looking for the cash

[badkittynomilk]

hi I am a mother of three wanting to open a small store in my town but finding the funds are difficult I would like to know if any knows were or how to get a grant for a small business i realy need your help thanks

[MicroBizCoach]

Dear BadKitty --

First, don't be lured by FREE GOVERNMENT GRANTS FOR WOMEN, they are rare and only for specific purpose...most of the books who promise this info are just flat out taking people's money and giving misinformation. The gov. grants usually go to non-profit orgs. that help small business owners.

IF YOU WANT to really read up on grants for business, send me an email and I will shoot you a link where you can read all about it. Also, it gives links to your state Economic Development Dept. which should list any grants...but they are pretty much just for specific tech projects.

BUT!! there are non-profit organizations that offer microloans for people who can not get a business loan from a bank AND they also provide training.

To find a non-profit org. in your area visit: www.microenterpriseworks.org and see the link for searching on the left navigation bar.



Best to you,
Marie

[Adenan]

Welcome to the forum. I hope someone here is able to help you.

Adenan

[jystrebler]

I'm going to cut to the chase, here. I'm going to make a lot of presumptions based on your post. I could be 100% wrong, but I'm confident enough that I'll say this:

1. If you don't have substantial cash of your own to invest, you're not going to get commercial lending of any sort (including SBA). You'd need to provide at least 20% to get most loans. (And having other things like a business plan and experience in the industry wouldn't hurt, either.)

Also, your personal credit will be an issue. Most small businesses, even if they're organized into a company, need to have a 3rd party guarantor of the loan if the business is brand-new. If your personal credit is bad, you won't get the loan.

2. Providing that #1 is an issue, your only way of getting money will be from friends and acquaintances.

It's that simple. Sorry to be so harsh, but this is the reality you're up against. If you're not a good credit risk, the only other chance you have is to hit up people you know.

Frankly, I don't recommend it, and I'd never, ever loan money to a person under these circumstances. However, you may have somebody with extra cash on hand that they don't mind gambling with.

[MicroBizCoach]

Hi All

I guess I should have been a bit more elaborate on my previous post.
I wanted to let you know that people of high risk, with little or no money and even questionable credit history may still qualify for loans from microlenders.

These lenders are usually non-profit and city government lenders who cater to this market we refer to as "pre-bankable"...hoping to make them bankable. In fact, one of the criteria to get a loan from these "lenders of last resort" (industry definition) is that the applicant must first be TURNED AWAY for a business loan by a regular bank.

There are hundreds all across the nation, I worked with one for several years and we lent over $1.3 Million to small businesses in our community to date.
http://www.wevonline.org/Loans/index.htm

There IS hope for people without the 20% down. It might not be a lot ($25K - $35K), but it can help them make a start.

Each lender will have a different criteria, view the link above to get one example.

Also of interest, when banks put dollars into a community loan fund, they can use their CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) dollars --- $ they are REQUIRED to put back into the community by the federal government.

Some of the microlenders by state can be found here:
www.microenterpriseworks.org

Best to you,
Marie

[MaxusPaldane]

Always a good place to start your reading is the SBA. You can check out their main Finance page, Financing Your Business and you'll see that it is very possible to get SBA backed microloans under the Micro 7a loan program. Its even easier as a woman.

But of course, with any lending, as the above posts have mentioned, you have to be credit worthy or else who would trust you with their money? Since you did not mention anything about your credit history, I'll actually assume its fine. Which means you can try the micro loan program, see if you can raise a little money there. Definitely hit up friends and family, thats the number one source of entrepreneurial financing (as taught in all major business schools in the country).

Also, depending on how much you need or what you are looking to accomplish, you can try to put together some good documentation on your business (ie Business Plan, Marketing Plan, etc) and then talk to some lawyers. A lot of good small business lawyers can hook you up with Angel Investors to provide some small bit of money here or there where commercial lending isn't feasible.

The important thing to realize is that funding your new business will not come from one place. Very seldom does a startup get one single loan then they're ready to roll. Same thing goes with non-profits and grants, its not a 'one and done' sort of deal. Instead, to come up with appropriate funding you will need to tap every available resource. Be diligent, be assertive, leave no stone unturned.

Eventually, after all of it, you will find that you have to put up as much of your own money as possible. A good thing to do to try to plan as thoroughly as possible. When you begin doing that, you'll notice you need more than you have and you'll find ways to cut expenses. If you plan an exceptionally low overhead start, you'll be in better shape to get your store off the ground.

Also, don't forgot to try working out deals with various people. Sometimes you can rent a place for a low, short term amount, then agree to more later if you can afford it. Try to get creative and make it work.

Best of luck.