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Step 1
First, I would suggest partnering up with other entrepreneurial minded women through local workshops and seminars to network and share information. There are forums, chat rooms, and credible associations online that bring women business owners together.
There you can receive tons of knowledge, tips, empowerment, suggestions and tools to help you with obtaining grants for women owned businesses. Some examples of these sites are: count-me-in.org , wfnet.org , aauw.org , meetup.com. -
Step 2
Secondly, I recommend you visit www.grants.gov which is the Mecca of all grant finding resources available. Whether you already own a business or not, it’s important that you take a moment to write down the overall purpose that your business serves as well as your service objectives in the form of a business plan.
Once you have composed a draft, visit your local library for literature concerning composing a proper proposal or hire a professional. It's important to make your proposal as compelling as possible because the reviewers will go through it with a “fine-toothed comb”, which in turn, doesn’t leave a lot of room for error. With the growing market and competition for grants for women owned businesses, you will find yourself sifting through many scams and bogus materials, so stay steadfast and educated about the process. -
Step 3
It’s also helpful to start getting all of your documentation ready. If you don’t have a business yet, identification and prior tax records are needed. If you already have a business, then be prepared to dig up all certificates concerning your business as well as tax records and expenditures to assess a reasonable award amount.
The applications pertaining to grants for women owned businesses can be found at the Office of Women’s Business Ownership, which is a division of the Small Business Administration. You can check on line or in the yellow pages for your local office. -
Step 4
Before filling out applications, make sure that you are within the filing deadline and that you meet the requirements. Each of the grants for women owned businesses are different and caters to different industries. Applications must be filled out in their entirety or else it will be rejected.
If your application does get rejected, do not fret because there are tons of other funding options available to you as loans and grants are also awarded by minority based organizations that support your initiatives. -
Step 5
Now that you have all of the steps to successfully research, network, and obtain your grants for women owned businesses, I wish you the best with your journey.
Be sure to take a look around while you're here to learn as much as you can about getting grants for women owned businesses.
