Here is How You Can Fund Your Business with Grants

So, I’m starting a series of articles with two major goals:

1. I’m sick and tired of collaborative articles for #smallbusiness that cover only BS topics like "how to show enthusiasm during the interview at a small business company." Is that really important for SMBs?
2. To address the questions I’m getting a lot lately—many of which are repetitive.

I’ll also address each and every use case of SMBs seeking funds in my newsletter, Nana Talks. Please feel free to subscribe and support me. You’ll get access to detailed analyses and resources for funding.

But enough self-marketing—let’s talk about how you can fund your business with grants only.

Short answer: you can't! Mic dropped—curtains closed.

Now, jokes aside, let’s analyze this together:

Data to Consider:

1. Average amount you can secure during 1 year as a small business owner: $20,000
2. Grant lifecycle (time from application to receiving money): 4 to 12 months
3. Grant goals: Support minority-owned businesses, help deal with misfortunes like fires or COVID, and support specific industries of interest to the government or states.

These are major assumptions and approximations, but you get the idea.

So, now use your imagination:

Which business can be funded with grants only? Which type of business is okay with getting only $20k a year (best-case scenario) and still survive?

Well, there is one type: startups, or rather, startups in the dream stage. When any amount of money is a great addition to the sweat, blood, and tears equity you’re already paying. OR if you’re doing okay but an issue arises, a bit more money can help. It’s like an unexpected inheritance from a rich relative you’ve never heard of before.

Of course, I’m joking here—but I hope you get the idea.

To summarize:

Grants are great as an additional source of funding or to support your startup/dream, but they cannot be assumed to be a standalone source of funding for a business.

If you’d like to get access to analyses of business use cases, subscribe to the Nana Talks newsletter. I’ll leave the link to subscribe in the first comment.

Stay tuned!