Small Business Start-Up Grants

As a freelance writer, I write wherever the work takes me. As a small business consultant, I help business owners make smart decisions that both maximize the value of their time, as well as increase the value of their business.  Grant writing for small business government grants is where these two roads intersect in a violent collision.

Need Someone To Write Grant Proposal To Start A Small Business

You see, there really are no small business grants, at least not the way most people think there are. As a business consultant this is the harsh reality that I must convey.  As a writer, people think that my words can alter reality.  I believe they can, but only in certain ways.

If you watch enough late night T.V. and you’ll see a guy in a green suit covered with question marks.  No, he isn’t the Riddler, he is an infomercial guy peddling the secret to millions of dollars in government grants that people just like you can qualify for everyday!

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are millions of dollars of government grants out there everyday, but they are not for the general public to use to start up a small business except in extremely limited circumstances.  I had to change my Guru.com profile to stop sending me project alerts for grant writing because I was starting to get tired of all the “projects” from people who wanted someone to write grant proposals to get them grants to start-up their small business. 

The truly uninformed think that anyone can get a grant for any kind of business, because after all, government likes small business, right?  The slightly more informed know that in order to get a business grant, you have to have specific features to qualify.  Unfortunately, most of these people just have a vague notion that you need to have a minority owner or do something educational.  While both of these factors are present in some government grant programs, they are never the only qualifications.

If you want to go the minority or woman owned business route, that does exist.  The only thing is that the business almost always has to be about helping other minorities or women, it almost always has to be a non-profit organization, and it almost always has to be an established organization with a proven track record.  The government doesn’t give people money to start up any business you want, just because you aren’t a white male.

Small Business Grant Reality

Before trying to venture the small business grant road, I humbly suggest you read these this information and then follow the link from their website to their suggested funding resources.  Keep in mind that these are from the official Small Business Administration website.  The SBA does not want your money.  Can you say that about the website that claims something different from these links?

http://www.sba.gov/services/financialassistance/index.html

SBA provides a number of financial assistance programs for small businesses including 7(a), 504 and disaster assistance loans. Within this section, we’ll review eligibility requirements, SBA’s loan programs, surety bonds and the role of SBA, equity capital topics, special purpose loans, SBA partner topics and 7(a) lender programs. Though the SBA does not provide grants to help you start a business, included is information on organizations and sites that can assist you in locating special purpose grants.