Getting your small business financed is one of the most critical steps to starting up or expanding your business. But how does one get their small business the financing it deserves? Aside from having enough personal savings, putting your self in debt with personal credit cards, lines of credit or mortgaging your house again, many individuals turn to government funding options. Why? Because it works! So here are 3 tips to get government funding that you could use towards your own small business and why they work!

3 Tips To Get Government Funding

When you decide that you need funding, or better yet you want to apply for government funding for your small business in Canada you will hear a number of things that will simply confuse you. These things can range from; apply to everything, don’t apply to everything, you need a business plan, you don’t need one, nobody can get it, you have to be a female, you have to be under 30 etc, etc, etc; but what is the truth and what should you listen to and what should you ignore?

For starters let’s review the below 3 tips that will help you and your small business get government funding and let’s go from there.

Tip #1: Create a professional business plan that clearly shows your funding needs.

Most successful entrepreneurs when applying for government  apply with  business plan already in hand. And no not just any kind of business plan that you put together in a few hours, but a real professional business plan that you’ve taken time to develop, added all the details you needed to add and one that clearly shows your business model, how you intend on achieving success and explains your funding needs.

A business plan is a critical document that you need to have when applying for government funding. Especially a business plan that is geared towards your funding search.

Why it works: A business plan geared towards a funding search isn’t much different then a regular business plan, but it does focus more on the funding aspect of the business. What do you need funding for, how much do you need, why do you need it, how will it help you and your business succeed? Therese are the typical questions that will be found within a business plan of this nature. It works much better then a regular plan because funding agencies that provide the government funding will review the plan and will get the answers they need to help them  in the decision to provide you funding or not.

Tip #2: Get expert help when searching for government funding programs.

When you start searching for government funding programs your head will start to spin.  Our heads start to spin when we are updating our Funding Database and we have a team of researchers doing it. So imagine having to do it on your own? Impossible, no – but very frustrating.

As a small business, weather you are starting up or expanding your business, you have other things to worry about (even though funding is critical), so why not leave it to the funding experts to search, find and assist you in your funding mission!

With hundreds of funding programs being available through various levels of the Canadian government it gets confusing to find the programs that are right for your small business. Accepting expert help where possible is a sure way to get your business funded.

Why it works: Do you know which funding programs are right for you? Do you know where to start to look for funding programs? If you answered no to these two questions, you need expert help. This is why having expert helps works in getting your small business closer to obtaining government funding – because you don’t know and you shouldn’t spend your time trying to figure it out. Think about it, when you have an issue with your vehicle, do you try to figure out what’s wrong in your engine or do you take it to an expert to get it done?

Tip #3: Apply only to programs that you meet the criteria.

With hundreds of government funding programs being available from various levels of the Canadian government, where do you start your search, which programs do you apply for? If you’ve decided to go with expert advice, you will know the answers, otherwise – it may be a bit difficult.

The most recommended way of applying for government funding programs for your small business is to search for programs that are available in your province first then look outwards; then search for programs that are in your industry followed by programs that are just for the funding needs you have.  Only apply for programs that you meet the criteria and have the qualifications for otherwise you will be wasting your time.

Why it works: When you read the program details you will see a listing of the criteria and qualifications you must meet in order to be eligible for the government program to give you funding. If you don’t meet the criteria, it simply means the program is not for you (at this time), but if you meet the criteria and all looks good, you apply. That’s why it works so well because you know you won’t be disqualified from the program for not meeting the requirements.

Now that you’ve seen the 3 tips to getting government funding for your small business get started with your business plan, ask for expert help and start your funding search.