if you're strapped for cash or simply
want to take advantage of
free money that's available in grants
then i'm going to give you
every resource available to get money
right now yes even if you're not hurting
for money
you may still want to take advantage of
some of these opportunities
so your competitors don't blow past you
and leave you in the dust
because they're taking advantage of it
by the time i'm done with this video
there should not be
anything else for you to do but to get
to work and start completing these
applications
at the right places don't watch any
other
youtube video on how to find a small
business grant
don't search for another keyword phrase
in google
because i've already done all of that
for you and will give you everything
that you need to know
right now hi my name is sherman i'm a
cpa
and i own two companies that help small
businesses specifically
in this video i'm going to tell you
exactly where i would go
to find money for my business
immediately
i'm going to give you the most effective
ways to
find grants regardless of the time
period and i'll also go over some of the
hot grants related
to the covid recession i'll tell you
what you need to know
in order to start applying and the most
common mistakes that i see my clients
make
time and time again when they're
searching for funding for their business
now if this video helps you in any
capacity
please give this video a thumbs up and
subscribe to our channel
we're all about helping small businesses
grow
so with that said let's begin first of
all
what is a grant let's go ahead and get
this out of the way a
grant is simply a sum of money that is
given for a particular purpose it is
most commonly given
by governments and sometimes other
organizations now
other organizations such as non-profits
are
very important here because the
government frequently provides
funding to non-profit organizations
who in turn grant money to small
businesses
now many people ask me well what's the
difference between a grant
and a loan it's very simple a grant does
not have to be paid back
and a loan does now if you do not use a
grant
for the specified purpose you may be
required to pay back the full amount
and possibly suffer more consequence so
only apply for grants that are specific
to your business needs
now that that's out of the way let's
talk about the most effective ways to
get grants
generally the most effective way to
receive grant funding
is to start where you are start with
your local city
or county government then move up to
your state and federal government
local government grants are generally
less competitive
and also more intentional about serving
small businesses
in their areas so let's start with local
government first
now there are a few different places you
can find local grants number one you can
find them at your local small business
development center
number two you can find them at your
local economic
development authority and the number
three you can call your elected
officials
offices directly to provide you with
grant options
now let's discuss all of these options
starting with
local small business development centers
also referred to
as sbdcs sbdcs are organizations that
are
funded directly by the government
to support small businesses in addition
to sbdc's
the small business administration more
commonly referred to as the sba
may also have local chapters that
address
the needs of small businesses in your
area as well
to start just search for local sbdc's
in your area and browse their websites
most will have financial programs
and assistance right on their website
for example i live in atlanta georgia
and when i search for atlanta small
business development center
this is what shows up i can browse their
website for financial resources
or call them directly now i strongly
recommend
calling these chapters directly as they
may have access to grant programs
that are designed specifically for your
small business
now let's move on to the second tactic
which involves contacting your local
economic authority most cities or
counties have an economic
development center in short these
centers
want to create better opportunities for
people in their communities
and what do you think is the best way to
create those opportunities for people
by creating jobs and they cannot create
jobs without businesses
which is why this is a great place to
start to find
business grants for your business these
centers spend
enormous amounts of time and money
finding ways to attract businesses to
just simply
come to their communities they provide
grants loans
tax credits and so much more for
businesses to come to their community
they literally bend backwards to spur
economic growth
in their area this is practically why
amazon virtually pays no taxes because
of government incentives to bring their
corporate business to specific areas
so to find your city's economic
authority just search google for your
city's economic authority for example
when i search for atlanta economic
authority
i find invest atlanta now due to invest
atlanta
i save over 100 000 per year
in business taxes through their tax
credit programs
but i'll save that for another video my
only point is
this stuff is real so be sure to
subscribe to our channel
to learn every way to grow your business
effectively
anyway find your economic development
authority
view their programs and call them
directly to find grants for your
business
now let's move on to the third tactic
which involves
calling on your elected officials
directly
as funny as it sounds calling your
elected officials office
is a hack that most for-profit grant
companies use
to find grants for their customers now
here's the truth
government spending in the united states
represents one
third of total spending in our country
the government themself is a major
contributor
to the net worth of our country this is
why corporations spend billions of
dollars in lobbying
so they can tap in to the government
funds and
incentives to grow their business now
fortunately for small businesses
there are already incentives set aside
for you
you just need to know where it is so
to get to the point this is what you
need to do
first find out what district you're in
you can do this by using a website that
i found
called openstates.org next just pop in
your zip code
to find elected officials that
specifically
serve your area lastly
click the official's name and call them
directly
a representative from their office will
normally answer
when they pick up just say hi i'm a
small business owner in your district
i'm seeking assistance with obtaining
grants and was hoping to gain some
information
about available grants in this area i
promise guys
don't be shy about this these people are
in
office to serve you your tax dollars are
being used
to fund these programs so as a citizen
of that district
you have every right to inquire on what
grants they have available
they will either help you or point you
in the right direction
you may also ask them for information
about non-profit organizations
that are also doing grants for small
businesses oftentimes
there are many more organizations that
exist than just the sbdc
or sba for example east cooper community
outreach
is a community-based non-profit in
charleston south carolina
they specialize in helping low-income
people
in their community obtain financial aid
these are the type of organizations that
you're probably not going to find
searching on google but these are also
the organizations that you can find
by picking up the phone and calling your
elected official's office and here's a
major hack you can
also ask them directly for a letter of
recommendation
to help you obtain specific grants yes
elected officials can endorse your
company to help you obtain
funding now this does not guarantee that
you'll get it
but it surely does help but what do you
think about these tips so far is it
helpful
let me know in the comments below if it
is please help me out by hitting the
like button below
now let's move on to state and federal
government grants
state grants are generally more
competitive than local grants but what
do you have to lose
at the end of the day this is free money
available to people
and as long as you fit the criteria
there's no reason why you should not
apply
okay now here's how to get started first
find your state department's economic
development authority
this follows the same exact process that
i gave you
for the local example when i search for
georgia economic development
small business grants on google it takes
me to the exact
page where i can view all the loans and
grants
available for my business do the same
thing in your state
and see what you can find once you find
your state's economic authority
don't hesitate to call them to get the
exact
information that you need i can't
emphasize this enough
pick up the phone and call these people
remember they are here to help you
now let's talk a little bit about
federal grants
then i'll tell you what you need to do
in order to be successful
in applying for these type of loans now
federal grants
like state grants are traditionally more
competitive
due to the amount of businesses applying
for them but right now this has changed
dramatically due to the covet recession
we've seen the federal government
support small businesses like they
never have before an effort to stop
small businesses
from going out of business and for them
halting job creation
now the first place i recommend to find
federal grants
is sba.gov the sba
is the only federal agency dedicated to
small businesses
and provide capital for them as well
this is where the most
popular federal grants are listed for
small businesses
this includes things like the paycheck
protection program
also known as the ppp loan and the eidl
which is the economic injury disaster
loan now
i know what you may be thinking you
might say sherman i want a grant i
thought this was about grants
not loans but wait before you do that
here's the thing
these programs work like grants if used
correctly
for example the ppp loan was essentially
a forgivable loan if it was used for
specific expenses
like rent and employee salaries anyway
read between the lines to make sure you
fully
understand these programs so to get
started go to sba.gov
view their funding programs and find
programs that best
suit your needs okay so at this point
i've given you
local non-profit state and
federal options to secure grant funding
now let's make sure that you're buttoned
up correctly so that when you start
applying for funding
you have a good chance of getting
accepted let's talk about what you need
to have
in my top tips for success before you
start applying
for small business grants you should
have these things done
first make sure your business is
incorporated into an entity
your business should have a unique
employer federal identification number
that shows that you own a real business
secondly your business and personal
taxes
should be complete grant providers will
want to know the current standing of
your business
including your income make sure your tax
returns are up to date
for the most recent tax period third
your business books should be up to date
in most cases
you must provide your financial records
for your business
in order to qualify for certain grants
they'll want this to make sure that you
have an
actual need for the money that you're
requesting fourth
you should be operating in a separate
business bank account remember
grants are only free if you use the
money appropriately
to make it easier for yourself to do
your books and for them to audit you if
funds are used correctly
conduct your business transactions from
a business bank account
finally you should have a plan for the
use of the grant
funds if you're awarded grant money what
will you do with it
you should know this before you apply
for grants
they're going to want to know what your
plan is for the money that they're
giving you
you can take this a step further by
forecasting your financials
based off of receiving the grant money
show them what you're going to
accomplish through the use of those
grant funds
for yourself and for your customers by
tackling these items in advance
you will have a better chance of
obtaining grant funds
quickly in short you're going to make it
easy
for grant providers to give you the
money you need to run a successful
business
if you need help with any of these
things like setting up a business
entity filing your business taxes
catching up your books
or financial projections just contact us
and we'll be happy
to help you we do this every single day
for our small business clients
otherwise let's quickly summarize this
video so you can get straight to work
on applying for grants right away here's
the recap
first we tackle the question of what is
a grad
remember a grant is simply a sum of
money
used for a particular purpose as we
discussed make sure you can clearly
articulate
what purpose you will use grant funds
for
when applying next we spent time
discussing
where to find grants we recommend
generally
starting at the local level with your
city or county government
find out who's running the show in your
district call them
and ask them where you can find grants
then
branch out into seeking state and
federal grants
lastly we discuss what you should have
in order to be successful
in your grant search you should have an
incorporated entity
completed tax returns up-to-date books
and most importantly a plan on how you
intend on using grant funds
i hope you enjoyed the content of this
video if you did
please click the like button below and
subscribe to our channel
for more content on how to grow your
business talk to you soon