Most business owners find this to be their biggest obstacle they have to overcome. While there are a variety of sources available for financial assistance most of them will require some amount of collateral. Usually this will need to be in the form of real estate although it does not neccesarily have to be equivelent to the amount of money you are trying to borrow as long as you have good credit.

If you have good credit but little collateral you may want to also look for government programs that will match your investment amount. This usually is available in the form of a grant that is offered as an incentive for businesses to locate in areas that are need of economic recovery.

Signature Credit is also used by many business owners to provide startup funding and to cover equipment purchases. Signature Credit is basically any credit for which you need not provide any collateral, as is often the case with credit cards. Prospective business owners simply liquidate lines of credit in the form of cash advances and use the remaining credit for purchases. While this can be a ready source of funding it comes at a high interest rate and puts their personal credit history at risk.

Equipment leasing can also aid in defraying the cost of starting a new business. A person with good credit can usually lease $10000 worth of equipemnt for as little as $320 per month.

Grants are sometimes available through the Federal Government but not as readily as many late night infomercials would have you beleive and, while many minorities do have a better chance to qualify for most of these grants, there are not grants available to individuals based solely on a minority status.

Grants are often available from the government to develop the economic, social or educational goals of the current or previous administrations. These funds are generally targeted towards specific industries that the government feels needs their additional support such as child care, farming, technology, medical care etc.

Grants are also sometimes available from the goverment to promote the economy in particularly depressedf areas such as the Empowerment Zones of the 1990’s. Many grants are also available to help Americans continue their education.

Grants are not generally available as ready sources of income for starting a business because they require a fair amount of research and preperation. The primary advanage of a grant is that the money often does not need to be repaid. To research what grants are available follow this link.

These are just a few of the options that may be available to business owners. We have provided links to some sources on our home page. Because the needs and resources are different for every situation each business owner will need to decide which options are best for them.