Web Site: Money-From-Grants.com

Date Submitted: 07/30/2005

This may come as a surprise... but there really is FREE money for
the asking - if you know how to ask.

The problem is not how much is available, not your qualifications
to receive the money, not that your not entitled to the money but,
no one tells you how to go about getting it. There are virtually
thousands of web sites you can surf that will sell you all kinds
of lists and books (most, woefully outdated) that make it sound
like getting your free money is a "piece of cake". It's not, but
it is possible and done all the time. Read on and I'll try to give
you the basics on what must be done to get your "piece of the
pie".

Step #1: Have a goal. Be able to articulate what you want and when
you want it. Put your dreams on paper so you can share them with
others. Abstractions will not work. Your ideas must be real so
that others can visualize them and feel them with you.

"I want to open a kennel'" is not the same as " My community needs
a place where dog owners can trust their pets to someone who will
watch over their needs while they are away".

Step #2: You must have a budget. How much will the project cost to
start. How much working capital will I need to back me up while
I'm building the business? How much will I need while I'm growing?
What will my expenses be, both short term and long term? What will
my projected sales be for the first three months, 6 months, year
and three years in the future.

Step #3: You must have a complete business plan.

Your business plan should include your budget, your location, your
competition, how you plan to advertise and get business. Also
include the services you plan to offer, the market you expect to
pull from and any other details about your business that would be
important to an investor.

Step #4; Research the grants and grantors available for your type
of venture.

They are listed by, public, non-profit, state, city, county type
of project, grantor, how much is available, when available,
contacts, phone numbers and addresses.

If this all seems like a lot of work, it is. Don't let it
discourage you. When Pete T., a good friend of mine, thought about
applying for a grant for an auto repair shop he asked me if there
were any resources that were available to help him apply for a
grant. I immediately went to the web and started searching and boy
was I surprised. When I 'googled' the word 'grant' more than
157,000,000 pages popped up. There is plenty of help out there.

If it sounds a little daunting, don't be discouraged. Start on
your project NOW. The biggest deterent for you getting some FREE
money for your project will be procrastination, putting off till
tomorrow, what you can and should do today.

Put your ideas on paper, check you figures and start your project.
There is FREE money for you, it's not a myth.

Herbert R. Williams is the webmaster for www.money-from-grants.com
which is the ultimate resource for private and public grant directories on
the Internet. Copyright (c) 2005