For any business and especially start-ups, you need money. There are many places to get money; the most obvious of course is a bank. For those of you in the market for a small business loan, the SBA is either your first visit or the one right after the bank. There is another source of income often overlooked and finding it could be as easy as looking round the corner.
Marc Compeau writes in Forbes about the lesser known cash source: local community development funds. Communities strive to be great places to live, work, and be. They don’t like abandoned buildings, lots filled with weeds, or run down retail strip-malls. They don’t like them because it pulls down property values, depresses people, and basically, they are an eyesore. What can they do about it? Well, many communities have a development chest, a fund set aside strictly to invest in local businesses that want to make where they live better.
Because you are local, you may find that their guidelines and requirements to give you a loan are less stringent than, say a bank’s. Remember, they want local businesses to thrive; it makes the community more attractive to other businesses, which in turn generates more income. They also like the fact that you are based in the area you want to improve.
Getting in touch with these community funds can be as simple as doing a search on the web. Your local chamber of commerce should also know who to talk to. You can even ask about it in a SBA Small Business Development Center.
