_____ FEATURED ARTICLE _____________________


          Grants For the Home-based Entrepreneur


TNSTAAFL...Keep this in mind the next time someone tells you 
they'll give you money for nothing.  "There's no such thing as 
a free lunch!"  Remember that.

There are always strings attached.  No exceptions.

With that said, let's now take a look at business grants.  What 
is a grant?

Business grants are sums of money awarded to finance a 
particular business activity or facility. Generally, these 
grant awards do not need to be paid back.

"Sounds great!  Where can I sign up?" you say.

Before you rush to get in line, consider TNSTAAFL.  Look to see 
what strings are attached first.  Once you've found them, you 
may decide, "Yes, this is definitely for me," or "No, I'm not 
sure I can live with those terms."

So, what kinds of terms or strings may be attached?

Let's start with a recent example...Miss Universe.  While this 
example is not necessarily business related, it does illustrate 
a point.

When Oxana Fedorova of Russia was crowned Miss Universe in May, 
2002, she imagined the honor of receiving such a wonderful 
title.  It could launch her to great heights with new 
opportunity in her life.  The title also awarded money and 
prizes.

However, before applying, Oxana had not done her homework to 
find out what strings were attached to the title.  "When I 
entered the contest, I had no idea and no one ever explained to 
me the consequences of winning the contest, the many 
commitments," she claimed.  The overwhelmed Oxana soon realized 
the time commitment was too much for her to be able continue 
her education at the moment and life as a police lieutenant, 
both of which she loved.

Was the trade off worth it for her?  Apparently not.

The title, rights and prizes were relinquished to deserving 
runner-up Justine Pasek of Panama who is ready and willing to 
take on the duties and commitments of the Miss Universe title.  
She accepts the strings attached.

Business grants are similar, some with more strings attached 
than others.  Your job is to do your homework in advance to 
understand the terms and then decide if the trade offs are 
worth it to you.

Terms will vary with each business grant.  Some will require 
nothing more than your business plan being published or 
agreeing to a few interviews.  Others will come with 
substantial strings attached and are more like contracts.  They 
may require that you provide a specific product or service in 
your business, that you employ a certain number of people, that 
a percentage of those employees be minorities, that you provide 
monthly journals and business entries, etc.  For the home-based 
entrepreneur, some of these terms may not be realistic 
expectations.

Currently, the U.S. government only provides specialized grants 
for research and development for technology based products and 
services for the government.  However, they do have a bevy of 
small business loan programs.

Large corporations may give grants to fulfill their own needs 
and to promote themselves and their products.  These kinds of 
grants are often smaller.  However, sometimes, a small boost is 
all that is needed by the small, home-based entrepreneur.

If you find a grant, have done your homework, and decide this 
is the way to go for your business, you will need to plan on 
spending a significant amount of time in applying for the grant 
as well as fulfilling the terms of the grant.  Some think they 
will simply fill out an application and wait to find out if 
they've been awarded the grant.  It just doesn't work that 
way.  There will be a long process in the application, and may 
include writing and submitting an in-depth business plan, 
making changes to it, interviews and so forth.  And, there are 
often multiple steps to a grant application.

For this reason, you need to weigh all the factors, the pros 
and cons.  Will your time be better spent going for the grant 
or getting out and making the sales?  Which will bring you a 
better return on investment?  Each case will be different.

As for how much you can receive from a grant...

Grants range from a few hundred dollars to hundreds of 
thousands, the most common being between $1000 and $10,000.

But, one thing is for sure.  As IdeaCafe.com asserts, "No 
business grant will be awarded just because you have a great 
smile, a good sob-story, or feel you deserve a long vacation on 
the beach.  However, a grant could give you the chance to take 
your dream to the next level without having to spin off so much 
of your energy to the constant search for funds."

If you don't get the first grant you apply for, try again.  
Ask the grantors why you didn't receive the grant and what you 
could do to improve your chances.  Find out the judging 
criteria and apply for other grants.

Just remember...TNSTAAFL.

------
About the Authors:
Successful entrepreneurs Heidi and Dave Perry are founders of
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