Free Money - Myth or Miracle?
By Herbert R. Williams
This may come as a surprise... but there really is FREE money for the asking - if you know how to ask.
The problem is not how much is available, not your qualifications to receive the money, not that your not entitled to the money but, no one tells you how to go about getting it. There are virtually thousands of web sites you can surf that will sell you all kinds of lists and books (most, woefully outdated) that make it sound like getting your free money is a "piece of cake". It's not, but it is possible and done all the time. Read on and I'll try to give you the basics on what must be done to get your "piece of the pie".
Step #1: Have a goal. Be able to articulate what you want and when you want it. Put your dreams on paper so you can share them with others. Abstractions will not work. Your ideas must be real so that others can visualize them and feel them with you.
"I want to open a kennel'" is not the same as " My community needs a place where dog owners can trust their pets to someone who will watch over their needs while they are away".
Step #2: You must have a budget. How much will the project cost to start. How much working capital will I need to back me up whileI'm building the business? How much will I need while I'm growing? What will my expenses be, both short term and long term? What will my projected sales be for the first three months, 6 months, year
and three years in the future.
Step #3: You must have a complete business plan. Your business plan should include your budget, your location, your competition, how you plan to advertise and get business. Also include the services you plan to offer, the market you expect to
pull from and any other details about your business that would be important to an investor.
Step #4; Research the grants and grantors available for your type of venture.
They are listed by, public, non-profit, state, city, county type of project, grantor, how much is available, when available, contacts, phone numbers and addresses.
If this all seems like a lot of work, it is. Don't let it discourage you. When Pete T., a good friend of mine, thought about applying for a grant for an auto repair shop he asked me if there were any resources that were available to help him apply for a
grant. I immediately went to the web and started searching and boy was I surprised. When I 'googled' the word 'grant' more than 157,000,000 pages popped up. There is plenty of help out there.
If it sounds a little daunting, don't be discouraged. Start on your project NOW. The biggest deterent for you getting some FREE money for your project will be procrastination, putting off till tomorrow, what you can and should do today.
Put your ideas on paper, check you figures and start your project. There is FREE money for you, it's not a myth.
Herbert R. Williams is the webmaster for www.money-from-grants.com
which is the ultimate resource for private and public grant directories on
the Internet. Copyright (c) 2005
This may come as a surprise... but there really is FREE money for the asking - if you know how to ask.
The problem is not how much is available, not your qualifications to receive the money, not that your not entitled to the money but, no one tells you how to go about getting it. There are virtually thousands of web sites you can surf that will sell you all kinds of lists and books (most, woefully outdated) that make it sound like getting your free money is a "piece of cake". It's not, but it is possible and done all the time. Read on and I'll try to give you the basics on what must be done to get your "piece of the pie".
Step #1: Have a goal. Be able to articulate what you want and when you want it. Put your dreams on paper so you can share them with others. Abstractions will not work. Your ideas must be real so that others can visualize them and feel them with you.
"I want to open a kennel'" is not the same as " My community needs a place where dog owners can trust their pets to someone who will watch over their needs while they are away".
Step #2: You must have a budget. How much will the project cost to start. How much working capital will I need to back me up whileI'm building the business? How much will I need while I'm growing? What will my expenses be, both short term and long term? What will my projected sales be for the first three months, 6 months, year
and three years in the future.
Step #3: You must have a complete business plan. Your business plan should include your budget, your location, your competition, how you plan to advertise and get business. Also include the services you plan to offer, the market you expect to
pull from and any other details about your business that would be important to an investor.
Step #4; Research the grants and grantors available for your type of venture.
They are listed by, public, non-profit, state, city, county type of project, grantor, how much is available, when available, contacts, phone numbers and addresses.
If this all seems like a lot of work, it is. Don't let it discourage you. When Pete T., a good friend of mine, thought about applying for a grant for an auto repair shop he asked me if there were any resources that were available to help him apply for a
grant. I immediately went to the web and started searching and boy was I surprised. When I 'googled' the word 'grant' more than 157,000,000 pages popped up. There is plenty of help out there.
If it sounds a little daunting, don't be discouraged. Start on your project NOW. The biggest deterent for you getting some FREE money for your project will be procrastination, putting off till tomorrow, what you can and should do today.
Put your ideas on paper, check you figures and start your project. There is FREE money for you, it's not a myth.
Herbert R. Williams is the webmaster for www.money-from-grants.com
which is the ultimate resource for private and public grant directories on
the Internet. Copyright (c) 2005
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