Do take advantage of programs offered though your state government, including the Department of Commerce and Chamber of Commerce. A quick online search for “(your state) small business grants” may also prove to be fruitful.

Do not start searching through the U.S. Small Business Administration. The agency does not offer grants to start up or expand small businesses. However, it does offer a variety of loan programs for such financing.

Do remember to search for grants provided by private and non-profit institutions, especially if you are a woman or minority business owner.

Do not completely disregard the federal government in your search. Grants.gov acts as the clearinghouse for a number of small business grant programs, Just make sure to do an advanced search for “small business” to find them.

On a final note – do make sure, regardless of where you apply, that you and your business meet the specific grant program requirements. This may include but is not limited to location, sales revenue, purposes of funding. If the program is rather extensive, then consider hiring a professional grant proposal writer to help with your application.

However, applicants must prove themselves worthy before reaping any rewards, through a rather extensive application process. Each grant program holds their own requirements, though in general, applicants can qualify if they meet these few:

• Your business is small enough. Such size requirements are typically determined by the U.S. Small Business Administration. For all wholesale trade industries, this means 100 employees or less, according to clearinghouse Grants.gov.
• Your business has big impact. Most grant applications require that you send a business plan and proposal letter with your application. With these, they want you to demonstrate how their money would be put to good use. (For help, refer to Bplans.com for a number of business plan templates, and the Small Business Administration for a basic template.)
• Your business can still hire for help. Though you can easily apply for smaller grants – ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars – yourself, bigger grants could require more help. Consider hiring a professional grant letter to write up a proposal letter, an accountant to write up your business plan, or both.
• Your business can afford to wait. Some steps of the registration process can take one day, some can take three – and then, your application may only surface after months of sifting by the grant agency.

Have you tried applying for a small business grant? If so, what was your experience like?