As a small business owner or a startup entrepreneur in Canada you probably have given thought to getting government funding for your small business. You know, the money that you as a Canadian pay into taxes each year, which the government of Canada uses to help support entrepreneurship across the country?

If you haven’t, maybe it’s time to consider it now. Government funding is available and getting funded should be your top priority!

In this article we will be discussing the following in relation to getting government funding for your small business:

1. What is government funding?
2. Who is government funding available to?
3. How do you get government funding?
4. The DIY: Do it yourself method of getting government funding

So let’s get to it.

Getting Government Funding For Your Small Business

All Canadians have an equal opportunity for getting government funding for their small business. However it is important to note that when searching and applying to funding programs offered by the different funding agencies, you keep one thing in mind – each funding program has it’s own set of rules, criteria and eligibility requirements.

Before you apply, be sure to know that the program is the right one for you and you for the program.

But before you start applying to every single government funding programs let’s get you educated on government funding a bit more.

What is government funding?

Government funding is money that is available via the Canadian government with a purpose of helping small business owners and entrepreneurs successfully startup or expand their business.

The government of Canada takes taxpayers money as we already know and they use this money to build the Canadian economy.

A portion of that money comes from self employed Canadians and those who build the economy through job creation..etc

The money from that point on is provided to various funding agencies at different government levels (local, provincial and federal) to support entrepreneurship by providing the funds to the needed industries and for the specific funding needs that entrepreneurs within those areas need to have met.

Once the funding is provided, the life cycle of the money funded begins again.

If you are the small business owner benefiting and getting government funding for your small business you will use that money for a pre-set funding need which the government funded; in most cases you will end up creating jobs, paying tax on the revenue at which point the money paid will end up going to another business owner or set of business owners at a later time by the government of Canada.

Who is government funding available to?

Getting government funding for your small business would help, wouldn’t it?

Well before you decide that you’re getting your business started just with government money, hold your horses.

While government funding may be available for many it may not be available to all, but before you decided that you’re out – be sure to double check.

Government funding is available, but a number of factors have to be met before you can take a piece of the pie.

• You must be Canadian
• Must have a registered business (doesn’t have to be active just yet)
• Have a business plan (which shows your funding needs)
• Know the program which to apply to
• You must know how much you want and what you want it for
• And you must meet the eligibility requirements of that program

If you’re unsure if getting government funding for your small business is an option for you, ask our experts.

How do you get government funding?

Getting government funding isn’t easy – but it is very possible.

So how do you get government funding?

Well, you probably should be going directly to the source; in this case the specific government funding program you want to apply to.

But here is the problem.

That source, surely you don’t know.

So this is where getting government funding for your small business becomes the pain in the ass.

You do have a few options when it comes to locating the funding programs:

First: Hire an accountant  (this may cost a few hundred bucks and maybe a percentage of the funding obtained)

Second: Try to find it on your own (this may work but usually takes 4 to 6 weeks if you know what you’re doing)

Third: Get expert help (somebody like CanadaStartups with the Funding Database)…More then half the works been done for you.

Whatever option you opt to go with, know that funding does exist and finding the programs it the first step. Applying is a whole other game – and we help with that too (with option #3).

The DIY: Do it yourself method of getting government funding

So you want search, find and apply to get government funding for your small business on your own?

Well, this DIY: do it yourself method may be the perfect option for you.

Before you begin be sure to give yourself plenty of time (approximately a month).

Step 1:

Start with the government website. They have a bunch of government funding programs there that you can browse.

Step 2:

Be sure to Google a lot of different terms such as “government grants, government loans, government funding programs”; be sure to interchange the keywords with your city and your province, perhaps even your industry.

For example: government funding in Vancouver for hiring staff

Step 3:

Be sure to make note of any funding programs that you come across that seems interesting and that appears that you could meet the criteria. Once you’ve compiled a list of a few programs; and you believe all of your needs from your business plan have been met, be sure to start applying to these programs.

Step 4:

Find the applications for each of the programs. Sometimes you have to call them, sometimes email them, sometimes they don’t have the applications anywhere so it may be a bit tough. Be sure to invest some time to make sure you meet the criteria and the eligibility of the program. You don’t want to be wasting your time or their time.

Step 5:

Once you’ve filled out the applications be sure that your business plan is perfect! On top of that, ensure that your funding applications are 100% accurate; a lot of times (more then 90%) of the time that individuals apply to government agencies they end up making a mistake on the application process – which costs them the application.

That is the DIY method of getting government funding.  Do take the time to research all available options so that you and your small business in Canada can benefit.