Hi! Thanks for posting your question on the Community. You may not be aware, but government agencies generally do not make loans directly to business owners. The government provides a guaranty to banks and lenders for money lent to small businesses. This guaranty is a promise to pay a portion of the loan back to the bank in case a business owner defaults on the loan. A guaranty reduces the lender's risk, which allows the lender to make loans to business owners who do not qualify for traditional loans. A great place to start looking for more information is here. Please let us know if you are able to find financing through a local bank. Thanks!Stuart

Hi Marchars.  I'm really brand new on this site, so I'm not going to promote my own business in this reply, but I am in the business of developing small business websites, shopping carts and Internet marketing.   And I am being completely frank when I say do not invest one nickel in any advertising right now.  Not TV, not paper, not Internet.  Doing any kind of E-tail today is incredibly competitive and you start with your storefront.  Please, do not use those phony-baloney do-it-yourself storefronts.   Yes, they are cheap.  And - Yes, they are cheap.  Go find yourself a local designer with good shopping cart experience.  Perhaps a friend with some graphic arts knowledge and a little ASP or PHP programming knowledge.  Then search your competition and figure out who else is in your marketplace and how much their products cost.  Ecommerce 101 from that point, get in the search engines, register your products (the one's that are cost competitive) with sites that do multiple product searches (Froogle, shopzilla, nextag).  Put much time and effort into reading your site analytics (who is coming, from where, how long do they stay, do they buy).   Armed with an attractive site (a must), a competitive price point (another must) and the intelligence gained from even 30 days of monitoring your site, you'll then know where and how to invest your advertising dollars.  I wish you all the luck in the world, it is a tough business to start but one that is profitable once you get known.  Oh two more quick things.   Get yourself on the social media sites (Facebook, Linked In, Twitter - maybe) and get those paid ads off your main site.  You don't want somebody coming to your site just to click through and buy something on Ebay.    Cheers!    

Thank you, Stuart for your reply, but I'm not looking for a loan. I'm looking for a small business 'grant.'The government does give grants to small businesses, but I don't know where togo for one.   Do you, or anyone, know where I can get one?   Thanks

Hi Marchars.  I'm really brand new on this site, so I'm not going to promote my own business in this reply, but I am in the business of developing small business websites, shopping carts and Internet marketing.   And I am being completely frank when I say do not invest one nickel in any advertising right now.  Not TV, not paper, not Internet.  Doing any kind of E-tail today is incredibly competitive and you start with your storefront.  Please, do not use those phony-baloney do-it-yourself storefronts.   Yes, they are cheap.  And - Yes, they are cheap.  Go find yourself a local designer with good shopping cart experience.  Perhaps a friend with some graphic arts knowledge and a little ASP or PHP programming knowledge.  Then search your competition and figure out who else is in your marketplace and how much their products cost.  Ecommerce 101 from that point, get in the search engines, register your products (the one's that are cost competitive) with sites that do multiple product searches (Froogle, shopzilla, nextag).  Put much time and effort into reading your site analytics (who is coming, from where, how long do they stay, do they buy).   Armed with an attractive site (a must), a competitive price point (another must) and the intelligence gained from even 30 days of monitoring your site, you'll then know where and how to invest your advertising dollars.  I wish you all the luck in the world, it is a tough business to start but one that is profitable once you get known.  Oh two more quick things.   Get yourself on the social media sites (Facebook, Linked In, Twitter - maybe) and get those paid ads off your main site.  You don't want somebody coming to your site just to click through and buy something on Ebay.    Cheers!    

Good morning,   I was borught to this forum by Google Alerts. I run a web site that provides information to non-profit organizations (grants, resources, etc.) SmHBizWrtr mentioned the name of my site in one of the posting on this page.   Foundations generally so not award grants to individuals due to their 501 (c)(3) status. There are however, some foundations that do provide loans to 'further the cause of philanthropy' and they call the program 'Program Related Investments'. I do not if it acceptable or not to post the name of my site here (but I will not take a chance doing it).   Your first step is to see if there is a community foundation in your city, county, state. Then you need to find out if they have a PRI program and what the requirements are to solicit funds through such a program. It really depends how 'depressed' the area where you reside is in terms of financial opportunities for business loans. Usually a foundation loan is at a lower interest rate than a bank. An easy way to find my site and the information you seek (the information is free of charge to anyone visiting the site) is by Googling 'Women Grants' - it should be one of the top two results on the results page. Once there you can also look at the 'Community Foundations' section to see if there is a community foundation in your city, county or state.   Hope this sheds some light and helps you a little bit.   Gil

Not many only-online shops are advertising on T.V... I recommend you to try online advertising harder.. Try to find sites related to your, advertise in other online women shops, in women beauty forums e.t.c.   Advertising on T.V. might be a good idea, but you need a good slogan, maybe attractive prices/offers and one thing I believe is important are COLORS! I recommend you to use bright colos :)

Thank you, Stuart for your reply, but I'm not looking for a loan. I'm looking for a small business 'grant.'The government does give grants to small businesses, but I don't know where togo for one.   Do you, or anyone, know where I can get one?   Thanks