[Strickley]

Im doing the best I can with the cards that the good Lord has delt me. Im not looking for freebies Im just trying to expose myself to the same rights to grants as every other American in this great land of opportunity! Please shoot me any business insight / savvy you all may have to offer as the bills are overwhelming anymore, and the Lord helps those whom help themselves! Im a general contractor and in this econmy I have been forced to open my own business as of late just to be able to eat... Ive been preforming small jobs here and there to get by but need that extra push to get where I need to be in order to get our name out . Please help ladies and gentlemen. Family of 6 Need handy man work. Honest to goodness work!

[Fr_Chuck]

First of course, "the Lord helps those that help their self" is not in the bible, but with that said

There are not really grants out there for most business, are you installing things like wind power turbines or solar panel systems. Are you needing to rent a large building and perhaps get help with a building if you employ enough people.

There may be grants for helping with the repair of homes for elderly or disabled. You may need to discuss with non profit groups in your area.

And as many contractors had to do in this area, go to work at Home Depo or Lowe's or other lumber yards to help pay bills

[Wondergirl]

You start with your village hall, then go to the township office, and then talk with the county offices. Find out what resources they have for you.

Business has a solid online presence now, so get your name/business name sitting on web sites and blogs. Start your own blog and talk about who you are and what you do and how you can make people's lives better.

Put together flyers and brochures, post them everywhere you can, take them door to door, put an ad in the local paper, even write a short column for the paper and talk about your company.

Marketing yourself and building up a business is WORK. You cannot sit at your kitchen table and moan (and hope someone will drop start-up money into your lap). You have to make marketing yourself a full-time job.

Talk about your company wherever you are -- in line at the bank or the grocery store, after church, at the park or playground, and when out camping or hiking. Tell everyone you know about your business. You are the best advocate for it.

That's why this is called the land of opportunity -- we each make our own success. All successful people who own businesses did all of the above.

And, by the way, to have quality marketing tools, be sure to get some serious help when you write anything. Your English needs a lot of editing and correction.

[joypulv]

No, there are no grants for small business. Thousands of people who lost employment are trying to earn income as self employed now, and it's a struggle. Many people in the building trades have lowered their rates. If you can afford to move, there are parts of the country that have more work than others. There's food stamps and HUSKY and WIC and state health programs, that's about it.

[ScottGem]

There are resources that can help you. One of the best is score.org. This is an organization of retired experts who provide free help to small business. They can answer questions, provide direction on running the business and will know of any grants, loans or other help in your area.

Also check out sba.gov for what might be available.