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I was just going over my notes and gathering information for a client when I was looking at the guidelines of one of the daycare-related funding programs. There it was in black and white that FOR-PROFITS are eligible to apply. This particular funding program requires that your daycare meet regulated guidelines but other than that if you are a for-profit daycare and you are seeking funding you should definitely be looking into programs just like this one.
And don't let anyone ever tell you that there is no grant funding for for-profit daycare!
Is it possible? The answer of course is "Yes". But make no mistake you will have to do some work! In some instances you can offer your volunteer services for up to one year. In another case if you are a teacher and meet certain eligibility requirements you can also decrease, defer or even cancel your student loan.
Of course it will depend on the terms of your loan - including what kind of loan it is and again - of course - it will depend on the program that is offering it. So if you have a student loan that you have been worrying about then you should do some investigating to see if you can do something about it! The programs and the information is out there!
Now this is interesting! But there are a few ways that come to mind - some of them are adult-oriented though and they really can't be discussed here in detail. But there are people who have managed to do this kind of thing very profitably and as much as you may hate it there is still a market for this kind of thing.
I do know that a daycare center installed webcams at their facility so that the parents could see their children online.
I see that a lot of people are doing this. Often times they will get frustrated and just stop looking. The one thing that you have to remember is that grants have been awarded to daycare facilities - I list some of them on my grants page at:
http://members.aol.com/Roseb441702/grants.htm
These recipients are not ones that I made up in my mind and posted to my webpage. They are actual daycare facilities. There are also the ones that I haven't mentioned on my page including the one about the daycare center that received grant funding because they offered 24 hour a day daycare.
There is also another category of grant funding that you should be looking into and that is the entrepreneurial-type grant funding. These types of funding programs depend on you submitting a professional business plan - one is even offered by a software company itself.
The eligibility requirements of some of these funding programs vary from submitting a simple letter of intent to providing a detailed business plan and/or summary. You have to remember that the program that awards these fundings will want to know how much you are seeking (unless they already have a set amount of funding money) and most importantly WHAT you will be using the money for.
I stlll think that the best job that one can do from one's own home is their own business. But there are a LOT of people out there that are looking for work from companies that will more or less have work that you can do from home. With the exception of some companies like Mary Kay and Avon I haven't seen one yet that I would feel comfortable with.
I think the reason why so many people are looking for companies to provide them with work that they can do at home is because they want the security of working for an already established business. Plus I think that they think that they will get paid sooner if they work for a company as opposed to working for theirselves. If such is the case with you I advise you to read everything carefully! There are stories where people have joined these companies and either they had to spend a lot of money to buy the company's materials or they tell of how they haven't got paid.
Like I said before I think it would be much better if one started a business of their own. No matter how "crazy" you may think that your business idea sounds there is probably someone doing EXACTLY what it is you want to do or someone is doing something that's close to what it is you want to do.
I'm assuming that some visitors are reading my Working From Home blog because that is exactly what it is that they want to do. It is not as impossible as you may think. In fact you may know someone who works at home now.
My profile is being featured on the Business Owners Idea Cafe!
http://www.businessownersideacafe.com
I loved the way they said that I have taken the "bull by the horns" - isn't that adorable!
Holmes and other providers say that socking away money to improve their businesses and locations is a challenge. But with help from modest grants awarded by a child care improvement program, Holmes was able to fence her yard, put up play structures and repaint her house with more child-friendly lacquer.
Because she cares for mostly government-subsidized children, Holmes' rates are low. She would not have been able to afford these improvements without the grants.
"The grants made it so much nicer for my children and families. The kids can now ride their toy scooters inside the fence without worry that they will get into the road," Holmes said.
Still think there are no grants for at-home child care providers?
Well the first thing that you are going to have to do is to find out what grant programs are available to start/open your own business. Although it would seem that the best way to start would be to first decide on what kind of business you want to start the reality is that you are going to have to tailor your business to the grant program(s) that you are eligible to apply for.
The exception to the above of course are the funding programs that are geared specifically to starting/opening a business - especially when you are a woman or a minortiy. Usually these kind of funding programs require that you submit a business plan as part of the application process. There are a number of entrepreneurial funding programs whose objective is to help fund new businesses. Some of these are competitions where your application will not be the only one submitted and you stand the best chance of winning the competition if your business plan is well thought out - remember you have to look at it from the viewpoint of the committee/group that will be judging and deciding on whose business plan best meets the objective of the program or competition that is doing the sponsoring/funding.
There are funding programs that will provide money to live on while you get training to run your own business. You can be as young as 12 years old and receive grant money to start a business in a rural area. If you just need a few thousand dollars to start your business there are nonprofit groups that provide funding for this. For women there is a grant program that will provide $500 - $3,000 in startup grant money BUT you have to become a member BUT membership is free. There is also a grant program in New York that was started by a couple to help those that are struggling to start their own busines. This grant program provides up to $1,000 in start-up grant funding. There is also a government program that provides funding to low-incomed people to start their own businesses (to help make them self-sufficient).
There are other routes you can take to be eligible to apply for grant funding such as adding a non-profit aspect to your business.
For example, a relative of a neighbor of mine wants to start her own flower business. Would she be able to apply for a grant to start her business? Of course the answer is yes BUT it will depend on HOW she applies. She just can't blindly apply to the government and say that she wants x amount of dollars to start her business. But what she can do is first apply to the entrepreneurial grant programs like the ones I mentioned above that require at least a business plan to apply. So let's say that she doesn't have a business plan - then what? She can go online and find examples and templates for almost any kind of business that there is and apply it to her own business. Next she should apply to the women related funding programs that are out there and since she is also a minority she should apply for those funding programs as well. (There is no limit on the number of grant programs that you can apply for as long as you are eligible for them and the programs themselves state explicidly that you can't). Next she should apply for the funding programs that are available for her area. Not every area will have the same kind of funding program or they may but it will be under a different name. Next she can apply for the funding programs that are specifically related to her business. How deep is her knowledge of flowers? Do you know that there is a grant program that provides funding to research weeds? How about funding to research the local plants and vegetation in the area - there are some grant funding programs for that as well. And lastly she can add a non-profit aspect to her business as well such as teaching, providing lectures, classes and the like.
It may seem like a lot of work to do and it IS! But if she is serious enough about wanting grant funding to start her business this is what she is going to have to do.
Receiving grant funding will also add prestige to your business and may open the door for you to receive more funding as well.
Here is a recent email I got:
Okay, I see where this is going. I will never be on your client list, because I am not stupid enough to give you my money. I have the money, but it won't get spent on your "NO REAL SOURCE INFORMATION". This is nothing but a scam. If I was trying to persue someone to perchase information from me, I would at least tell them what they need to know before purchasing from me. I can tell by the question you keep asking, that this is not a ligitimate source. All you talking about is money.
and here was my reply to them:
Again, thank you for your email. And you are definitely right - you won't be a customer/client of mine. If you feel that my service and my business is a scam then you are absolutely right that you should look elsewhere.
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There are some things that you have to be made aware of when looking for grant funding programs. Number one is that the programs are out there regardless of whether or not you use me. This information is not exclusive to me and a good portion of the information about grant funding is that it has to be "open and accessible to the public" - which means that the information must (by law) be made public to the public.
The meaning of "scam" is a fraudelent act. Thank goodness there are other people out there besides me that know about these funding programs. In order to be scammed one has had to have been taken advantage of monetarily and since no money has exchanged hands then there is no fraud involved. I can understand not spending money if you are unsure of something and the only solution to that is to NOT spend the money.
It would not be fair to any client (past, present and future) for me to give you information that they themselves pay (or have paid) for and its not going to happen.
But there is something that you should understand and that is that the information (and the funding programs) are out there. The general frustration seems to be in finding them - but just because you can't find the information doesn't mean that it isn't out there.
Of course the above title is wrong! I have seen so many grant programs for for-profit business startups that it was enough to give me a headache!
There is a grant program for comic book writers, songwriters, photographers and film-makers. There are grant programs for women, minorities, children, and inventors.
A lot of this frustration must come from the fact that people get frustrated when they try to find this kind of information. But just because you haven't found it yet doesn't mean that the information is not out there - you have to keep on looking because believe me the grant programs are out there (and there are some strange ones that are out there as well).
No matter what kind of business you want to start there is probably a grant program out there that you are eligible for and even if you can't find one that you think you may be eligible for you can MAKE yourself eligible if you just tailor your business to the eligibility requirements of those funding programs that are most related to what it is you are trying to do.
All this talk about there being no grant programs for for-profits and/or start-ups is absolutely and totally false!
Hi my name is T~ and i live in Raleigh NC and i wanted to know how to write a grant to start my own Group home for Disable Children and Adults in my City.
Number one you can't write "a" grant to start your own group home. What you have to do is fill out the grant application for the grant program that you are applying too. No two programs are alike so that means that their application process will not be the same. Some grant funding programs only require that you start the process with a simple "letter of intent" and other require more detailed information.
There are no secrets as to "how to get started". You find the programs that you are eligible to apply for and then you apply according to their guidelines. There are grant programs that are strictly daycare/group home related and there are also entrepreneurial grant programs where the main requirement is you starting a business (and proving to them that you are serious about starting that business such as the one that has a grant program for entrepeneurs with grant awards up to $5,000.00. There are grant programs that award grants for businesses that help to improve the lives of anothers. So you see there is more than one category of grants that you can qualify for and there are more than a few in each category.
So you can not write "a" grant you have to find the program first and then apply according to their terms. Once you start finding this information yourself you will see that a lot of time and effort will be needed on your part.
Yes there are instances where you can get your student loan either cancelled or deferred or even reduced. Some programs allow for you to do volunteer services and in exchange your student loan can either be paid back or reduced. In some cases your student loan payments can be deferred. There is a program especially for teachers who either teach a specific subject or teach in a low-income area that allows for their student loan to be either paid off or - in some cases - cancelled. Definitely a lot will depend on the specifics of the type of student loan that you have and the terms of your student loan have to be gone over thoroughly - but yes there are programs that deal with paying back your student loans.
So this is something that you should definitely be looking into to see if you can get help with paying back your student loan.
It's going to be about my being a "Dream Job" consultant! I'll have to think of a "catchy" title and everything!
It's not so much about HOW to be a "Dream Job" consultant but more along the lines of an inspirational-type book. You know one of those "they said it couldn't be done" kind of books. Hopefully it will be an inspiration to all of those who think that they can't have what they want.
Like everybody else I get junk and spam email but what I noticed about one particular email was for an adult website where photos and email could be exchanged with others.
It doesn't matter how you feel about them there are and will continue to be adult websites and the reason for that is because of one thing - demand! If there wasn't such a high demand for this type of thing then there wouldn't be as many of them online.
Here is a business (or individual) that has managed to create a site where people exchange photos and email. Where do you think that the money is made? Let's say they started off with a hundred people (at first) - how much income was made? And where do you think that this type of business can be operated from? That's right - from one's own home!
Now I realize that everybody does not have a taste for this type of thing but for those of you that do here is a perfect example of a business that can be started and run by computer in one's own home.
I mean this is the type of business that people are looking for - something that they can do at home at the computer - and make a living at it!
I have said it before and I will say it again. The fastest way to make money is to find a need and fill it. That's why businesses such as yard work, starting a cleaning business or starting a daycare business have always been suggested because these are the kinds of businesses where there is always a demand.
The best way to make money is to take something that you love and turn that into a business. You may think that your idea is not good enough but you'd be surprised at the types of businesses that people have started. Not scams or pyramid schemes but general interests and hobbies that they have managed to turn into a profitable business. Even something that seems as far-fetched as being a writer is not an impossible career to achieve.
If you are really serious about wanting to work from take some time - maybe an hour or 2 and write down a list of the top 5 things that you love/like to do - at least one of them can be turned into a profitable business and yes I'm going to say it - you may even be able to get a grant (or two) to help you fund it. If a farmer can get a grant for growing weed you can't possibly think that your idea is so far-fetched that it shouldn't even be explored. And the best part is what happens when you succeed - which will mean that you will be working at home and earning a living at it. No matter what kind of dream job you have chances are that there is someone else who is already doing it or doing something close to it.
Someone actually tried to find out some information about this and here is a few of what I found out about it.
In the past Canada has had a program where those that qualified because of their illness could receive "government" grown weed whether it was the government or a "designated" grower that supplied it. Some have even received federal exemptions to grow it! In the U.S. there were 9 states that allowed limited use of marijuana for medical purposes under the direction of a doctor:
I won't say which state it was but a farmer (in the US) got permission (and a monthly check) to grow marijuana for 17 "legally" ill people.
Don't let anyone tell you that there is no grant funding programs for for-profit daycares!
I'm glad that my latest client is happy with the 4 grant funding programs that I was able to find for her to apply to. There was an additional grant program that was included because she is also going to incorporate gardening into her daycare. There is also additional programs for her if she decides to turn her daycare into one that operates during non-business hours.
This woman wants to start a daycare business out of her home in South Carolina and she says that this is something that she always dreamed of doing but finding the funding for it (in her words) was impossible. Well now she knows that it is possible!
So don't let ANYONE tell you that there is no funding for a for-profit daycare business.
It was a lot of work finding the funding programs that she is eligible to apply for but it wasn't impossible. So if you have always dreamed of opening a daycare business look into finding the programs that have funding that you will be eligible to apply for. They are out there! So many people have done searches looking for information about this and it feels good to dispel another myth about grant programs and for-profit daycare!
