I have an idea for a business - does anyone know about grants?

I used to own a publishing business in another state and have an idea for something here in Florida. A bank lady friend of mine mentioned that women are considered a minority and may be eligible for a grant. My questions -- Does anyone know how grants work? Who to submit them to? Do they have to be repaid? What is the difference between receiving a grant and/or finding someone to invest in the business? I have had someone tell me they would invest as a silent partner, but I would rather not go that route unless I had no alternative because the partner would probably require a significant percentage of the profit and I would prefer to be the sole proprietor as I was with the company I previously owned.

Please be as detailed as possible and explain the grant process to me. Thank you

The government has special loan programs as well as certification programs for women-owned businesses to allow them to better compete in the government contracting process -- but hardly any grants for starting a business (unless your business is out to revolutionize alternative energy or you live in a poor rural community)

It is a common misconception that grants are easily available for starting a business -- hence many scammers prey on the gullible and make them ripe targets for scams.

It is hard to find grants to start a business. Unlike the myths that some perpetuate, federal government and even private foundations hardly give grant money for starting a for-profit business. And yes, grants mean PAPERWORK - lots and lots of it, that is why a cottage industry of grant writers was born.

Nonetheless, you can go to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) http://www.cfda.gov and Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov - these are two sites created by the federal government to provide transparency and information on grants. Browse through the listings and see if you can find any grant that would support a for-profit venture.

Even SBA does NOT give out grants. From the SBA website http://www.sba.gov/mostrequesteditems/CO...

"The U.S. Small Business Administration does not offer grants to start or expand small businesses, although it does offer a wide variety of loan programs. (See http://www.sba.gov/financing for more information) While SBA does offer some grant programs, these are generally designed to expand and enhance organizations that provide small business management, technical, or financial assistance. These grants generally support non-profit organizations, intermediary lending institutions, and state and local governments."

Here is a listing of federal grants for small businesses. See if there is any available for individuals for starting a business -- THERE'S NONE.
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALO...

Most of the federal grants are given to specific target groups with specific requirements (e.g. minority business owners involved in transportation related contracts emanating from DOT - Grant#20.905 Disadvantaged Business Enterprises Short Term Lending Program

Grants are also often given to non profit groups or organizations involved in training or other similar activities (grant 59.043 Women's Business Ownership Assistance that are given to those who will create women's business center that will train women entrepreneurs

I suggest you read the following books to get ideas of how to finance your business:

Financing Your Small Business http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1...
Small Business Financing: How and Where To Get It http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...
Financing the Small Business: A Complete Guide to Obtaining Bank Loans and All Other Types of Financing http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1...
The SBA Loan Book http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1...
Angel Capital : How to Raise Early-Stage Private Equity Financing http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...
Financing Your Small Business (Barron's Business Library Series) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...

For private grants, you may want to check the Foundation Center's Foundation Grants for Individuals Online http://gtionline.fdncenter.org . It's a subscription based website ($9.95 per month) but their opening blurb only says that the database is ideal for "students, artists, academic researchers, libraries and financial aid offices." Entrepreneurs are apparently not one of them, so I take it they also don't have listings of private foundations who give grants to would-be entrepreneurs.

talk to someone at the bank who deals with small business loans and they can help you on the minority application.