Let me clear the air for you, most US government departments like the Deptt of Commerce, do not provide grants for small businesses.Most of the grants you would find will be through the state government organizations and they also tie it up to a specific objective they are pursuing like the minority uplifment or specific fields like cancer research or education or even more specific like aglicultural communities etc.

This then begets the question that whether grants for small business owner like you are really worth pursuing.On an average it may take upto two weeks of search for you to find a specific grant. Finding is always not enough , you need to meet the spcific eligibility criteria for the grant like experience, sex, community etc. Now you stop and think again if you need to spend your time going through the application process.Think about the process and ask your a few probing questions because at the start up stage for you time is money.

Will you be able to spare time for searching the grant that meets your requirment? Weeks can go by without you finding a grant that fite the bill.

Do you have the money or rather would like to spend the money to hire a consultant or a grant writer?You can spend this money in marketing, promotion or simply put it in researching your market.

Think whether you really need the money at this stage of the business or you could live without it for the initial year or two ?

There are a number of resources there to help you find the right grant like the Foundation center or the Grant.gov or even the small business administration website.Browse through them and you will be able to zero in on a few possibilities.

Some tips will come in handy for applying the grant, which means you can save some time and reduce the odss of rejection.

1) Accuracy and transparency is one of the foremost requirement when writing a grant application.

2) Make sure you know everything about the deaprtment you are applying to, in turn it will help you understand the constraints and work those in your favor.

3) Use consultants and experts if needed. Also, use a consultant for preparing a well laid out business plan.

If you have already decided that grants for small business outweigh the demands on your time, then make sure that you are diligent and thorough coupled with lots of patience and persistence.

The unique thing about grants is that,you are not required to pay the grants back which is in stark contrast to the loans which need to be paid back.Not having an additional burden of paying back helps in the inital years of the business which is getting off it’s feet. The other option is get equity partners into you business and hence get the funding. Now I am sure you would love it to have the business all by yourself and the event of the business running successfully you could sell equity at a late stage to get more money and also many more people as well as as outsiders would be willing to invest in it. Also, the other issue in the initial years is that mostly family members is what you rely on and god forbid if you do not have understanding family members to back you in your your dream venture with money then the only option for you is to rely on grants for small business.

The next question is from where would you get the grants for small business ? The options include grants from local, state or federal governments and several private organizations who promote enterpreneurship. Well, easy money such as grants do not come easily namely because of two reasons. Firstly, it is tough to find them and secondly, it is even tougher to geth them. You need to fill out a plethora of forms and several hurdles to cross after that to lay your hands on a grant.As I told you earlier the grants do not need to be paid back so there you are correct in assuming that competition would to get them would be tough. Persistence and patience pays in this aspect.

Filling out forms and getting through the initial hurdles is what enterpreneurs applying to get grant should be ready to do. That said is it not enterpreneurs forte to come over obstacles and be patient with an eye on the final outcome.You need to be one up on your competition anyways and the business of securing a grant is no different.

Did I scare you already ? If yes, then you need to evaluate your mental toughness ! There are plenty of resources available online that can help you secure a grant for small business. A prime example being the Grant.gov is a valuable resource which spews out of thousands and thousands of federal grants. Find a grant that is applicable to you .
Another resource that is helpful is The Foundation Center , though a private organization it has all the information assimilated in one place for all your grants related needs.

Seraching for the sources of funding is by no means an easy task but make sure that your search starts from the government grants and you should put in every effort to secure a grant for your business. Best of Luck !

Inadequate money causes many start small businesses to go belly up as they do not have enough cash to meet the cash needs.The business survival is threatened because of the lack of cash even though you may have all the other posssible things like an amazing product or well an idea that can potentially generate millions.

As a small business owner you have several options available to you for financing which can come in handy during various stages of the business.

Grants For Small Business – Grants are avilable for small businesses from the state, federal or local government organization however they are hard to come by and have stringent eligibility criteria.The best thing about these grants is that there is no repayment of these grants. The sectors like Health Care Employment

Personal Finances – This method is definitely for some short term requirements and to tide over the initial costs but it is not suitable for the long term costs as well as for any sort equipment or capital expenditures.

Debt Financing – Banks -  The Most easily avilable source of debt finnacing is banks. You will need a collateral or an asset to secure a loan such as an equipment, inventory or accounts receivable.The loan is available for a specific purpose and is repayable over a period of years.

Debt Financing -  SBA – Another option within debt financing is securing an SBA loan. The Small Business Adminsitration does not fund the loan but yes provides a gurantee to the loans mamde by the banks and other financial institutions. The SBa has variety of loan guarantee programs available and they also offer micro loans.

Some other types of debt finacing options available are leasing,trade credit,credit cards,community programs,micro loan opportunities and other private lending organization.

Equity Financing – This means that you exchange a part of the company in lieu of capital.

The two main options available under this are the Stock Offerings. In Stock offerings you can garner huge capital inflows but before doing that you will have to make sure that you are in complianvce with regulatory norms and tax issues. It can time consuming and will require experts to go for stock offerings.

The other option is venture capital funding whereby it is the business of few companies to invest in comapnies that show potential and they pick up an equity stake in your business and will have the say in running of the company.

Before making any decision on which route to go make sure that you have explored all the alterNatives especiall the grants for small business as that is essentially the most owner friendly option. Also explore another route to bring recoginition to your business via internet ads and that will mean that you can then get private equity or venture capitalists interested.