. Make an appointment with one of their decision-makers. Be prepared to sell the business idea and yourself as its owner. Show them how you can be one of the 20% of the small businesses that make it past two years. Make them believe that your's will not one of the 80% that fail.

Most of all, educate yourself on the type of business you wish to start, from the operational through the administrative and financial aspects. Be prepared to answer any questions they might have.

Answer 4

First of all, forget grants. They are not given to businesses. Ever.

As to loans, check with your bank. And don't bother the Small Business Administration until your bank turns you down; the SBA deals strictly with businesses unable to find financing elsewhere.

Answer 5

I suggest you go to Small Business Administration (SBA) Financing Center website http://www.sba.gov/financing to learn how to get a government-guaranteed loan for your small business

Start with the following pages:

CREDIT FACTORS A POTENTIAL BORROWER SHOULD KNOW http://www.sba.gov/financing/preparation/qualify.html
What Will I Need to be Considered for SBA Loan Assistance? http://www.sba.gov/financing/preparation/requirements.html

Forget about grants. It is hard to find grants to start a business. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for a for-profit business. And yes, grants mean PAPERWORK - lots and lots of it, that is why a cottage industry of grant writers was born.

Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov - these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.

Even if you buy books on "how to get grants" or list that supposedly has information on grants -- all of them are mere rehash of what CFDA has, albeit packaged differently. But still the info is the same - hardly any grants for starting a for profit business.

Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html...

"The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments."

Here is a listing of federal grants for small businesses. See if there is any available for individuals for starting a business -- THERE'S NONE.
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.BROWSE_BENEF_RPT.show

Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT - Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program

Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women's Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women's business center that will train women entrepreneurs

For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center's Foundation Grants for Individuals Online. It's a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) but their opening blurb only says that the database is ideal for "students, artists, academic researchers, libraries and financial aid offices." Entrepreneurs are apparently not one of them, so I take it they also don't have listings of private foundations who give grants to would-be entrepreneurs.

Answer 6

You shouldn't you put yourself in a lot of risk if you take out a loan for a small biz. Is it worth losing your house and car for a failed biz?

Answer 7

You should get money from a venture capitalist.