Mr. Mean asked:
I’m looking into starting my own trucking company. I am presently putting together a business plan. I heard, a million times, that it may be possible to get start up money from the government and I was curious to know whether or not I needed to purchase that book from Lesko or is that information available for free somewhere else.
Thanks for the feedback!
I’m looking into starting my own trucking company. I am presently putting together a business plan. I heard, a million times, that it may be possible to get start up money from the government and I was curious to know whether or not I needed to purchase that book from Lesko or is that information available for free somewhere else.
Thanks for the feedback!
2 responses so far ↓
1 imisidro // Jan 27, 2009 at 2:38 am
You can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) and 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 from Lesko 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.
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.
Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website…
“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 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.”
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.
2 loriclhn // Jan 29, 2009 at 9:37 am
I think you should probably search the web “State of ??and Business grants.” This should have requirements…your business plan needs to be complete in format including your tax i.d. # from IRS and your CRS # (state tx i.d. #) as well as another state tax #. An accountant can help you get tax forms. Start by looking up your state’s business requirements.