Do this to win small business grants

The best approach when applying for business grants is to read the whole application  and not apply in the same setting. Write out or copy/paste the questions in a separate document. Take the time to be thoughtful and deliberate about the answers you provide. 

Take the time to read the details. Grants are specific in who they want to provide financial support to. Learn why the company is offering this business grant, who they are trying to reach, what commitment comes after winning the grant and any other pertinent details.

Research the company/organization offering the business grant. Find their initiatives, goals and company vision. Align your answers along with this to be a stand out applicant. Always speak in terms of what’s important to them. Remember they will be the ones judging your application.

Many of the grant applications have the same questions. Save yourself some time by saving your answers in a Google doc or other cloud based document. Review them on each application to be sure you are still speaking to what’s important to the company offering the business grant.

Apply for everything. Even if you don’t feel you will win. In essence, “Shoot your shot.”

We have won tens of thousands of dollars in business grants and they have helped to build the continued success of our business. In addition we have been denied hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding. Remember you are an entrepreneur. Taking denials personally will not serve you. Take it on the chin and move around. That’s why it’s so good to have a process. You can apply and move on with running your business. Make it a regular part of your cadence to search and apply for grants. Sometimes a NO is not a NO forever, it’s a no not now.

I know we like to move in silence but this will not serve you when asking for funding. You must be bold. Remember that competition is stiff for these grants so putting your best foot forward means having your digital image curated. Make sure your offer is clear and that you are presenting an image that these businesses can easily align with and put on their website as brand partners. They are giving this grant for their visibility. If you look good. They look good.