Your Questions About Doing Business Online Government

Jere answers:

First do your business plan. Get online and look for the nearest SBDC center near you. It’s government funded so you can get business coaching/entrepreneurial advice for FREE. Go pick up a book on starting a business in Washington and it will tell you all you need to know to register your business. When you register, use LegalZoom it’s the cheapest way to set up and register your business. Make sure you get an attorney and a CPA to help you set this up right. Chances are you can find an attorney or CPA from SCORE to give you free advice as well.

Jere answers:

Business licence is different from sales licence. Business licence is issued by municipal authorities or government. Sales licence is issued by sales tax authorities. You have to issue bill to the transaction so you need licence for ebay though many selling on ebay are not aware of it.

Jere answers:

It is hard to find grants to start a business. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for a for-profit business. And yes, grants mean PAPERWORK – lots and lots of it, that is why a cottage industry of grant writers was born.

Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov – these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.

Even if you buy books on “how to get grants” or list that supposedly has information on grants — all of them are mere rehash of what CFDA has, albeit packaged differently. But still the info is the same – hardly any grants for starting a for profit business.

Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/expanding/grants.html…

“The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments.”

Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. Minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT – Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program

Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women’s Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women’s business center that will train women entrepreneurs

For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center’s Foundation Grants for Individuals Online. It’s a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) but their opening blurb only says that the database is ideal for “students, artists, academic researchers, libraries and financial aid offices.” Entrepreneurs are apparently not one of them, so I take it they also don’t have listings of private foundations who give grants to would-be entrepreneurs.

You stand a better chance of getting a government loan. For government loans, read the requirements of SBA: http://www.sba.gov/financing/preparation/requirements.html

Jere answers:

Yes

The basics of business has not changed. Whether you do business online or in Main Street, the tenets remain the same:

– create products of value that people will want to buy
– identify your target market and learn how to reach them
– manage your costs of doing business well
– know and understand government regulations

For example, I still read Kawasaki’s “Art of the Start” which was published in 2004 as everything he wrote remains relevant to this day. Of course, sections on marketing do not include social media such as Twitter or Facebook but a lot of the basics still hold true http://www.amazon.com/Art-Start-Time-Tested-Battle-Hardened-Starting/dp/1591840562

Jere answers:

Yes you go directly to the Government Department. Do not bother looking this up online, they are rip offs. For example The Department of Commerce in Washington DC, would issue grants, The Department of Labor, The National Institute of Health. Also, you can do this, there is a site called Grants.gov. Look the grant up on this site and then go directly to the source listed in the information for that particular grant and apply yourself. You don’t need anyone else to help you to fill out forms from the Government.

Good Luck.

Also, the Government sponsors a thing called SCORE and that is retired business/government employee’s that help with any questions you might have about getting government funding. Also try the Small Business Administration because they sponsor loans through the banks. It is better to get a grant than it is to get a loan because a grant never has to be repaid. START CHECKING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.