Archive for Home Based Business

Business Grants to Work at Home



While most American citizens are well aware of free government business grant programs that help to supplement, or completely subsidize start up costs of major companies and professional endeavors, few realize that these very same small business grants from the government can be utilized to establish much smaller, yet equally as profitable operations.

With the current increase in lay offs and unemployment rates, job security is seemingly a thing of the past. Many resourceful individuals are planning ahead for the worst, and seeking to become self-employed. While there is a great deal of monetary risk involved in establishing a new business in a poor economy, there are two major benefits to be considered when weighing the pros and cons.

First, the option of creating an at home internet functional business is a very wise choice. The theory of starting small with little overhead is a much more practical approach to career independence than running the risk of paying out exorbitant amounts of money to build or rent store or office space and hire and payroll staff members. This is before even considering the costs of supplies, equipment, and utilities. Starting small in the privacy of your own home can eliminate a significant amount of overhead expenditures, and allow you to grow into your business and expand at a rate appropriate to your profit margin.

The second, and more remarkable advantage is that you more than likely may be eligible to qualify for free government money to do this. Yes, even a small home-based online business is an acceptable investment in the eyes of the United States government, and more often than not is approved for small business grant funding. If you qualify, you may be qualified to receive enough cash awards to afford everything you need to develop your own fully equipped home office, and any other supplies you may need to get your business up and running.

You don’t have to be a big business tycoon to avail government business grants. You just need a good business plan. And isn’t insuring your own job security a good plan?

By: Sarah Beckham

Home Based Business Grants



There are a whole host of individuals and potential home based business owners who have been searching for grant money which, they hope, will provide them with the necessary means to start their home based business. Some companies will market to these consumers using terms like “free money” to entice them. With all of these companies making it seem so easy to get free grant money for your business, why would you not want to partake in the spoils?

When trying to find free money grants for your home-based business, your best bet is to proceed with caution. That is because technically, free money does exists, but you may need to read the fine print. Small business owners and entrepreneurs can actually get free grants from the millions of dollars of funds available to them. The majority of these grants come from private institutions, the government and nongovernmental organizations. The amount of grant money paid out varies between $5,000 to six figures. And the most amazing thing about the grant money is no one requires you to pay it back.

However, the vast majority of institutions which fund these grants do not offer free money at all. Businesses such as the Bank of America Foundation or the Small Business Association will not provide capital for small businesses such as clothing design or day cares, etc. And they will not provide small business grants to anyone who wants to start a “for profit” company. Rather, these funding groups will generally utilize their grant funds to target specific organizations, activities or groups. For example, the SBA grants are usually provided to educational institutes or nonprofit organizations. The Bank of America Foundation will consider requests by nonprofits that are in a geographic area that they have strong business presence in. If they come across a business or nonprofit which falls in line with the objectives and goals of their organization, most funding institutions will provide what is called “project” funding.

There are also small amounts of grant funding institutions that will give individuals money directly. The drawback, though, is that you need to use the grant money in a way that remains consistent with the funding institutions objectives. And because these are project-based grants, a lot of organizations may require you to provide some of the funding on your own. As for using grants to fund your home-based business, they may only cover a small portion of what you actually need. Only on rare occasions will the cover the entire cost to start your business. For example, the Indian Grant Program provided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs offers individuals up to $100,000 to develop businesses on reservations that will impact the reservation positively. It also makes clear the fact that only 25% of all costs are covered. So, the individuals then need to provide the other 75% out of their own pockets.

By: Katie Appleby