The great "government grant" debate continues

Of all the subjects that I have decided to pursue this one has brought forth the most emotional feedback.  The basic question comes down to "Can I get a government grant to start my own business?"  My answer is yes, but there are some "buts" here.  There are 2 ways of applying for a government grant.  Either you find a grant that is open to individuals and/or for-profits and small businesses and tailor your business proposal to that grant OR decide what kind of business you want to start and then find a grant that you can apply for that relates to the kind of business that you want to start.

There's is a debate about the words "free government money".  Yes, the money is free in that you do not have to pay it back.  However you do have to qualify for the grant.  You have to apply for the grant.  And you have to be approved for the grant.

Another debatable term is "starting a business".  My viewpoint on this is simply that "starting a business" starts when you decide to start a business.  You do not need equipment, or employess to "start" a business.  You start a business when you actually decide to start a business.

"West Wing" Writer

I just happened upon him on CSpan last night and I ended watching the rest of it.  He did mention about him working from home as a writer and he said one of the things that he really hated was the fact that people would call him up all the time (figuring he wasn't "working") because he was at home.  He actually said he was glad when he got to work for West Wing because it got him out of the house.

Oh well, different strokes...............

All Work and No Play? No!

My favorite computer game (for the moment) is Descent! While this is an older game that's usually my MO anyway! I had the CD for awhile - I even forgot where I got it from! But anyway this is one of those shoot-em-up games and this particular one has 24 levels with 6 secret levels. I'm quite addicted to it! So far I have managed to get through all the levels on the Trainee level and now I'm in the process of trying to get through the difficulty levels. I may even put my score online and start some kind of club-type thing where everybody can try and beat everybody else's score.

Before Descent I was a nut for Quake - and before that it was Doom! I even tried making my own levels - but thats gonna take some time (-;

I was also quite fond of Hellbender which came with my computer disk. However I have the demo version that only has one level and I have been trying my darndest to find a full version of the game.

So after I go offline I'm going to play some more Descent!

I was talking to a woman yesterday......

She works as a driver for a transportation company. She expressed interest in starting a different career. She wanted to be nurse's aide. In my time it was called nurse's aide but now they are called Certified Nursing Assistants or CNA's for short. She was getting discouraged with her current job mostly because they were cutting her hours and it was getting harder and harder for her to get overtime.

I encouraged her to go ahead. There is a trend (including from the government) to help seniors and those that are disabled and the like to be able to stay in their homes. I have also found that the people themselves want to stay in their homes as much as possible - not to mention the relatives and/or spouses that want them to be able to stay at home as well.

This has resulted in an increasing need for aides, whether they be nursing assistants or companions or caregivers. Even regular caregivers need some time off and/or vacation time. What if you were available for emergencies?

You could work for an agency or on your own. One thing that I want to emphasize here is that there is a big difference between medical care which requires training and giving general and non-medical care. You could look in on seniors for family members, you could do the shopping for them, run errands, pick up their prescriptions, provide them with transportation, do yard work or lite cleaning for them and so much more!

If this sounds like something to your liking you should get started right away! If there aren't any seniors in your area (or not enough of them) you could expand this kind of service to include babysitting or doing the same thing for your area's residents. All you have to do is let them know that you are open for business!

Sometimes you just have to fight!

A relative of mine who is disabled used to take public transportation for the disabled.  That's where they pick you up at your door and take you to your destination - in this case to her doctors appointments.

Do you know they sent her a notice in the mail saying that it was determined that she could take regular public transportation and that she was no longer eligible for the disabled transportation access!  They determined that she could use her manual wheelchair and wheel herself the 3 blocks to the nearest bus stop.  Nevermind that there would be a hill that she would have to wheel herself up and down to get to and from the bus stop!  She was told that their decision was final and that there was nothing she could do about it.

Well I found out some interesting things.  First of all public transportation has to adhere to rules for transporting the disabled - I guess that's probably why they get so much public/state related funding. 

So what I did was sit down and write out a carefully detailed letter outlining why their assessment was wrong and I gave the reasons why.  Then I mailed the letter to them.  One month later I called to find out about the letter.  They told me that they hadn't received it!  So I faxed a copy of it to them that day which was a Thursday.  Monday I called them and they acknowledged the letter right away without me even getting a chance to identify myself or to whom the letter was about.  They informed me that while the appeal process was taking place the person would be able to take the specialized transportation for the disabled.

Sometimes you just have to fight!

Making it Work!

I usually tell people to start a business doing something that they love to do or ask them what their dream job is.

For example just recently I read a post from a group I belong to where a woman was interested in pursuing astrology as a career (Yes I said ASTROLOGY!). She asked for advice from others as to whether or not she should pursue it as a career and wondered if she could make a profit from it. The very first person that replied to her said not to. Why? Because she had went to college and got her degree and want to pursue the same kind of career herself. She said that she found that besides people asking for free readings she had got not one paying customer and that was her reason for suggesting that the original poster not try to pursue it either. Of course I could tell from her post that she was feeling frustrated and disappointed but I also knew that she was wrong. So what I did was email an astrologer who had an online site and was working from her home and I told her about it. She emailed me back the next day saying the reason why her site and her astrology career was successful was because of one simple reason - She had decided to MAKE it work! Just as simple as that.

I'm going to include a quote that she had on her page onto my own site. But my point here is to say that no matter what kind of home business you want to start there is already someone out there who is doing it successfully (and profitably) now.

Working From Home doesn't take the pain away BUT!

it makes it a little easier to take!

Experienced some gum pain this afternoon - don't know what set it off but after taking a few aspirin the pain has subsided and I feel a lot better (I must feel better because I'm here typing away).

It's nice to know that if the pain gets too bad I can lie down and take a nap at anytime and then work some more when I feel better. If the pain gets any worse I'll be able to make a dentist appointment without having to worry about missing work or working on my day off!

Just one of the many good reasons as to why it's great to work from home!

Hi!, My dream job is working for my self. I have trouble working for others. My problem is my appearance. Inside I feel fine. Out side people laught at me. I have some sort of problem with affect. Like when someone is insulted some people will laught! well I have no control what I look like. I have alot of skills because I have worked every job you can emagine and then some I have a very high IQ, and I feel I have talent in the Arts, but then again this is what I think. I am tired of looking for work every 90 days with is the probation peroid of most jobs. I just started a new job $22.00 @ hr. but I already know I will not last!, Can you help? I have no savings , I owned nothing!. I am at my lowest point in my life.Thank you for your email.

It sounds like working from your home would be just the thing for you! $22 an hour is not bad and it is a lot more than what a lot of other people are getting salary-wise.If you want to work from your home you must have at least some idea of what kind of business you would like to start. If not you could start a business that is already in high demand like starting a day care service, cleaning houses or running errands. These kind of businesses are always in high demand.

If the above ideas are too physical or don't appeal to you and you have your heart set on working from your computer then there are things you can do. There is the option of starting a business like the one I mention on my Consultation Page that is called Business Plan XXX. It is called that because it is a business one can start working at their computer. However it related to the Adult Sex sites that abound on the Internet and it is NOT for everybody! It is however a perfect example of tapping into a market that is already making people as much as $1 Million Dollars a month and you would be tapping into that. It is not a business where you actually participate directly but do indirectly. It is however for those that want to start their own work at home computer business.

If this is not for you then you should take the same concept that is used in this business plan and apply it to another business or industry. Of all the things that you don't have don't forget the things that you DO have which are your computer and yourself.If you have a specific interest, hobby or dream job in mind please let me know since you didn't mention a specific one above.

Grants DO Exist!

I answer one of my critics:

>>Sure, there ARE Federal grants. They seem omnipresent, but they are awarded to units of governments and non-profits for specific projects or stated purposes. BUT the evidence to-date shows that opportunities for private enterprise to receive unrestricted direct payment of grant funds are rare, at best, and likely do not exist at all today.<<

Here is my response:

From the Dept. of Agriculture:
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS Applicant Eligibility Any public or private organization, or individual, including those located in the U.S. Territories, may...
You say in your response that they are rare - does that mean that you are saying that there are some that exist?

Regarding "likely do not exist at all today" -

Deadlines None. Range of Approval/Disapproval Time Not applicable

Will I say where I got this information? - No way!

This particular grant does not list their grant payment information - for that you have to contact the agency/office that is listed. Will I give the agency/office name? - No way!

Now the above information I found by research. Pure and simple! If you choose not to believe me then do so. But this is an example of a federal grant that is available to profit entities (and even individuals). If you can get approved for this grant (which is money that you do NOT have to pay back then this is an example of grant to start a business.

It all comes down to the type of business you want to start and making it relate to the grant. This information I found in one day!

So if you want to start a business with a government grant you're going to have to get serious!

If you really want a government grant you're going to have to tailor your business to the grant's requirements. To anyone that says that government grants don't exist to start a business I say to you that you are wrong. Either you haven't searched right, you haven't search enough or you just don't know what you are talking about.

Argh! I had to re-install AOL! (again!)

Oh good grief! I had to re-install AOL again today! I tried to sign on and got that little waterdrop sound. I tried to install their latest version which is 9.0 but I settled for 7.0! A good thing about having to go thru this again was at least I got to install a newer version - but still it is such a hassle! But I got through it and at least I know (since I have had to go through this more than 1 time) I can re-install the program again and although it took me a good three hours to do it - it could have been a LOT more worse!

I'm still not happy that AOL decided to cancel access to the Usenet Newsgroups though and I want that access BACK!

If you feel the same please go and vote in my poll. You might just be curious enough to see the results posted so far.

Business Plan XXX - about?

Subj: Re: BusinessPlanXXX

Date: 3/3/2005

Sure, I'd like to know hhow to make money just looking a sex videoes, but don't you think
$575.00 is a little pricey for that kind of information?
How many offers have you gotten at that price? Not too many I'll bet...

Thank you for your email.

It's not just the information that is offered. It is a complete business plan. It starts with a general outline of the business and goes on to include setting it up online, advertising and market, minimum requirements to get your business up and running, keeping and maintaining records, taxes and business basics.

All in all it is a complete business plan from start to finish. Customized and specialize business plans go for more than $1000! So believe me you're getting off cheap!

The specifics of the business plan (while it could include watching the videos) are specifically geared to running a business looking at the sex sites. It is for people that want to get started right away and want ALL of the information they need to get their business up and running. More than anything it is a step by step tutorial at best.

And to answer your question approximately 10 people have purchased the business plan. Every time the BusinessPlanXXX is purchased new and updated information has to be added. Plus the fact that with the logo and business forms a different one has to be created to avoid any copyright infringement.

So you see its not just the information that you are getting you are getting a step by step "hand-holding" tutorial business plan and that is why the cost is the way it is. The people who have purchased it are now running their own business from home and getting enough revenue that they think the price of this specific type of business plan is definitely a bargain. Besides, the less people that purchase this specific business plan the less competion (and more revenue) for those that have set up their business.

Remember this is a business plan for a business that you can operate from your home, work the hours and days that you want and be your own boss!

Giving information is one thing. Step by step directions and details are quite another.

---

By the way a lot of people say that they want to work from home BUT they either want step by step information for free, they want the security of working for a company (from their home)as opposed to working for theirselves or they don't want to find the information for theirselves.

Grants for Writers?

I see why Matthew Lesko has said that there are grants available for writers.  There are!  However bear in mind that you can't just write about anything that you want you have to adhere to their guidelines.  I know the question you are asking is how much?  Well, the amount of the grant is around $30,000 for the year.  I say "around" because while that is the minimum amount it's not the SET amount.  You do have to apply for this grant but guess what?  The first step of applying is simply sending them an email!

On this point Matthew Lesko does know what he is talking about!