Grants, Working from Home, NO GIMMICKS

The only way I know of to secure grants is to become a non-profit. That does not mean you do not make money, there are just some extra rules and regulations. There are quite a few goverment grants for non-profits that help children, and the elderly and disabled. The cost to set up a non-profit is about $2,000.00 I think, but it is well worth it in the long run. There are also many corporations that give grantsw to local businesses.
If you need any more info. you can email me at ____@____.com.
T.

Hi S.,

I completely understand the desire to work from home to spend more time with your kids... I have had such a terrible time leaving my daughter to return to work (she is 8mo old).

I don't know that much about grants, but there is a government website http://www.grants.gov/ that you might find helpful. I know that minority and women-owned businesses are eligible for financial assistance that may not be available to everyone. However, just a word of caution, if the "grant" is more of an investment in your business (such as from a capital investment firm or the like), then there may be strings attached leaving the "grantor" to have rights over certain aspects of your company. It would be worthwhile to get an attorny to look over any contract that is involved with any grant or investment money.

Another avenue might be to go after a loan instead of a grant. For that you might check out the Small Business Administration http://www.sba.gov/ - this is another government agency set up to support small businesses. Specifically, their section on financing http://www.sba.gov/financing/index.html might be helpful. They have a wealth of other information, too. They have a free educational section http://www.sba.gov/training/courses.html that has online courses about startup, financing, taxes, etc. Anyway, I think it's a good source of information other than just financial assistance.

I wouldn't say that there are no true grants, but there are very few and it is very difficult to get them (unless, apparently, you are doing some absurd study about fast food being fattening or some other nonsense that we already know... but, wait, that's a personal rant of mine...). The library can help you do grant research. However, I think that most of their information is now available through the first website I gave you.

It's great that you already have your idea for your business. I've been wracking my brain to try to figure out what kind of service or product I could provide and stay at home with my daughter.

I wish you the best of luck. Please feel free to email me anytime. I don't have all the answers (ok, so really, I have very few of the answers!) but I'm always willing to pass along anything I've found out. The more we share, the further ahead we all get!

P.

Sorry S.. I asked an SBA representative personally and he said there are no grants to start a business, only loans.

Hi S.
I don' have an leads to give you other than to tell you i am in the same boat. it's so frustrating.
I want to start my own on line business to generate extra income for my son's future who has down syndrome.
Please let me know if you get great information.
Good luck! Thanks

Unfortunately, I do not think the type of grant you need exists. I tried to buy a small, pre-existing business (a CURVES franchise) last year and although my credit is excellent, I was unable to achieve financing for lack of a large cash reserve and lack of collateral.

I recently did sign on with a very reputable company to work from home as an independent rep. I have been involved for a very short period of time, but so far, it seems to be a very legitimate way to work from home with very minimal investment. Basically, I help uninsured and underinsured families and individuals get significant discounts on medical services. If you are interested, I can send you the details. Just let me know.

Unfortunately, their are NO grants for you to start your own business they are all scams. However, their are wonderful resources at the Fort Worth Women's Business Center. You can talk to T. Booth their about and questions or go to their website. They are wonderful people their to help people start small businesses. You can let her know that T. C. referred you to her. If you have any other questions I might be able to answer for you you can email me at ____@____.com