How Seed Money Can Help You Start Your Business


Starting a business is hard, there's no doubt about it. You have a great idea that you think people will love, but you might not have the means to get it off the ground financially. Despite what you think, you're not completely at a loss without the money to get going. An option you have is to seek a seed money grant from various government and private agencies. Theses start-up grants are intended to help maintain business operations during the first few months or years of operation, the most common time for a business to fail. Why would an agency decide to front this type of money for a business that has yet to prove itself? Well it's very well known that economic activity in the small business sector encourages innovation and helps drive other aspects of the economy as well. So let's talk about a few ways you can get your hands on this money.

Agricultural Grants

These types of grants are awarded in the hope that recipients will use the money to pay for business development, membership recruitment, and market studies. This comes from the Food Co-op Initiative, which gave $100,000 worth of grants in 2011. Another common provider is the USDA, which provides relatively obtainable loans to finance new farmers and ranchers. This is called the Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Loan, which farmers who have not been in operation for more than 10 years can qualify for with a 5 percent down payment. The loan can sometimes total up to $30,000.

Businesses Owned By Women

Many organizations, like the website Women's Net, offer grants to start-up businesses founded by women. This particular grant is intended for those starting a home-based or online business, but the Girls Going Places Entrepreneurship Award is also targeted towards young women aged between 12 and 18 to encourage continuing entrepreneurial endeavors. This grant often gives money totaling $30,000 each year, which can then be used by these young entrepreneurs to develop their small businesses.

Encourage Social Growth through Entrepreneurship

These types of grants have a heavy focus on community involvement and businesses that will encourage that and have an impact on their communities as a whole. Organizations eligible to apply for these types of grants often include nonprofit organizations. Echoing Green is one that offers quite a bit of money nationally for social entrepreneurs. They pay their start-up funds in four installments over the course of two years to qualifying businesses. Another opportunity comes from the Kauffman Foundation, which accepts letters of inquiry to determine the level of eligibility your organization might have for the program.

General Small Business Grants to Get You Going

For more general small businesses starting out, the Small Business Administration has a few options for you as well. The Early Stage Innovation Fund provides funding for businesses in the beginning stages of operation. This administration also offers grants for more those with a heavier focus on more innovative research. These can include businesses in industries like technology, education, transportation, aeronautics, agriculture, defense, energy, and environmental science. This particular grant is unfortunately not open to not for profit organizations, and qualifying organizations must have fewer than 500 employees and be based in the United States. If you fit this criteria, though, these grants are more than optimistic opportunities to get your business up and running.

As you can see, there are plenty of options for whatever type of business you might be looking to start. Regardless of whether you're trying to open a new bakery in your hometown, whether you're trying to find more efficient ways of powering the businesses already present in your area, or even if you're trying to start an after school program for the kids in your city, you have options available to you to get your business started. There are people out there who have been in your shoes before, and therefore there are people out there who empathize with you. More importantly, this means that there are people out there who want to see you succeed in the endeavors you choose to embark on. Don't hesitate tot are advantage of them while you can.