There are many would-be entrepreneurs out there with great ideas but no money to invest in their venture.
In the last 14 years I have had so many people say there are grants out there to help finance a business. And I have so many more ask me where that grant-financing money is at. In all that time I have never found a grant that finances the start-up of a business.
There are federal training programs that subsidize part of the wages for a new, qualified employee who is provided on-the-job training and works permanently full time for your company. There are also federal tax incentives to provide the same employment and training conditions for new hires. But I do not know of programs designed to provide investment capital for the start-up and operation of the enterprise.
If you simply do not have sufficient collateral, good credit and/or cash to finance the start-up of your venture, you need to begin looking for a partner or partners who have the finances, desire to participate in this type of start-up and need the skills and ideas you possess to make the business work.
The only alternative that I can think of is to seek refinancing or a home improvement loan (second lien) on your home, if you own it. If you are determined, it is likely the partnership alternative may be the best way to go. Otherwise, you may need an “angel” investor.
About Stephen Windhaus
Stephen Windhaus is the Principal of Windhaus Associates, a business planning firm he founded in 1999.
Steve has over 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors assisting existing and start-up entrepreneurs through small business development centers, incubators, university and community college settings and private practice. He has a bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Houston, and his MBA from the Keller Graduate School of Management in Chicago. He has served as a certified business analyst, program coordinator, center director and Board member for SBDC's in Illinois and Florida.
Steve wrote his first marketing plan for a joint venture project in Venezuela in 1978 and his first business plan in 1985 for a Chicago spice distributor who secured a $144,000 SBA loan. He wrote the text for and taught Business Planning for Small Business in the Entrepreneurial Institute, the first such program licensed by the Florida State Board of Non-Public Career Education.
Steve's straightforward, sincere approach has been tempered by assisting well over 2,000 start-ups through the years. Several succeeded, but the majority failed for a lack of resources, organizational skills, planning, lack of determination to succeed, or the inability to take risks. He characterizes himself as an advocate for the “little” entrepreneur who doesn’t receive the “entrepreneur-of-the-year” awards, but works day in and day out in his or her niche market to succeed in operating a successful enterprise. He cites, "determination to succeed, creativity, assertiveness to find the tools and resources to improve, and a willingness to take risks as the common threads in successful entrepreneurs".
“These people are not characterized by any age group, gender, race, ethnicity, level of education or the like”. “They are as diverse as the total population”.
Today Steve resides in Port St. Lucie, Florida where he operates his firm, developing business plans for diverse clients. He has also written online for Bankrate.com, BizLand.com and SmallBizManager.com. His work has also been published in the Ten Minute Guide to Getting Organized and Every Manager’s Desk Reference. To learn more go to http://www.windhaus.com/.
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