Tag Archives: online training

New Online Course Introduced for Native American Small Business Owners

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WASHINGTON – Native American entrepreneurs have a new tool to help determine if they’re ready for business ownership and to help them get started.  Native American Small Business Primer: Strategies for Success is a free, self-paced online business course developed for Native American business owners.  The course provides an overview of basic business principles and  makes them aware of the programs and services available from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“Native American Small Business Primer: Strategies for Success will enhance the agency’s effort to provide important resources for emerging Native American entrepreneurs,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills.  “Our ultimate goal is to help create jobs and stimulate economic and business development in our Native American communities. This course is an essential business development tool for the entrepreneur’s toolbox.”

The new online course: emphasizes business planning and market research as essential steps to take before going into business; informs Native American entrepreneurs about the legal aspects of starting a business, including the type of ownership (legal structure) and licensing; and provides key information on seed money for starting up, raising capital, and borrowing money.  In addition, there is a section on how to estimate business start-up costs that can help assess the financial needs of going into business.  

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Small Business Grants

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I think it’s safe to say that most small businesses would love to find grant money, but they commonly experience three big stumbling blocks:

  1. They don’t know where to look for grant money
  2. The proposal (grant response) process can be very intimidating
  3. They don’t know how to handle the accounting (for tax purposes) of grant awards

Did you know that if you get a grant, it is reported as income on your taxes?  That’s right.  You’ll recieve a 1099-G to report the grant on your taxes as income.  However, it’s not as bad as it sounds…most grants aren’t given without a specific purpose or use, so the expenses that you incur actually performing whatever you proposed actually offsets the income.  If the numbers in your proposal are anywhere near correct, then your expenses should equal your income and it becomes a “wash”.

I’m finishing up writing a book about finding grant money for small businesses.  I hope to put the final touches on it in the next couple of weeks.  I expect to publish the ebook version of it sometime in February, along with some free e-courses and some free training materials here on my site.  The print version of the book should be available a few weeks after the electronic version.  At this point, the book covers the ways to find grants, proper formatting for your grant proposal, and it also lists over 100 current sources of grant money.   

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