Theory is good thing. You can have a thousand advices on how a process should work but when it comes to something that should be made on practice, advices from people who have been through it are priceless. Here are a couple of things to o and think of before you head to the local government office to ask for grant.
- Ask around.
Contact the local government agency, local business networks and chamber of commerce . Ask them about small business grants that are available to you. Discuss and share the information with your own network of directors and business founders. Creating a tree of people who know what you look for makes it easier to keep yourself informed what grants are available at any particular moment. And don’t forget that this network works both ways and if you have the opportunity you should help and provide information too.
- Get to know the people who manage the grants.
Don’t stock them. Sometimes it seems endless torturing repetitive exercise to file a grant application. Gather as much information as possible before you go for it. This way when you meet the manager you will have an idea what he may ask from you and what will be expected from your project papers.
- Don’t wait for the last moment.
Sometimes it’s the worst you can do. Not that your documents will be rejected but in business if you want something done on time, you don’t wait till the last minute. Also some grants have limitation about the amount of applicants and being the last one may equal to be the first to be rejected.
- Give yourself time.
Documents may seem simple and easy to fill but sometimes they require extra declarations and reports that need time to be filed. Also if you are looking to start a project or to run your company in September, start applying for grants in June. It takes time both to you and to the authorities to take a look at the documentation and to pick the companies that will receive financial aid. Also getting the grant doesn’t mean you already have the money in your account. Sometimes the actual receiving takes up to month.
- Extra charges.
Some applications require outer assessment that may be chargeable for you. Don’t think that the process of grant application is always completely free.
And that’s from the practice: every grant has different requirements, read closely.
Tags: advice, business, government, grant, loan