New Start Up Funding/Grants

garykay

As a new business owner and start up of a couple of e-commerce websites this time last year you will find it tough to get grants, I live in the North West and grants were readily available in 2009 and up to April 2010 however it was very postcode dependent. I had 2K saved to get my business up and running from scratch and the bulk was used for advertising to get maximum exposure in a short space of time.

This worked very well so much so we went from zero profit to 40K turnover in six months, as one poster said there is nothing around in terms of grants however you can make a success of a business by saving a little money, working very hard and most importantly speaking to people in the line of business you want to go into...they will give you the best advice on what has worked, what has not and will help you in these times where grants are not freely available, failing that speak to local Business Link's etc and they will be able to talk grants and business funding.

gazfocus

garykay wrote: »

As a new business owner and start up of a couple of e-commerce websites this time last year you will find it tough to get grants, I live in the North West and grants were readily available in 2009 and up to April 2010 however it was very postcode dependent. I had 2K saved to get my business up and running from scratch and the bulk was used for advertising to get maximum exposure in a short space of time.

This worked very well so much so we went from zero profit to 40K turnover in six months, as one poster said there is nothing around in terms of grants however you can make a success of a business by saving a little money, working very hard and most importantly speaking to people in the line of business you want to go into...they will give you the best advice on what has worked, what has not and will help you in these times where grants are not freely available, failing that speak to local Business Link's etc and they will be able to talk grants and business funding.

Have sent you a PM Gary. I hope you don't mind.

garykay

Not at all

Jowo_2

I believe the OP is in Scotland and this organisation and their business gateway helps with start ups.

But generally it doesn't matter where a person lives, grants to set up businesses (as opposed to loans) have always generally been relatively scarce and if available, are generally for quite low sums and some will expect the business person to match the grant given with the same sum of money.

http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/fund-your-business.aspx
http://www.bgateway.com/

Grantfinder here
http://www.bgateway.com/bdotg/action/layer?lang=en&r.l1=1073858790&site=202&topicId=1073869074&r.l1=1073858790&r.li=5001698651&r.pp=12&r.s=p&site=202

The OP should check if his local council offers any kind of advice/support/links relating to setting u a business. At a guess, it could be this one

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Business/Businesssupport/TrainingGrants/

AzimScot

Jowo wrote: »

Your historic posts indicate you've not managed to make much headway on 5k personal debt which you've had for many years.

Firstly, this kind of debt is going to hang over you even more when you take the plunge with self-employment which is risky. Secondly, it can indicate that the complex financial planning that comes with running a business may not be a strength when this is going to be really critical.

Perhaps you could consider joining a Credit Union which is a fantastic place for those on low income and once you have established a history of saving with them, you can then apply for a low interest loan.

You could struggle to get a loan from a high street lender to help set up your business because of your poor credit history.

And why 5k? Why not invest a smaller sum and then bootstrap (i.e. reinvest all profits back into it to grow it). Do another business plan to model having a smaller start up.

As you appear to be in Scotland, you should look at the Scottish Enterprise site which is an organisation that helps those interested in starting up their own business.

What has my past debt got to do with finding funding to start a new business? There are people who have been in £150k+ worth of debt broke living on the streets who are now the richest people in the world and people who say its all a scam they just dont want to believe people can go from zero to hero as it passes there own status how come they done it and I couldn't working a JOB.

My father wanted to do an expensive course that cost £5k and he was rejected funding from a national body and they told him you have no hope go home and sign on. Applied to 10 different charities and trusts and he got full funding plus funds for maintence and equipment. Never give up those who tell you it cant be done prove em wrong I say. I seen it so many times in life that people say YOU CANT DO IT but you can and I love seeing their faces when you said I DONE IT.

Why should I look at only Scotland? I am a UK citizens and I should be able to apply for UK nationwide and EU funding?

gazfocus

AzimScot wrote: »

What has my past debt got to do with finding funding to start a new business? There are people who have been in £150k+ worth of debt broke living on the streets who are now the richest people in the world and people who say its all a scam they just dont want to believe people can go from zero to hero as it passes there own status how come they done it and I couldn't working a JOB.

My father wanted to do an expensive course that cost £5k and he was rejected funding from a national body and they told him you have no hope go home and sign on. Applied to 10 different charities and trusts and he got full funding plus funds for maintence and equipment. Never give up those who tell you it cant be done prove em wrong I say. I seen it so many times in life that people say YOU CANT DO IT but you can and I love seeing their faces when you said I DONE IT.

Why should I look at only Scotland? I am a UK citizens and I should be able to apply for UK nationwide and EU funding?

£5k seems to be your magic number!

Jowo_2

AzimScot wrote: »

What has my past debt got to do with finding funding to start a new business

If you don't find a magic grant dropping from the sky to set-up your business as you desire, then you will need to apply for a loan and your very poor credit record could be a constraint.

Self-employment is very insecure, some businesses do not make much of a profit in their first year, which is going to interrupt your debt repayment, plus running a business can be very stressful - who wants personal matters also adding to the pressure?

AzimScot wrote: »

Why should I look at only Scotland? I am a UK citizens and I should be able to apply for UK nationwide and EU funding?

I didn't say that you should restrict your search to Scotland. Many grants/loans have a local or national criteria to them. There could be funding and support available on your doorstep. A previous poster already indicated that the small grants that were once available, now scrapped, were POSTCODE dependent.

EDIT - if MSE members know of any free grants to set up a business, then please PM me as I'm sure I could manage to rustle up a business plan that requires investment for the sum offered....

chalkie99

Jowo wrote: »

If you don't find a magic grant dropping from the sky to set-up your business as you desire, then you will need to apply for a loan

Why?

I bet Alan Sugar, Richard Branson, et al never worried about free handouts or loans.

They got off their backsides and did something to earn the cash they needed to invest in their dreams.

Jowo_2

chalkie99 wrote: »

Why?

I bet Alan Sugar, Richard Branson, et al never worried about free handouts or loans.

They got off their backsides and did something to earn the cash they needed to invest in their dreams.

Apologies to the OP for going off thread but though both are successful entrepreneurs, according to Wikipedia, Branson's mother re-mortgaged the family home to assist him to pay the settlement on unpaid taxes and fines he owed money to Customs & Excise.

Nonetheless, 100% funding for business start-ups that in the form of non-payable grants is largely a fantasy on the OPs part - the majority of business finance comes from loans, investment from family & friends or much rarer partial grants where the company director is expected to match the grant with their own funds from their own savings or the previous two forms of finance.

chalkie99

Jowo wrote: »

according to Wikipedia, Branson's mother re-mortgaged the family home to assist him to pay the settlement on unpaid taxes and fines he owed money to Customs & Excise.

Don't want to be too pedantic but that assistance was to bail him out when he got into a bit of legal bother AFTER he had take the initiative to
start up under his own steam.

Otherwise, in full agreement of your comments.