One of the greatest challenges entrepreneurs face when starting their very own business is determining how they will find start-up money. Women, in particular, have tight budgets and household expenses that make starting a business seem almost impossible.
There is hope for southern and central New Jersey women with entrepreneurial aspirations!
On Monday, May 21st, in celebration of National Small Business Week, the New Jersey Division on Women is hosting the second of three innovative New Jersey Women’s Entrepreneurship Series (NJ WE Series) events. The free event will be held at the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village in Princeton, New Jersey.
The NJ WE Series is funded by a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). A continental breakfast and buffet lunch are included. On-site registration is not available, so register as soon as possible since space is limited.
Attendees can register for one of two sessions focused on entrepreneurial capital entitled, Show Me the Start Up Money and Navigate the Waters of Venture Capital, which are both from 10 am – 11:15 am.
If you cannot attend, but are a woman who has aspirations of staring her own business, don’t fret! A variety of SBA loans are available that are guaranteed by the US Small Business Administration – SBA – to assist small businesses. While the SBA is typically not a lending institution, it does guarantee loans made by private banks and other lending institutions.
The SBA’s Basic 7(a) Loan Guaranty program is the primary loan program offered by the SBA to help qualified small businesses secure loans for which they otherwise more than likely would not qualify through normal lending channels without the government’s guaranty. The loans are made to start-up companies through commercial lending companies and can be guaranteed for a variety of general business purposes.
There are also many business start-up grants available to women entrepreneurs. Exploring these grants through different state and federal government agencies is a critical step to launching a new business. Now there are various online agencies that streamline the whole grant process which has made it much easier.
For example, the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program, is a unique public/private partnership that has furnished $50 billion in financing to more than 100,000 small U.S. companies. They are independently organized and managed venture capital companies licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to make equity capital or long-term loans available to small companies.
Dale Carnegie once said, “We all have possibilities we don’t know about. We can do things we don’t even dream we can do. It’s only when necessity faces us that we rise to the occasion and actually do the things that hitherto have seemed impossible.”
If you have an entrepreneurial dream, but are hesitant to seek funding, now is the time to rise to the occasion.
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