Get Government Grants For Women

If you have been researching what is available in the way of Government grants for women starting a business over the last few years, the chances are you will have come across some fancy seminars promising you great information. The testimonials sound great and the thought of free money from Government, pulls in entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs, but this free money does not exist. If you listen carefully to the many testimonials you will not hear how the money was received. Most times this will have been via small business loans for women – a loan hardly being free money.

Seminars, software, books and all the other ways people are trying to relieve you of your money only contain information that is freely available online or in a public library.

Common sense should tell you that only perhaps close family will give you free money with no strings attached for you to begin your dream and start a for-profit business. If the Government did it, they would soon run out of money and be lynched by the taxpayers. So if you are looking for Government grants for women starting a small business that will be run for-profit you might as well stop now and move onto looking for loans. If you are wanting to run a non-profit organization that will benefit the public or local community you will have more luck.

Of course there is always a grain of truth to the ‘get free Government grants’ claim.

There are a few highly specific grants for women starting a business available which come with many restrictions. An example would be where the small business agrees to set up in a poor area to provide work for the local community.  Other opportunities arise where small businesses are trying to research promising new technologies. These are again very restrictive and tend to only be obtained by the technology geniuses amongst us. Finally in the unlikely event that your ‘business’ is a non-profit organization, then there may be some point to looking for a grant. Other than those, there are no Government grants for starting a business.

Most new businesses can be started with not too much money, say $5,000. Borrow from relatives or use your savings. You could even consider Government loans for women or other financial resources but don’t get caught up chasing the rainbow – concentrate on being an entrepreneur.

If on the other hand you have an established business there are some specialized Government grants available. If you search on the Government Grants website you will find the options available. If you find one of interest make sure you are eligible to apply from the details given before you waste your time filling in the application form.

Even when you do find a suitable Government business grant, it is not just a question of writing a letter and waiting for the check to come in the post. There will be many other people competing for the same grant, so you will have to win by being more suitable than the others. To do this you will need a well written proposal that covers what you hope to achieve with the money as well as a plan and a budget for how it will be spent.

If you are the successful recipient of the grant, the work may not end there as you may be required to send in details of your progress periodically to the funding agency. If you do not think you are capable of going through this process alone, there are professionals out there who specialize in getting Government grants for women starting a business who can guide you.

Be Sociable, Share!

•