How to Find Free Grant Money to Start a Business

Have you ever considered starting your own business but didn't know where to start? If your long-term vision is to be a self-employed business owner, there are steps you should consider before beginning the search for free grant money. Public and private sector organizations do not hand out free grant money without stipulations. Organizations need to know that you have a well thought out plan of action, and that your business has a legitimate chance of success. Preparation is the key to landing a successful grant opportunity that could help you start the business of your dreams.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer

1. Develop a comprehensive business plan. This is an outline that tells grant providers what business you would like to start, how you plan to grow your business, and how it will be profitable. Your business plan should include one and five year outlooks, as well as a budget and expense list. Detail what portion of the grant money will be used for materials, what portion will be used for advertising expenses, and so forth.

2. Once you have developed a basic business plan, employ friends and family members to edit your work. Your business plan should look professional, polished and well thought out.

3. Create an effective business proposal. Resources at your public library can help you create an effective proposal. You will be pitching grant funding sources, and your proposal is like a cover letter. See Resources for additional information on proposal writing.

4. Begin your search by seeking government, private sector, non-profit and organizational grant opportunities. Many organizations have endowments and/or grant opportunities set up as part of their charitable donation expenditures. Many private foundations are also set up to help individuals launch new businesses.

5. Once your business plan and proposal are complete, start submitting them to government, private sector, non-profit and charitable organizations that have grant opportunities for start-up businesses. Your business plan should remain the same, but you may need to tweak your proposal to fulfill submission guidelines for each grant funding source. See Resources for additional information about creating a business plan.

Resources

• Effective Proposal Writing
• Writing an Effective Business Plan