skip to main |
skip to sidebar
A news article has come from Africa about the investigation of individuals who have worked for the government there who have received grant monies when they weren't supposed to. Here is a link to the article:
http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/topstories.aspx?ID=BD4A241710
Over 400,000 individuals received grant money even though they were not eligible for it! The investigation into this fraudenlent activity will take 2 years to investigate but already criminal action against some of the individuals has already taken place. Some are expected to pay back the grant money that they received and others will face criminal prosecution. Some of the grant programs themselves have been cancelled with more on their way to being cancelled.
The names of those individuals who have committed the fraud(s) are going to be released from the government - in their words - "the public has a right to know who has been stealing their money"
Its hard for me to calculate how the stolen amounts can be converted into American dollars but with over 400,000 people committing the fraud that still comes out to a LOT of money!
There are organizations like this that already exist in the US - that offer help to struggling musicians. They do have their requirements though - but since you're talking about starting one of your own - I'll address that.
First, since you are talking about starting up this kind of organization does that mean that you haven't started it yet? In other words what I'm trying to find out is whether or not you have your non-profit status?
Organizations such as these will solicit donations and have fundraisers in order to raise the money that they in turn use in grant programs to help others. There is also one very important piece of stragedy that these organizations do to help with the maintaining these funds which I will not mention here - but I will say that when you do start a non-profit organization and especially when you are working with funding(s) it would be best if you treat it like a business and do the "business-like" things to maintain it.
Now as for programs that offer grant awards to music-related organizations there are such programs available - every thing from children and music to seniors in music and mostly everything in-between. However if you are going to apply for these fundings - unless they state otherwise - you will have to get your non-profit status in order. Some grant programs allow you to apply while you are seeking non-profit status but they have to have proof that you are doing so.
As for grant programs that award grants to those that are for-profit there are programs available that you will have to look into further because it will all depend on how you submit your application.
What is something that you have experience with? Raising your children. It may be something that is so close to you that you might not have even thought of it as something that you could turn into a business.
One of the pieces of advice that I strongly agree wtih is that if you can find a need you can turn that need into a business. As a single mother I'm sure you're acquainted with other single mothers right? What do you talk about? What do you complain about? Do you know that you can start a blog about being a single mother and your experiences with it? Allow comments from other single mothers. I suggest a blog because you can start one for free and with your blog being on the Internet people from all over the world will be able to read it 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Now you may ask how your blog could bring you an income and there are ways to do that. However I'd like to say that you should go into your blog with a specific goal in mind and that is the most honest reason which is you're relaying your experiences about being a mother. People read blogs all the time and of course that brings up the question of getting traffic to your blog which is something that you can do with the least amount of expense (at the beginning).
I'm only assuming here but I'm thinking that you want to be able to work at home to be with your children and if you can do that using your computer that would be something that you want. You could start a single mothers' newsletter type of thing. And since one of your main concerns will be earning an income from it that is where your main concern will lie. How does one earn an income from a newsletter? Advertising and subscriptions. In order to get advertisers interested your newsletter should draw interest. For instance single mothers are always concerned with needing a babysitter or childcare so who in your area offers that or who would like to advertise that they offer that. To make your newsletter even more of interest to potential advertisers you could start a review section. You have to shop right? Where are the best places? Where can you get more bargains? Etc., You can also provide an offline version of your newsletter to those that don't have a computer. And in order to gain a subscription base you can offer a free version of your newsletter - of course included with the information of how they can become subscribers. You can include a "Question & Answer" section - like being a "Dear Abby" for single mothers! People will read it and people may see a reason to want to advertise in it. What about Ebay? Do you have something that you could sell on Ebay? What about others that may have something to sell and you can act as their seller? You can add this information to your newsletter? People oft-times have things they may want to sell and if they see how well others are doing on Ebay they may want to sell their stuff more!
Now you may say that you don't know anything about Ebay and my answer to you would be to LEARN! It isn't rocket science and it is a way to earn an income from your home - meaning you being home with your kids. And if you sell for others you will increase your income more. As a matter of fact you don't even have to use Ebay you could start "selling" from your newsletter. Say someone has something they want to sell and they advertise in your newsletter.
Having a newsletter online may seem scary. So how do you make it less scary? You create it offline first. Decide on a layout and make that layout a constant in every subsequent newsletter. Then you can put it online. What do you do next? You build up your reputation - or I should say your newsletter's reputation. Give a free printed version to your friends - build by word of mouth - which is the best kind of advertising.
This is something that you can do at home, something that you have experience with and something that you can have fun with. And I won't even go into what you and/or your newsletter can evolve into - like publishing for others and on and on.....
By the way you mentioned catering, as a matter of fact you mentioned other hobbies like crafts - how about including receipes in your newsletter (yours as well as others) - you can even do a contest - people are always interested in that. You could build your denim ideas into your newsletter - that's what Martha Stewart does - she "hawks" her wares on her TV show - so why not do the same in your newsletter?
Starting a newsletter is a very good example of a business that you can start at home so that you can be with your children.
There are stories and examples galore of those who started their own businesses at home. But when I see people posting here about finding "work at home" jobs I get the feeling that they want the "security" of working for an employer who lets them work at home. And I was quite surprised to find some examples of legitimate work at home jobs like the examples I noted before such as the disable woman that works from her home answering telephone calls from stranded motorists that belong to her employer which is an auto club. So there are legitmate jobs out there that allows one to work from their home but the problem seems to be in them finding those companies that are legitmate. They are out there however.
Like I posted in the subject line I agree with everything you said and I'd also like to point out that people have started "unusual" businesses as well! I like the story of the two guys that like to mooch off of other people. However they ran out of people to mooch off of. So guess what they did? They wrote a book about how to mooch off of people and they each now have their own beach house!
You cited examples of businesses that people can start and I listed on one of my pages how one could take one of their programs that they have on their computer and start a business of their own. A woman actually started a answering machine message service using the programs that she already had installed on her computer. Another woman took an astrology program and started a business doing astrology readings - but guess what - she added a twist - the astrology readings were for people's pets! And we know how big the pet industry is - people love doing things for their pets.
So I don't know what it is. Maybe people are afraid to start their own business or they don't think that they can do it. Just look at all the people who have managed to start a successful business on ebay! I know of a guy who does yard work in my area and he says that he has more business than he can handle! Starting a day/childcare is always a good business to start because there is always a need for it.
I think the main concern for people is the money and how fast they will be able to make it - of course of which the answer is is that it will depend on them.
I think that the most encouraging piece of advice that I can give is that no matter what kind of business you want to start there is already someone out there who is actually doing it or something similar to it - and doing it successfully!
Hi,
My name is A~, and I live in San Antonio Texas. I am a single mother with a 1 year old son. I have been picking my brain about what I want to do. I have 3 years of college completed with about 5 thousand in student loans...I am very interested in opening my own daycare facility. Where do I start? Do you know a web-site that I can go to to look for grants! Thanks A~
Thank you for your email.
One of the clients that I did have was a single mother who was just looking to earn some money while she went to school. Did you know that there is at least one organization that helps single mothers financially in many ways? And if there's one organization then there maybe another one and another one and on and on........
As I have mentioned many times before there are programs that help pay at least part of a person's student loan(s) but each program is different in their requirements and you have to find out if you are eligible to apply.
The whole "grant" process involves a lot of work and research and once you have found the grant programs you still have to read them thoroughly to make sure that you are eligible to apply. You also have to understand the fact that there is no one kind of "daycare" grant program. Each and every grant program has different requirements and guideline - there is no "one stop" grant program for daycare. Which brings up the point of you having to additionally know that the grant programs that you do qualify to apply for will depend on the TYPE of daycare that you want to open. You have many questions to answer - including whether your daycare will be a for-profit, non-profit or both. Which also brings up the fact that you may be eligible for other types of grant programs including those for entrepreneurs/for-profit businesses. There is even a grant program that awards a $500,000.00 grant (over a period of time) to people to help pursue their dreams. So don't just look for "daycare" grants - find the grant programs that you are eligible to apply for!
Regarding your question about daycare. Basically speaking almost any one can start a daycare. It's being a LEGITIMATE daycare that is going to require finding out more about. Every state may have different requirements and there is no getting around the fact that you will have to find out what the requirements are for your area. This is not a too hard thing to do as I have found out - you just have to do the work to find the information.
As there is no "one" grant program for daycare there is no "one" grant website. (And you're not including the grant programs that don't yet have a website but they do have a phone number and a mailing address). Grant programs are offered by the government, foundations, organizations, businesses and even individuals - which means that there is no "one" site that could possible have all grant programs listed. (This doesn't even include the fact that you're counting out new grant programs and whether or not the current grant programs are still - well - current).
First you have to realize that for-profit startups have received grant monies and I note some of them on my page (I will put a link to my page at the bottom).
Number 2 realize that you are going to have to go in this with some information - meaning you have to have more than just the idea/dream! There have been for-profit startups that have received grant funding because the program itself was for entrepreneurs and they submitted a businessplan - outlining costs, profit projections and just general overall information about the business they wanted to start and most importantly WHY they wanted to start their business.
I know of one grant program that awards a $500,000.00 grant (payable over a period of time) to help people pursue their dreams and as you can imagine there are a lot of people applying for it but you have to know the RIGHT way to apply for it. I'm not talking about cheating or lying but just telling the truth. If it has been a dream of yours to open your salon - say so. Include the fact that you will be hiring people - and by the way there are grant programs for THAT as well! All grant programs have requirements and guidelines that you have to follow in order to apply for them and the most cited reason that people don't get these grants (or aren't even considered for them) is the fact that they didn't fill out the application and/or didn't submit the right materials. So you HAVE to know what you are doing.
Grantwriting is sometimes a misunderstood term because before you can write a grant you have to FIND the grant program offering the grant. These grant programs are not alike and each have their different guidelines and requirements which means that you have to go over them with a fine tooth comb which means that there is going to be some effort and work involved. People have applied for these grants on their own without having to use a grantwriter so that means that you would be able to do it on your own - its not impossible but it WILL require time and effort. As the research I FIND the grant programs that you are eligible to apply for - there is the standard questionaire that has questions that are asked and have to be answered before I begin finding the programs because finding them can't be done blindly I have to have specific information so that I will know what kind of grant programs I will be looking for. It is a (my) business and as such when you become a client a file is opened in your name. You get ALL the information about the grant programs that you are eligible to apply for and that includes what requirements and guidelines have to be met before you can apply for them. You get their contact information, their website and if I do not have or can not get a copy of their application then I give you the information as to where you can get it yourself. It takes 30 days (for the basic one-time research)and I have given clients their own online site (if they request it) to chart the progress of the work. After the 30 days you receive all the information in a .zip file that is emailed to you. Once you receive the information you can then decide if you want to apply yourself, hire me as the grantwriter or hire another grantwriter.
Finding the programs comes first - then comes applying for them.
Also I want you to take a good look at the kind of business you want to start. Did it occur to you that if you TRAIN people as well as provide the service you are eligible for more grant programs. If you provide a community or educational aspect to your program you are eligible for yet more programs. If you are a woman and/or minority you are eligible for yet still more grant programs. Do not limit yourself. Remember this is a business that YOU want to start and the more passionate that you are about it the more opportunities and resources you will have to make your business more.
I hope this has answered some of your questions.
Hi Rose,
I have been reading your posts on Teacher.net and I went to your webpage for a browse. From what I see you are really good. Can you be my mentor???
I have always wanted to learn to be a grant writer. I have a BA in English and I am working on my MA in English right now. I am working as a technical writer but it is not very fulfilling. My unofficial job with family and friends is the researcher. I can find anything and I love it. I have been to several grant writing classes and seminars but I haven't actually written a grant. I am really chomping at the bit to do it. I have called and e-mailed a couple of local people through the volunteer center that need a grant writer so I will see what becomes of it.
I hope that we can at least talk back and forth about the basics, especially about the research part of it.
I look forward to your reply.
Thanks,
S~
Thank you for your email.
Actually you have "hit the nail on the head" when you mention the word "research". I believe that half of the work itself is the actually finding of the applicable grant programs. This seems to be the problem that most people seem to be having. They often get frustrated and angered to the point that they convince themselves that there aren't any programs that do exist. Of course they are wrong and there is a lot of research that goes into finding these funding programs.
It is often suggested that grantwriters - when they first want to start out - do some volunteer work for some of their local non-profit organizations (although you could include individuals and for-profits as well). You could find the funding programs that your local organizations are eligible for and notify them of your findings. I don't know what results you have gotten so far with those you have written to but it is a very good place to start. Another very good place to start would be with your family and friends. Don't forget that grant programs (and funding) is not just limited to non-profit organizations. There are programs to help individuals and families as well as for those that want to start their own (for-profit) business. Your family, etc., are probably eligible for grant programs themselves and all it would take is for you to put your research skills in action and let them know of these funding programs. So this would also be a very good place for you to start.
In fact you could turn this into a business of your own. Have business cards and networking skills to help your business along. Even having a website will be beneficial.
It looks as though you are off to a very good start.
Sometimes even the most well-intentioned grant program can go awry! To help with providing security in schools a grant program was initiated to provide funds for schools to provide better security. One school applied for this new grant right away and got a $75,000 grant to install digital surveillance cameras in their school. However (as you might imagine) other schools also began to apply for the grant as well! This provided a problem because theoretically speaking EVERY school would have been eligible to apply for this grant. So now who decides which school would receive the funding and why would those chosen be chosen over other schools? So in the end this grant program was cancelled )-:
This brings up a good point about grant programs in that there are new ones being created (and alas cancelled) all the time! You really have to keep on top of this kind of information.
The surest way not to have to pay for a grant is to read everything about that grant (program) and make sure that you do not have to pay anything to get the grant. Most of the grant programs give grant awards without the recipient having to pay anything however it is always advisable to read everything that you can about each and every individual grant program that you are applying for.
There are also some social and public agencies that may be able to help you locate grant and funding programs. Some of them charge a fee and some of them don't.
The bottom line is this: Are there programs that offer financial assistance to help you pay your bills? Of course the answer is yes and I'm not talking about loans I am talking about GRANTS - where you do not have to pay the money back.
There are programs for helping with mortgage/rent and especially bills relating to utilities such as heating. There is one program I was involved in where the client got a brand new boiler system and did not have to pay for the boiler or the installation! - A $3,000 job some have told me.
Ironic as it may seem the simple fact that searching for this information will bring forth results a LOT of people get frustrated to the point that they stop looking or they may even be looking too hard! These programs do exist you just have to find them!
A VERY good case in point: There was a grant program to provide a student with $400,000.00. The student had to be an orphan and they also had to study to be an engineer! Do you know that that program is in danger of being scrapped because they can't find anyone to apply for it!
So you can make fun about these grant programs but they have been around for years. (and I won't even get into the subject of the ones that being created!)
Rose,
Good morning to you, I saw your advice on the said site Business Ideal Cafe, and thought that you gave some very important insight into the world of grants.
I continued to read about you and discovered your Business Plan XXX. Please tell me what it is about etc. I am a african american consultant who is always looking for avenues of making money.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Regards, J~
Someone emailed me and said that they wanted to be able to make $5K a month. Of course they didn't include anything about themself or about the kind of work they would like to do - they just wanted to make $5K a month. At first I thought that it was just a smart-alecky kind of email and I was going to dismiss it but my mind got to thinking.
There are 2 ways to make money - either you find a need and fill it or you take what you love to do and turn that into a business. One of the most profitable businesses is the onlin sex/porn industry and the reason? Sex Sells!
My mind got to thinking about how one could start a business knowing this kind of information so I wrote a basic business plan for those that wanted to start their own business using their computer (& Internet access). Each business plan is a step-by-step tutorial that has to be customized because certain information has to be updated or changed so that each person doesn't get the exact same businessplan. And since this business plan has to do with the XXX industry that is why it is called BusinessPlanXXX. Since it has to do with the XXX industry it is not for everyone. But it is the answer to that smart-alecky emailer who wants to make $5K a month!
You can find out more about BusinessPlanXXX by going to my website at:
http://members.aol.com/Roseb441702/consult.htm
Of course the answer is "YES". Because of the work that I do I know this for a fact. But what makes it more true is the fact that I just read about a student from India who won a scholarship to go to an art school here in the United States! What makes this story even more inspiring is the fact that although the scholarship was very much appreciated it still fell short of covering the entire tuition. Guess what? The student submitted addition artwork that he did and HE GOT THE SCHOLARSHIP INCREASED!
Still think there is no funding out there!
I was posting on a message board asking about spammers. As annoying as this is to people with email addresses some spammers actually make money at this. (Why else would they do it?).
I remember a story on TechTV where they interviewed a woman spammer who sent out thousands of email spam a day! She said the reason why she does it is because she actually gets customers this way! Another story I read in the paper about a guy who made a lot of money by sending spam mail. Not only did he make money by sending his spam, he made even MORE money from advertisers who wanted to advertise on his spam mail. I guess the way that they look at it is that if they send thousands of spam mail they are likely to get a percentage of customers and even 1/10th of thousands could potentially mean a LOT of money!
Even though you may delete or throw away that spam mail chances are you may actually get a customer or two if you send out enough of it.
Am I advocating spam mail? No. I hate getting it as much as everybody else. And even with all the steps that have been added to get rid of spam mail you just can't seem to get rid of all of it. Spammers find a way around it or just get a new email address. Sometimes you can't even trace where the spam has come from! So why does it still happen? Because there is still a lot of money to be made.
PS - If you're thinking of starting your own spam campaign then you'd better be careful. Many email accounts have been cancelled because of sending spam. If you get enough complaints then your account could also be cancelled.
So what's the solution if you're trying to sell a product or a service? You do it the right (and legitimate) way!
I think this is a very good idea for those that are just starting out and the only thing that I wanted to add was that you should if anything definitely make a flyer. This is a very good way to start with something that you already have - which is your computer and some wordprocessing software. Even though it may take longer I suggest that you first write out how you would like your flyer to look and then create it. If you're wary about giving out some personal information don't add it.
When you're starting out you want to build up a reputation and the best way to build up a good reputation is to provide good services with each customer that you get. "Word of mouth" is the best advertising there is and when your customers are satisfied they will spread the word!
I got a LOT done yesterday. I might have even overdone it a bit!
One of the things that you should be careful about when you work at home and/or have your own business is to not overdo it! Time management and all that is very sound advice.
I also found out about a program in my local area that provides low-interest loans to those that are low-incomed but seeking to buy a car. I happened upon this information quite by accident which just goes to show you that information can come from anywhere! A lot of people have done searches looking for fundding programs so that they can purchase a car and I have just found another one. This is for low-incomed families and you have to be employed for at least six months.
First of all the fact that you have been able to get customers for what you love to do (which was designing special occassion greeting cards) just shows that making a living at it is possible!
You have received many great replies and you should take them to heart! Get your website up! The one good thing about having a website is that you will be reaching a LOT more potential customers. Yes you will have to build your website up and the way to do that is to identify your target market - which is who would be most likely to buy your products and then you go where they "hang out" and let them know that you are in business. Do you know the old saying about looking for a job will be your job until you get a/the job? The same thing will apply to you as well. It's not enough to put up a website and expect people to come. You have to work on your website to get people to come to it. You have to remember that people will find sites when they go to search engines. You want to be in the list of links that the search engines provide - its call SEO for search engine optimization - which simply means that you target your website to get the highest search engine ranking as possible. This is something that also requires work but the more you do it the more better you get at it!
A while back someone posted (on another message board) about how dis-heartened they were because they wanted to start an on-line astrology business but they were becoming frustrated because either they got people that wanted free readings or they didn't get any inquiries at all. When they posted their frustration to the board almost every reply was for her to "give it up". Now I knew better than that but just to be sure I emailed a couple of on-line astrologers who were making a living doing the same thing that this person wanted to do and one of the replies that I got back was from an on-line astrologer who said the reason why she was making money on-line was because she had to "make it work" and that is exactly the same thing that you have to decide as well!
If this is something that you love to do/have a passion for then it will show in your work and people (as well as potential customers will see that) and besides getting more customers more options will become available to you. There are syndicated poetry columns out there and you could be one of them. You might even be asked to write a book or you could publish your own book! You may get advertisers if you start some type of poetry site/newsletter kind of thing - income-making avenues will start to open up for you that you probably had never thought of.
Since you have experience with children you should also try to turn that into some type of tutor/counseling kind of thing - something which you could also do online. There are many others who are doing this exact same thing online now and it would behoove you to check some of them out if for no other reason than to see that others are doing what it is you want to do and they are doing it successfully (and profitably) as well.
There are so many resources that you have available to you and I'm thinking mostly of your computer. Now you said that you have created using your computer using clip-art and the like and I'm glad to see that you are using what your computer has to offer because a lot of people that want to start their own business don't. But along with your computer you have Internet access which opens up the world to you! Have you considered all the poetry competitions out there? I'm not talking about the ones where you have to pay a fee but there are those where you don't have to pay a fee. There are grants for poetry, competitions for poetry and there is even a handbook for writers which you should purchase because it has a list of what publications are seeking poetry and what their submission requirements are. I'm sure that that is one resource that you didn't think of. Have you considered songwriting? That's poetry too! I'm currently reading Patti Davis's biography and one of the things that she mentions in her book is the fact that since she wrote a song that appears on one of the Eagles albums she is still receiving royalty checks on that one song she wrote! What about giving speeches, seminars, poetry writing classes - things that you can also do online?
This brings up another aspect and that is copyrights! You have to learn more about them! Do you know how strong the need is for good songwriters is? People pay good money for good songwriters and I'm sure that you have heard songs that kind of relate to the kind of poetry you write.
One last thing - the business aspect of running a/your business. No matter how much you don't like or know about this aspect - you had better learn! Even if you hire someone to do this aspect of your business you will want to know enough not to get taken! How many celebrities or even other people have you read or heard about who have gotten taken by the very people they hired to take care of their business. You're also may not be aware of the fact that there are a lot of deductions that business owners can take on their taxes - like supplies, equipement (including computers, etc.,)
I will end this very long post by saying that you have gotten a lot of great replies and you should take them to heart!
If you don't think you can't make a lot of money being a poet just look at Maya Angelou(sp?) or even Bob Dylan!
Remember no matter what it is that you want to make a career out of someone is already doing it or doing something similar to it and has become very successful at it.
Make your business fun!
The saying is true. You are only as limited as you think you are!
So many people want to work at home but they just don't know what they want to do (or how to do it). Have you considered having a webpage? "A webpage about what" you may ask? What is your dream job? There are lots of people out there that want to be actors, singers, designers, etc. A webpage can help almost any type of career that you want to be in. You can post your resume/portfolio on your webpage so people will know about you and about what you want to do. You can make a recording of your voice and put it on your webpage. Whatever it is you want to sell you can take a picture of it and post it on your webpage.
If you want people to know that you are "open for business" then you are going to have to let them know (and see) that you are open for business.
Yet, still people don't know what kind of work they could do at home and a lot want to do something that has to do with their computer that they can make a living at. You could start a community newsletter type of thing and get advertisers for it. You could take an interest of yours and turn that into a career using your computer. If you are really good at something you could offer tutoring or advice online. How about your favorite TV show or sports team - you could make a career out of those or almost any interest that one could possibly have.
I know a lot of people want the convenience of working for a company that will pay them. While I do know of a few of these companies you should definitely find out for yourself if their terms are suitable for you.
Are there people who are successfully working from their home? Of course there are! There are astrologers, tutors, teachers and writers who are successfully working from their homes! And you can too!
Many times I have posted about how grant programs were started to help bring a greater awareness of something - in this case it is about energy conservation. 17 teachers in Texax are going to share in a $1 Million Dollar Grant and Scholarship Awards program because they were teaching energy conservation projects to their students. Some of the projects included students building a fuel efficient car and cooking with solar power. The individual grant awards were either $5,000.00 or $10,000 grant awards to the teachers. This grant program was started so that the students would learn to become more energy efficient (and provide better and alternative uses of energy and energy conservation. The teachers were also awarded $300,000 in scholarships so that they could attend a three-day conference, a science kit and related material to help teach their students about energy conservation.
The above information is also a very good example of a grant program that is provided not by the government but by a business corporation.
You have to look at more than just the government sites for grant funding because many, many other entities are providing grant programs for teachers.
Here is an excerpt from an Entrepreneurship Newsletter:
Q: My company just launched a health care product for post-surgery and emergency room care. The product has been well received in the medical community but I need money for marketing and new product development. I'm finding that our product line is just not sexy enough for local venture funds even though we solve major patient care issues in all hospitals. I'm about to give up on the investor route and just get a loan from the Small Business Administration. Is there anything I'm missing?
A: Raising capital for an entrepreneurial business is very much like navigating bad rush-hour traffic. Yes, you want to drive fast, pass other cars and avoid slowdowns. But sometimes when entrepreneurs are so determined to drive in one direction, they never see how taking a different route can get them to their destination.
Think of it this way. When the state Route 520 bridge is clogged, practical drivers with an opportunistic outlook take Interstate 90. So where is your I-90 funding alternative?
Let's start with grants for the small business. These grants are available from various departments of the federal government, such as the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, etc. Each participating department sets specific priorities, or topics of interest, for its research dollar. Small companies that best match these broad research topics receive grant awards.
I like this grant program because it can provide "free and clear" capital for innovative, for-profit companies. This means that business owners like you can receive funding without repayment obligations or equity dilution. This is a better deal than an SBA loan or a venture fund investment. Grant recipients' only obligation (not to minimize this) is to complete the proposed development work on time and within budget.
These grants are funded in two phases: Phase I awards provide up to $100,000 to help businesses test the technical feasibility of a new product or service idea. This is extremely valuable to entrepreneurs who pursue less sexy business goals or have been told they are not "far enough along" to warrant serious attention from investors.
Top-performing Phase I grant recipients can then apply for a second grant of up to $500,000 to help bring their technologies to market. I'm told that there is considerable emphasis today in funding technologies that can meet U.S. market needs plus serve our military interests in Iraq. To the extent your technologies can potentially improve the care of U.S. causalities, you may ride the express lane to this kind of grant funding.
It's important to know that the administrators of these grant programs are supported by an elite team of technical advisers. They are highly knowledgeable in specific technical areas and favor well-researched, well-reasoned applications. They also will carefully evaluate the likely ability of a company's management team to build a prosperous business. Much like venture fund investors, these administrators want to fund companies with the best chances of long-term commercial success.
To improve your funding prospects, I encourage you to learn as much as they can about their funding priorities before starting proposal work. Identify the names of companies that have received this same type of grants from your targeted federal government agency. Speak to the "principal investigator" of several approved grant projects. Also ask how to boost the perceived technical stature of your investigative team.
There is one other benefit to this grant program. With extra capital in hand to achieve meaningful business progress, most grant recipients find they have greater appeal to investors and lenders. So don't give up. There are many ways to reach your destination. You can do it!
So many people are searching for "work at home" opportunities and the majority seem to want to be able to work for companies that will let them work at home. Although there have been many of these kind of opportunities that have been posted a lot of them are scams or have some hidden kind of agenda. However there are some out there that are completely legitimate. For instance I have found information about 2 different companies hiring people to work from home. One is an auto club that uses "at-home" workers to take and screen calls. Another company has hired people to work from their homes taking calls from customers/people who want to order their forms. Although these employers do not offer benefits they do allow you to choose your own hours.
Option number two would be for you to start your own business working from home. What kind of business could you start? Almost any type of business! What kinds of businesses have people started from their own homes? Writers, artists, graphic designers, desk-top publishing, tutoring, and almost anything else that you could imagine. If you would like to see some good examples and read questions from others (and my reply to them) you can go to my consultation page at:
http://members.aol.com/Roseb441702/consult.htm
I am an example of someone who works at home. I started my own business because I hated the job that I had and lots of people have done the very same thing! Even though I love working at home I also have to remember that a certain amount of discipline is needed when one is working from home.
