Are there Grants to Help you Start or Expand your Business?
If finding grants for individuals is a challenging task than trying to find grants to start or expand your business is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Generally, the federal government does not offer grants to help you start your own for-profit business or make it grow. Uncle Sam does not also give grants to help you cover your business operating expenses or pay off debts incurred by your enterprise. It used to do so back in the seventies and eighties, allocating money for CDCs or Community Development Corporations. However, this is not an available option now.
But this does not necessarily mean that you can’t find grants for your enterprise venture. There are still rare treasure troves of available grants if you’re looking for funding for your own business. Be ready to do a lot of searching, however, as these grants are not going to be easy to find.
When it comes to grants for start ups and expanding your business, you can look up business plan competitions, private grants, and state grants.
Business Plan Competitions
Business plan competitions, as the name suggests, are contests started by universities and other funders for the best business plan. Whoever can write the best business plan will receive grant money to be able to start their business. Yes, it’s a tough way to get a grant (but then again, getting any form of funding is not easy). If you’re joining a business grant contest offered by an educational institution, you are going to be competing against equally-brilliant postgraduate students. If it’s sponsored by an organization that accepts entries from all parts of the globe then you are up against the best international minds.
But the good thing about joining a business plan competition is that you learn a lot from it even if you don’t actually get to win. Some of the contests are designed so that feedback is given to all participants in whatever stage of the process. This means that even if your business plan is rejected outright, you still receive valuable insight from experienced mentors who can help you improve your business plan, the foundation for any ultimately successful enterprise. Those who advance to the next level of competitions can get the chance to attend conferences, workshops, and mentoring programs—all non-monetary benefits that any neophyte entrepreneur can certainly benefit from.
Here are some examples of business plan competitions that we have sourced from the Internet just by typing the keywords “business plan competitions” on Google.
MassChallenge is the world’s largest accelerator program and startup competition that seeks to connect resources and entrepreneurs. Any early-stage startup from anywhere in the world in whatever industry can apply to MassChallenge. Benefits include mentorship and training, free office space, access to funding, and media, among others. They highlight the fact that they don’t put restrictions and take no equity from the participants.
2. Harvard Business School New Venture Competition (http://www.hbs.edu/entrepreneurship/new-venture-competition/overview.html)
Formerly known as the Business Plan Contest, this competition sponsored by Harvard Business School gives an opportunity for students to put their entrepreneurship principles in practice. The winner gets $50,000 in cash plus in-kind services while the runner-up receives $25,000 in cash and in-kind services. For the business track, all teams are eligible to enter for as long as they have at least one Harvard Business School student. For the social enterprise track, all teams entered are eligible as long as they have at least one person who is: a) an HBS MBA student, b) a Harvard University Reynolds Foundation Fellow, or c) a full-time Harvard graduate student currently enrolled in the Social Entrepreneurship Collaboratory or the Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector course at KSG.
In this 7-month platform, entrepreneurs and their teams fight for the Venture Finals which award three top prizes. The group with the best business plan walks away with The Perlman Prize which carries $30,000 cash prize and $15,000 of in-kind services. The contest is divided into two phases: Phase 1 is an advisory phase and is optional while Phase 2 is the competitive phase—you must enter Phase 2 if you want to compete for prizes.
There are still other business plan competitions offered by other institutions. Check them out weekly so you are updated on the newest contests and can prepare accordingly. Two other sources for listings of contests for budding entrepreneurs are Biz Plan Competitions (http://www.bizplancompetitions.com/) and changemakers (http://www.changemakers.com/).
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