July 7th, 2010 | 
Author: I want to someday start a small business in maybe Aroma Therapy and Candles, I have also thought of something that involves the elderly and helping widowed women. I’m not sure how or where to start. Any suggestions? I’m taking classes right now for my associate in business degree, but I’m not sure where else to go. I think that there are grants available, but not sure where to go. Thank you for any and all help.
Women entrepreneurs in today’s business world
Posted in 
Tags: 
Youth
grants
Need
owner
start
Women's
Free
Know
Network
Business
government
Ruzan
Awards
year
successful
2011
Help
Entrepreneur
2009
Award
Telstra
Best
Interview
Starting
owners
Women
Video
about
Owned
find
Part
Woman
BraveHeart
Small
from
Summit
black
Entrepreneurs
2010
Khambatta
there
Icon
Success
Money
grant
Powered by Yahoo! Answers
Hi,
In response to your question . . .
If you don’t know how to write a professional grant or know someone who has done and received money, then I beg would not bet on getting an approval.
It is not easy to get a grant. Rather than for me to go into more details . . . how about this . . . You have an easier way to go into business. Many people fail to see what’s happening now and will become a force in the near future. I need to get a start at learning Internet Marketing or Affiliate Marketing.
Without saying anything more, I want you to go to the website below and use your imagination. You can and will make so much money, if you can only see it happening.
Take Care and Good Luck!
Grants for starting a business are rare – and mainly a myth – despite what the guy in the “question mark” suit says. (Don’t buy his book – look for it in a library). Unless you are in a severely economically depressed area federal grants do not exist. Your state or local community may have some sort of program. The primary method of assistance is low interest, uncollatoralized loans. I sugget you check the Small Business Administration web site, http://www.sba.gov for information on these programs and other general business information. Good luck!
http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/gettingfinancing/index115674.html
It is hard to find grants to start a business. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for a for-profit business. And yes, grants mean PAPERWORK – lots and lots of it, that is why a cottage industry of grant writers was born.
Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov – these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.
Even if you buy books on “how to get grants” or list that supposedly has information on grants — all of them are mere rehash of what CFDA has, albeit packaged differently. But still the info is the same – hardly any grants for starting a for profit business.
Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html...
“The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments.”
Here is a listing of federal grants for small businesses. See if there is any available for individuals for starting a business — THERE’S NONE.
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.BROWSE_BENEF_RPT.show
Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT – Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program
Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women’s Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women’s business center that will train women entrepreneurs
For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center’s Foundation Grants for Individuals Online. It’s a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) but their opening blurb only says that the database is ideal for “students, artists, academic researchers, libraries and financial aid offices.” Entrepreneurs are apparently not one of them, so I take it they also don’t have listings of private foundations who give grants to would-be entrepreneurs.