Guaranteed Small Business Funding: Does it exist?

Over the last few months we’ve had a lot of questions from small business owners and startups asking us if guaranteed small business funding really exists? So we decided to address that question on our blog and show you what is possible and what is impossible in terms of funding.

Before we start that you have to understand what funding really is.

Funding is the money, or the capital that you as a small business owner or startup entrepreneur is seeking to help you startup, purchase land, equipment, hire staff, train staff, advertise/market, conduct r&d..etc. Funding is the money that you need to have invested in your business to make it successful.

Is there Guaranteed Small Business Funding?

Funding for your small business can come from multiple sources thus the word guaranteed really depends on the source you are looking at, as well as on your personal and business situation.

The main funding sources include your personal savings, credit cards, bank loan, business partners, family, friends, private investors and government agencies. Depending on which source you are talking about, “guaranteed” could go with it.

For example if you have $10,000 in your savings account and you are planning on using that money to help you hire staff, then that $10,000 does become your guaranteed funding. Or if you know that a family member is going to provide you with money to conduct research and development because you already talked about it, this can also mean it’s guaranteed.

But most people when looking for guaranteed business funding are talking about government funding agencies that provide grants, loans, tax breaks..etc

So does the government of Canada provide funding to small business owners? The answer is yes.

Does the government of Canada guarantee you funding if you apply? The answer is no.

As much as you believe your idea and your business is the next Facebook or Netflix, it doesn’t mean that it has what it takes to obtain funding from these funding agencies.

So before you decide that you are guaranteed funding be sure to consider these few things that most government agencies ask of you:

– Do you have a business plan in place?

– How is your personal and your business credit?

– Do you have any money to invest in the business?

– What is your industry and your funding needs?

Keep in mind that when applying to funding programs offered by the Canadian government you have to be specific as to which agency you deal with for your province and for the exact industry and funding needs.

It can happen that certain funding agencies only provide funding to specific provinces, or specific industries and even specific funding needs.

Do you research before applying so you aren’t wasting your time.

Remember that nobody can guarantee you funding because it really is out of “somebody else’s” control. It really depends on your business, your business plan, your credit history, the agency you apply to, the time of the year and many other factors that may be program or agency specific.

To get a little bit of help searching for funding programs, consider becoming a member of CanadaStartups and using the Funding Database. The total number of government funding programs in the database is over 800, and you also get access to over 800 private investor programs on top of that. Take a look at the Funding Database to see what it has to offer and how it can help your small business in Canada.