Small business grants are a hot topic among entrepreneurs with limited funds and limited access to capital.  Interest and calls to Library reference usually increase and peak soon after a new ad or infomercial or the latest Matthew Lesko book comes out.  And so this urban myth continues.  Like most con artists, the free-money hucksters take a grain of truth and distort it.  For example, there are a few highly specific government grants for small businesses in fields such as medicine, education, or new technology (e.g., how to capture a satellite in orbit and repair it!), and even these grants come with very specific eligibility criteria. But such grants just don't exist for the average Joe or Jane on the street.  Another grain of truth  of the con is that you can get government handouts such as food stamps and then use the money you are saving on food to finance your business. Think about it?  Why would the government just give you money to open a business for your own profit?  They wouldn't.  The whole notion doesn't even make sense, yet ordinarily reasonable business people fall for it every day.

The good new is that entrepreneurs have several legitimate sources for funding small business start-ups.  Although the Federal government does not offer business grants, some states do.  For information on Kansas grants, you can visit http://CFDA.gov  or http://kansasgrants.org/    Of course, the Small Business Administration, or the SBA, offers low-interest government loans for small businesses.  Visit them at www.sba.gov .  In Topeka, entrepreneurs have a great resource at the Topeka Chamber of Commerce's "GO Topeka," which provides access to funding through micro-loan programs and programs to assist small businesses through the SBA.  You can visit them at http://www.topekachamber.org/doing_business_topeka/small_business_one_stop/lending_programs/index.php . Of course, we are also happy to assist you with any of your business questions at the Business & Investment Center here at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library.