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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 2004)
TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS Information on Grants for Small Businesses by Lisa Norton The Business Information Center gets calls every day about whether grants are available to help start small businesses. I found the article below and thought it might be of interest to those tribal members who are looking to start their own business. If you have any questions about this article or on starting a business, please give me a call at 541-444-8255 or 1-800-922-1399, ext. 255. Don’t Count on Grants to Fund Your Venture by Paulette Thomas, www.startupjournal.com Question: Is a miracle loan or grant By 2000, she had three cleaning out there for people with no credit, no equity, no money - your all-American teams and $1.5 million in sales. Later, young couple who got off on the wrong foot - to open a business or franchise? I don’t know where to look or if it even exists. Could you please lead me in the right direction or at least tell me where to start? Dina, Prescott, Ariz. Dina: A miracle loan. Why, yes, just write a letter, and ... no, wait, that’s Santa Claus. We receive many letters asking about “grants” for starting businesses. It’s an urban myth, I’m afraid. It’s less charming than St. Nick, but just as tall a tale. Except for some extremely narrow, specific instances, which I’ll mention below, there are no government grants to start a business. Still, even if you aren’t credit-worthy, you don’t need to give up the idea of having your own business. I’ve always admired the entrepreneurs out there who, through sheer grit, start on a shoestring and weave it into a thriving enterprise. It’s called bootstrapping. They work like crazy, forge ahead regardless of disappointments and setbacks, pour what little profit and cash flow are generated back into the business, and build upon each small success. Most bootstrappers start in service businesses, which tend to require little capital. Rose McCoppin, for instance, left Turkey for Los Angeles in her early 20s. She started a cleaning service and supported her family with it. After she secured a dozen or so clients, she’d advertise her “cleaning route” for sale, at a price of about four times monthly sales. Then she'd start from scratch again. Soon, she started hiring employees and had teams working for her. pet expert, likes a biography of Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop. Beyond inspiration, an aspiring she bought a couple franchises of The Maids, to use their more-refined busi bootstrapper must get familiar with the ness systems. Today she runs her nuts and bolts of business. Take a class business from an office and doesn’t scrub anymore. “Working hard comes in marketing or accounting. Web sites, magazines, and support groups are naturally for me,” she says. Another of my favorite bootstrappers is Dianne Rossi, who built a Chicago pet available for entrepreneurs. Get yourself business around cleaning up dog waste. She’d had a rough life and had lived in her car with her own child briefly. After hitting rock bottom, she decided Yes, the government awards grants hooked up with the service organiza tions that help small businesses. to non-profits and some state agencies, which in turn offer some sort of training or assistance to small businesses under she would make her own way, and put up fliers advertising a pet cleanup service. She worked her routes in bitter cold and in the face of intimidating dogs. When I last spoke to her, she’d the U.S. Small Business Administration. branched out with a Yellow Pages directory for pet services and was selling recyclable pet cleanup bags to the city of Chicago, among other clients. She fashioned herself into a pet expert. Jill Biashack of Alexandria, Minn., all manner of specialized loans. But a started in a backyard shed, preparing - perhaps in an industry you’re eyeing gourmet food for a business with her partner. After a period selling from a kiosk and a storefront, she decided to for a start-up - for the benefits, and the other try selling it through home parties. Her partner invested $36,000 of her own money, based on Ms. Biashack’s drive and vision. Ms. Biashack recruited new sales people and began selling more goods with every party. She started A few states offer business grants in particular economic zones under very specific conditions; you could look for them online. Of course, the SB A offers poor credit history, to which you allude, Dina, is generally a showstopper, unless you have collateral to offer. In your case, maybe you or your spouse could get a job with someone else could go all-out building a business. Or, it may be necessary for both of you to work, and save, and spend your off-hours researching the best business for an aspiring, bootstrapping, all- American young couple. Business Planning Series Spring 2003 You and Your Business Idea: This class focuses on understanding the re quirements of being a successful business owner. You’ll discover the benefits and obligations of business ownership while uncovering the personal characteristics that will help you realize your goals. This class is the foundation for Starting a Successful Business. Tuition is $10 and the class will be held Feb. 18,2004, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., in Siletz, Ore. Starting a Successful Business: This intensive 10-week class helps avoid costly mistakes common in small busi nesses. It provides the framework for successful business start-up by assisting you in the development of a bankable business plan. This invaluable training is essential whether you will be apply ing for financing or you’re looking for a basic operating plan to keep your business focused and growing. Tuition is $100 and the first night of class is Feb. 25, 2004, from 6 p.m. to 9 ] business ( glasses To register, get class locations, or to find out more about our services, call: Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians of Oregon - Siletz Business Service Center: Lisa Norton, 541-444-8255 or 1-800-922-1399, ext. 255 ONABEN Main Office: Kristi Bums M’ * Pxisiness (glasses ONABEN is a non-profit public benefit corporation created by North west Indian tribes to increase the number and success of private bus inesses owned by Native Americans. in the mid-1990s, and the multilevel marketing business, called Tastefully Simple, grew exponentially. Last year, her sales hit $78 million. Not too shabby. What bootstrappers lack in cash, they must make up for in energy and smarts. All of these bootstrappers shared a love of business biographies and inspirational books. Ms. Biashack likes Gung Ho (William Morrow, 1997) by Kenneth Blanchard. Ms. Rossi, the January 2004 □ Siletz News □ 7
