| Years ago female entrepreneurs were few and far | | | | list of available programs for women starting a |
| between. Times have changed and now two out of | | | | business such as WomensFinance.com, grants for |
| every three businesses are started by women and | | | | women by state and grants for specific diverse |
| there are many organizations out there to help finance | | | | groups. They also offer help in the application process |
| these business ventures. Grants are a great way to | | | | like identifying mistakes in the business plan, creating a |
| get financing because unlike traditional bank loans, | | | | perfect cover letter and tips for getting your application |
| grants do not need to be repaid. So the question is | | | | accepted. |
| how do women starting a business find out about the | | | | 5. A great resource for women starting a business is |
| grants available to them? Here are five places that the | | | | This site provides an up to date list of organizations |
| female entrepreneur can begin to find financing for her | | | | that specifically look for women to award grants to. |
| new adventure. | | | | They also have a wealth of information on networking, |
| Women Starting A Business: 5 Places To Get | | | | managing and promoting your business. |
| Financing | | | | What Women Starting A Business Need To Have |
| 1. Grants.gov is a great site to go to and get | | | | Before Asking For Any Financial Help |
| information on what grants are available and how to | | | | Before you look into grant money for women starting |
| apply successfully for them. They have information on | | | | a business you need to make sure that you have a |
| over 1000 grants available and access to 500 billion | | | | business plan. In fact, your business plan is the most |
| dollars of grant money on a yearly basis. | | | | important part when the awarding party is deciding |
| 2. USAGovernmentGrants.org is a site dedicated to | | | | who to give the grants to. This requires a lot of |
| Government Grants. They have a link that is devoted | | | | research in the market in which you plan on doing |
| to grants specifically for women. They offer contact | | | | business. You need to have a financial plan in place as |
| information for the awarding agencies which makes it | | | | well. |
| very easy to apply. The Government Grant package | | | | One Important Market Women Starting A Business |
| they provide is free and they award over 20 billion | | | | Should Investigate |
| dollars per year to women starting a business. | | | | If you are feeling overwhelmed and are not quite sure |
| 3. Small Business Administration is another website | | | | what the best market to do business in is, you may |
| with plenty of information on grant access. This | | | | want to check out the Online World. Hundreds of |
| website offers access not only to grants awarded by | | | | thousands of people are starting online businesses. |
| foundations and agencies, but also to grants awarded | | | | The Internet is growing at an unbelievable rate and |
| by banks and financial institutions. | | | | relatively speaking, an online business has a very small |
| 4. Women's Business Grants is a website that has a | | | | start up cost and almost no overhead. |