Paying for Government Funding Information. Should you do it?

Paying for Government Funding Information. Should you really be giving somebody your hard earned money to get you the information that is freely available from the government of Canada?

There is no right or wrong answer here. That decision is up to you.

Why?

Well if finding government information was so easy, don’t you think that more people would know about it?

Have you tried to look for government funding programs to help your small business?

Sure, the Canadian government hands out billions of dollars each year to small business owners across Canada – but you only ever hear about the big programs. What about the other ones?

Are you an aboriginal, or an immigrant? Okay great, go to to well promoted funding programs.

Are you anybody else….? okay, well good luck!

Should you pay for the information?

I would.

As an existing business owner, or even a startup entrepreneur – you are busy. Probably swamped with a thousand things. Do you really want the “search for funding” to be one of those things?

First of all, do you understand how to search? Do you understand what to search for? How much do you need? What do you need it for? Do you know how to fill out the applications?

Can you afford to take the days, weeks or even months needed to search and locate the best programs?

Is your time better spent focusing on improving your business, your processes, your website, finding customers, making sales…etc

Government funding programs are extremely difficult to find. Considering that there are over 900 government funding programs from multiple levels of the Canadian government, who has the time to look at all of the ones that may be right for you.

So paying a little bit for somebody to tell you “Hey, look here”, isn’t a bad idea.

Think of it like this….

You can drink tap water, but yet you go to a store to buy bottled water.

You can make coffee at home, but you go to Starbucks or Tim Hortons and buy a coffee.

You can read news and media online, but you go and buy a newspaper or a magazine.

Not so great examples, I know…but you get the picture.

You can do it all on your own, but why?

Most of the companies that do offer the “government funding information” charge for the simplicity.

You are given access to a “Funding Programs Database” which lists out all of the available funding programs, with the appropriate details of the program such as the criteria how to apply, examples of applications, how much is available, deadlines and contact details..etc

Each company offering such services usually bundles the offer with other services.

We’ve seen “government funding information” be sold to entrepreneurs from as little as $29 per month to over $1,500. Our funding database (offered by CanadaStartups.org) is actually available as part of our Small Business Startup Portal which you can also register for right here.

Some people may think that it’s a scam to buy the funding information, but like any other service, the fees to register are often just to access the information. The company offers the information usually as part of a platform, or a booklet, or online directory and that’s what you are paying for. The funding is still through the government which means if you are successful at applying, you get the funding from the government. If you fail, you failed because the government said no.

The middle man (the company you buy the info from) has nothing to do with it. Other then to possibly help educate you on the different funding programs, to help you with a business plan and to tell you when to apply.

Before you register with any company and to ensure you avoid any problems the important steps are to investigate on your own. Is the company you are buying from reputable (are they on social media, are they on Google, do they advertise, do they have people you can talk to, do they have reviews)…. Following these steps will ensure you locate a reputable company that you can trust.