How would I go about getting a grant to start my own business?

Question

I hand paint T-Shirts and I make quilts. I would like to have my own shop, I have even been thinking of opening a booth at the flea market. being of a minority and a women, I have heard that this should be an easy task to do, but how?
thanks in advance for any advice you can give on this matter.

Answer 1

Grants aren't hard to FIND, but they can be extremely difficult and time-consuming to GET.

There are essentially only 5 sources for grants. A little known fact it that you do NOT have to be a non-profit to get a grant, regardless of what others tell you ... I've helped for-profits apply for grants.

Most of the Federal grants are called Small Business Innovation Research grants. These are given primarily for some new innovation. You can find out what's available at:
http://www.sbirworld.com
There is also info on this site about how to apply.

Some cities offer grants to small businesses if they will locate in the downtown area, for the purposes of building up downtown traffic. Check with your City Hall for details.

There are some Federal governemnt grants for minority businesses. You can find info at:
http://www.mbda.gov

And, there are some minority organizations that provide grants ... La Raza and the NAACP sometimes do.
http://www.nclr.org
http://www.naacp.org

Private companies sometimes help fund start-ups, especially if they think they will see some benefit from it. These are very difficult to find, but can sometimes be the easiest to get.


Finally, private foundations offer grants. You can get a list of most US Foundations and private grant sources at http://www.foundations.org/grantmakers.html.

Answer 2

Grants are NEVER easy -- even in the remote chance you can get them the reporting requirements are cumbersome and will require most of your time

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 starting a for-profit business.

One possible exception is for companies developing or exporting agricultural goods, including food and forest product. Another exception could be the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs http://www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/sbir/index.html , which fund the research and development of technological innovation that meets specific government needs.

Your best bet actually will be from the states if they offer grant programs for women (or any other special interest groups -- minorities, women, disabled, veterans, etc). Or check with non profit organizations, particularly women organizations if they offer grants. Examples include

Iowa Women's Foundation http://www.iawf.org/
New Mexico Women's Foundation http://www.nmwf.org/guidelines.html

Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/mostrequesteditems/CON_FAQ2.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."

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.

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

I suggest you read the following books to get ideas of how to finance your business:

Financing Your Small Business http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1572484500/powerhomebizguid
Small Business Financing: How and Where To Get It http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0808007386/powerhomebizguid
Financing the Small Business: A Complete Guide to Obtaining Bank Loans and All Other Types of Financing http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580626815/powerhomebizguid
The SBA Loan Book http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/158062202X/powerhomebizguid
Angel Capital : How to Raise Early-Stage Private Equity Financing http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0471690635/powerhomebizguid
Financing Your Small Business (Barron's Business Library Series) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764124897/powerhomebizguid

For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center's Foundation Grants for Individuals Online http://gtionline.fdncenter.org . 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 3

You'll make more money and waste less time if you just do it yourself than to attempt to deal w/ the gov. for money.

just hit the shows, smile and if you have a good product, it will sell.