Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

• Significance

  • Home-based business grants are few and far between. Some companies do offer home-based business grants on a small basis. The federal government, however, does not offer home-based business grants. Instead the Small Business Administration has some grant money for technology expansion, though this money is reserved for already-operating businesses. Some states do have money available for grants, and the state's economic development office usually runs these programs.

  Misconceptions

  • Because of some savvy marketing, some people believe that the government hands out millions of dollars every year to entrepreneurs who can get started with no investment capital of their own. That is not true. In fact, the government does give out some grant money to home-based businesses, but most of that money goes to non-profit or other charity-related work that happens to be run from someone's home.

  Benefits

  • If you are lucky enough to land a grant you can use for your home-based business, then you will not have to pay that money back. The purpose of grants is that this money is "free" in that it is not a loan. You may have to prove that you have met certain benchmarks, however, or you may have to provide written reports of your business dealings to keep the funding.

  Warning

  • Quite a few scams are out there about home-based business grants. These scams typically ask for an upfront fee, which can be up to $100. In return, the scam company offers to send lists of agencies giving out grant money. Alhough some of these scams specifically target home-based business grants, the companies listed usually give grants for other business types.

  Myths

  • The idea that the government gifts money to anyone who requests it is a myth. The federal government does have loan programs available, and home-based businesses are eligible for many of these programs. Women and minorities also are eligible for a lot of loan programs, but the federal government does not have large-scale grants available.

 

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