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Has anyone here ever opened their own business? if so did you get a grant? how hard was it to get a grant? how did you do it? where did you go?

how did you start your business? how did you establish a customer base? did you do alot of advertising to start out?

i hope someone can help me. im lookin into starting my own business. I want to do graphics for screen printing and anything else you would need artwork for. i also want to do an art gallery for local artists (photographers and painters) where they can umm show off (for lack of a better term) their artwork and see what people think of it and maybe even sell it.

i also want to design peoples' logos. for their business or events. then give them the artwork to take to any printer they want. to give them alittle more control on their t'shirts.


any help or advise would be much apreciated

hey my dad started his buissiness like 9 months ago when he gets home from work ill have him reply. btw it was a muffler shop

cool thanks

Yes I own a portable mobile chassis dyno and I pull it around to car shows,
rod runs and the like all summer long. I get to meet some or the greatest people and have a hoot doing it and the best part or all is I get paid to do it
As far as getting a grant goes it is not as easy as some people lead you to beleave
If you want to talk 1 on 1 email me at ( tntdyno@premier1.net ) and we can swap phone #s

Yeah..a little over a year ago I went back to school for 1 year on scholarships and a grant to get all my certifications and start my own PC repair/sales business outa my home.

I looked around my county and saw that all my competitors were crooks and/or doofuses and were clueless when it came to operating a business professionally..so I "took a deep breath and jumped in".

I did a little advertising at first... but since I'm cheaper, more reliable, more honest and fair, am willing to go to their location if necessary, and 100% guarantee all my parts and labor more than all my competition..it hasn't been all that hard.

Do your market research well first..and if you have found you target market, sized up the the competition, and located good reliable resources for supplies..by all means - go for it!

Best of luck!!

was it hard to get a grant? for school..business etc.....
where did you find the grants?

I just went down to the college and talked to financial aid...and I got a FAFSA filled out on-line and the feds sent me my eligibilty status in about 2 weeks. Then I went back to financial aid and filled out the paperwork for every scholarship I even remotely qualified for. I wound up getting approved for 5 out of 7 that I applied for. All total..I got paid almost $3000.00 a quarter - and tuition and books was only about $1250.00. I used the rest to pay for my certifications and buy the stuff I needed to run my business. (Oh yeah...and to pay bills and eat)

It was hard going back to school at my age and it totally wiped out all my savings and extra cash for a little over a year...but it wasn't long before I built it all back up

All in alll...it was something I should have done a lot sooner and I have no regrets.

If you have done your research, are sure you can make it, and you got the heart...then I say go for it.

Besides, the worse that can happen is you fall on your butt and have to go back to work for someone else...lol

I have opened two business' in the past three years. The first one was a hotshoting business me and my dad took on together. We called the company 'Shardi Services Ltd.' We run, basically a delivery business for the oilfield, on call 24/7. Drilling rig blows an engine in the middle of the night, they call us, tell us where the new one is, and I head out with my diesel and gooseneck and I am there and back as quick as possible with the new one. Its actually a fun job, with the exception of long hours, and we have grown to the size that we might hire another guy on this spring when we start farming. When starting in the oilfield like we did, customer base is extremely important. We never turned down a haul, no matter the time or length of the haul. That gave us a good reputation in the field with guys, and in that business its all about who you know.

My other business is a farming business. 'Serfas Land & Cattle Company'. Basically made this business up for tax purposes. I get the discount of running a business other then sole prioprietorship, plus a few other goodies. Works out real handy and don't need to fuck around with the goverment as much. Only downfall is the paperwork can get out of control, especially when you are buying parts and crap. Plus it's easier to determine your finanacial help and/or aid when the goverment is giving handouts!

Both business' I opened at the lawyer's. Cost me about $1500 bucks for each one. Good Luck

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-1981 Chevy LUV, 283SBC, T350 Trans, White In Colour, Long Box, Never Ending Project!
-2001 F-350 Superduty XLT 7.3L Diesel Auto, Ext. Cab, Long Box, White In Colour
-1998 F-150 XL 4.2L V6 5spd , Reg. Cab, Flareside SB, Red In Colour

I have been trying to start my own art business for the last year and a half now, I'll say this "its a bitch" there are plenty of loan agencies but barely anyone who "Grants" money to small businesses getting started. The SBA is a good resource but they can't find grants either(mostly loan agencies). You have to kiss a lot of peoples asses to get anything done when striking out on your own and it is worth it when you get customers interested in your product or service, but the road to that is harder than working for someone else.

If you are seriously thinking about starting your own business understand that for the first couple years you won't have any time to yourself, you will dig yourself deeper in debt, and you will lose a lot of sleep--then afterwards there is still a 50/50 chance of creating a successful business.

I have been on edge for the last few months myself because I am this close to either poverty or sucess--its a huge gamble but you have to be willing to take it to find your happiness.

Oh and one more thing!

It does help to seek out and collaborate with other new business owners about helping eachother sell products or services--networking is your best friend. I sell my own artwork and offer my design services through contacts I meet at a number of places looking for a leg up on thier own businesses, I even have a resturaunt here in tacoma willing to display my artwork so long as a spread the word about his food which is mutually beneficial.