Planning To Succeed

Just as multilevel schemes, once called pyramids, come and go, there's an ebb and flow for the search for grants by small businesses. Over the holiday, I heard two people talking about needing a hedge for retirement. One person was retired from the federal government--USPS--and saw her funds shrinking monthly. She was in her 70's. If she continued to live, her pension would not be her sustenance. She spoke about a business seminar she attended where it was explained how to make money on the Internet. I entered their conversation to ask whether the presenters talked about search engine optimization or search engine marketing. If you're doing e-commerce you needed the methods for driving traffic to your site. The elder said that they weren't discussed.

They resumed their conversation. The retiree was alerted to government grants for businesses. There are no grants for businesses. There are loans, lines of credit, investment pools, business plan competitions and investors but there aren't federal grants. I entered the conversation again to explain grants are possibilities for incorporated nonprofits with IRS recognition. The elder did have a connection with an existing nonprofit. Would they solve her shrinking nest egg?It is in her best interest to secure alternate streams of income. A part time job or a business with which she has familiarity are feasible. Vending merchandise might be the answer. If she has any excess funds, she ought to consider emerging portfolio management firms. These are the smaller investment houses and brokerages that have fire in the belly. There was a breakfast meeting called "Access Capital" Monday, January 7, 2008 at Rainbow Push Coalition's Annual Wall Street Project Economic Summit. The name is long but the heart of it is these smaller firms--many minority-owned--have the talent and knowledge to grow your money. Stacked up against S & P, according to Larry Jones, executive vice president for Northern Trust, the smallest firms' returns were 1.46 to 1.33 times higher. Joseph Haslip, assistant NYC comptroller for pensions, stated his office allocates millions of dollars into these emerging managing programs because of good returns.

Rather than search for business grants, search for a job, a business, or a fund manager. To learn what the feds offer to small businesses visit http://www.sba.gov/. If you reside in New York State, visit http://www.nylovessmallbiz.com/