financing a coffee house

[cgilbert]

I have a question, has anyone ever used a government grant to start a coffee business? I have been looking into them some and if i could get a grant then that would help alot with start up costs.. does anyone have any knowlege of how this works and how i need to approach it.

thanks
chris

 

[cafemakers]

I have a question, has anyone ever used a government grant to start a coffee business? I have been looking into them some and if i could get a grant then that would help alot with start up costs.. does anyone have any knowlege of how this works and how i need to approach it.

thanks
chris

Yes, my own coffee shop that I'm planning is being partially funded by a Dept. of Agriculture grant for agri-tourism. The catch, however, is that location is on an operating farm that is also being developed as a tourism destination.

What grant(s) are you considering?

 

[Tam]

Someone told me that there were grants for women starting businesses. (I guess we're still a minority :wink: ) Does anyone know anything about this? Or about opening a site as a non-profit?

Thanks,
Tam

 

[yumsetti]

I live in PA and have been looking into the same thing. There are a lot of different things you can do and it is very confusing. That is why you don't hear about it a lot, I suppose, nobody wants to deal with it. There are a couple different small business programs that are intertwined: SCORE--score.org and SBA--sba.gov. These are actually not really grants, but low interest loans. SCORE has a listing of free consultants that will help you start a new business. I actually emailed one of the them and he replied within 24 hours and was extrememly helpful. SCORE will help you write a business plan and set up funding for free as well. I know PA has a website called PA Power Port for getting information on starting a business in PA and getting licenses, insurance, etc. Also, a lot of info on women and minorities in business, although a lot of what I read about that included already existing businesses and dealt with manufacturing and construction. HOwever, that doesn't mean that there aren't women and minority grants out there. Okay, I'm done rambling, and I hope that helps.

 

[yumsetti]

Oh, and one other thing: You usually can't get funding from the government if you are non-profit. That is something I have seen a lot of over my months of researching.

 

[dragonflydesserts]

Grants

Have you considered an economic developement grant from the city?
Our coffee shop is in a small town and the city is actively trying to fill vacant store fronts and attract business to the area. We just submitted a good business plan and presented it to the committee. We received a considerable grant and a long term no interest loan.
This is a small college town and we first determined what our customer base would be, of course.