Archive for the ‘Business Grants’ Category
Myths of Owning Your Own Business
Many entrepreneurs plan for years before finally starting a small business. The planning years are often full of dreams of being the boss and the belief that hard work and a good idea is all that is required for success. Many of those same entrepreneurs find that they were harboring some common myths about owning a business. Encounters with reality can send new business owners back to the drawing board after much wasted effort. Indentifying the myths before you get started planning and launching your business can prepare you to make sound decisions based on facts.
Government Grants and Loans
One of the most common myths is that there is a lot of money available to small business owners in the form of government grants and loans. The federal government does not make loans to businesses. State and local offices of the U.S. Small Business Administration, or SBA, operate loan programs in partnership with various lenders, but the SBA does not make loans or provide grants to small businesses. Some state or local government agencies provide grants to targeted groups, such as minorities or the disabled, nonprofit organizations, educational businesses and tourism or others businesses that benefit the community.
More Free Time
Being a successful business owner requires accepting that managing your business is a lifestyle and not a 9-to-5 job, according to small business owner Patricia Simone, writing online for Entrepreneur. The myth is that owning your own business means you will have more free time and have more control over your time. The fact is that long after everyone has gone home, small business owners are finishing up tasks, packing up work to take home and putting out fires only they can handle. According to Simone, small business owners report having less free time and juggling more demands on the little time available.
To read more go to the Houston Chronicle.
Would You Like A Business Loan With Your Caramel Macchiato?
No, this is not a loan to cover the cost of your coffee.
Starbucks is seeding a new business loan fund with $5 million. Starbuck’s customers can also donate to the program.
Starbucks, through this new business loan program called “Create Jobs For USA”, in conjunction with the Opportunity Finance Network® (OFN);
“will provide loans to underserved community businesses.”
In fact, Starbucks thinks that for every $5 in donations, the fund will leverage some 700% or $35 of financial support to these businesses.
According to CEO Howard Schultz, “We’ve got to thaw the channels of credit so that community businesses can start hiring again.”
To read more about how to help your local community grow new businesses go to My Take On…
Through grants, small tech firms put government tax dollars to work
Great grant programs for small business that can provide specific research and products that the Federal government wants and needs.
Also, know that if there is not a specific grants listed for what your company wants to research or commercialize, you can always send, to the appropriate department, a white paper explaining your goals and see if that department will put that grant request out in their next budget.
These grants are for existing businesses looking to further develop their current technologies (e.g. expand into new markets) or expand their product offers as well as start-up businesses who meet the grant’s criteria.
Read the Los Angels Times article here.
For-Profit Business Grant Listing
We hear about grants all the time, on TV, on the Web and in our email. But, if you have ever looked into those so-called grant opportunities, you find out that most just want to sell you something (like a grant list) that does not fit your situation (business) or never will work for you.
In researching real, true business grant opportunities, I came across this business grant listings that actually has gone out and found true business grants.
This list outlines several grants that are only for for-profit businesses. The lists provides who is providing the grant, the name of the grant program, some basic information about the grant like the grant amount, the criteria and its deadline and a link to where your business can apply.
Further, this list is updated weekly – removing those that have expired and adding new ones that they find.
There is no cost or fees to access this list – which is refreshing.
To see this listing of true for-profit business grants:
