How to Become a Grant Writing Consultant a Start-up Resource Guide for Your Home Based Business

Start a grant writing business by following these 10 steps:

You have found the perfect business idea, and now you are ready to take the next step. There is more to starting a business than just registering it with the state. We have put together this simple guide to starting your grant writing business. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Check out our How to Start a Business page.

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

• What are the startup and ongoing costs?
• Who is your target market?
• How much can you charge customers?
• What will you name your business?

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

What are the costs involved in opening a grant writing business?

Your startup costs should be minimal since you can work from your home and without employees at first. Let's look at some possible startup costs.

• Home office equipment—Your phone, computer and printer can be obtained for $1,000 if you don't already own them.
• Rent—Your first office is likely to be your home or apartment. If that's too distractive, seek office space for one person in a modest space. Meetings can be held at client locations, so you don't have to impress with your office. Depending on where you're located, rent could be as little as a few hundred dollars a month and shouldn't exceed $1,000.
• Employee costs—You'll likely be your sole employee, at least at first. What's the least you can get by on? You might feel more financially secure if you have a working spouse, have saved a year's salary beforehand or go into your business with at least one client signed up.
• Professional services—See a lawyer and an accountant before startup to draw up contracts and advise on expenses and taxation issues. This might be a $500 investment or more depending on the complexity of your business.
• Promotional and marketing materials—This includes everything from your website and blog to social media presence, business cards, logo development and collateral sales materials. Much of this can be done at low cost. For instance, your website and blog can be developed cost-free if you have basic digital skills, and you could find a competent graphic designer at your local community college. The investment of $500 to $1,000 should be enough in this area to launch your business.
• Accreditation, memberships and licensing—Networking within your industry can cost as much as $1,000. While not mandatory, this can be a valuable investment in credibility and a source of critical relationships. Ask your lawyer or accountant if you'll face any licensing or permit fees in your locality.

What are the ongoing expenses for a grant writing business?

Your ongoing expenses can be quite modest until you're primed for growth. At that time, you'll need an office (or one that's larger than your current site) and you'll undertake employee expenses.

At first, your most pressing need will be to meet your own income and healthcare demands. Other ongoing expenses will include event attendance, lunches, travel, entertainment and other costs associated with meeting clients and funders.

One source estimated that operational expenses for grant writers might take up 25-50 percent of revenue.

Who is the target market?

You'll want to meet decision makers at non-profit, community and civic organizations, and occasionally even for-profit entities and others seeking to raise funds through grants. While some grant writers seek clients of all kinds, others focus on a preferred type. That might be organizations working to treat specific medical conditions or to advance a political or civic objective, or perhaps non-profits based within your geographic region.

How does a grant writing business make money?

You'll generate revenue by charging clients a per-hour or flat rate for your various services. As you win grants and your reputation grows, more businesses will come in and you can increase your hourly or project rates.

How much can you charge customers?

Grant writers with little experience and few clients might charge as little as $25 an hour, while a rate of between $50 and $100 hourly is earned by those with more experience. Some grant writing businesses charge a flat fee for individual services. For instance, this business charges $3,500 for a grant proposal that can serve as a foundational document for responding to RFPs. The company charges additional fees for RFPs and basic funding-source research.

How much profit can a grant writing business make?

The compensation data website Payscale estimated that in-house grant writers earn an average annual income of about $45,000. Use this as only a starting point, because those who work on their own have more control over their income. It will only be limited by your success in generating clients, nurturing funding source relationships, winning grants and marketing your successes.

How can you make your business more profitable?

Some non-profit organizations employ in-house writers but still need help with other aspects of grant seeking. Consider breaking down your various services and offering non-profits who might not be interested in your full menu of services a cafeteria option. This might include such related services as funding research, training and writing consultancy.

What will you name your business?

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don't already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Grant Writing Business Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:

• Your state's business records
• Federal and state trademark records
• Social media platforms
• Web domain availability.

It's very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

The most common business structure types are the sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC), and corporation.

Establishing a legal business entity such as an LLC or corporation protects you from being held personally liable if your grant writing business is sued.

Read our Guide to Form Your Own LLC

Have a Professional Service Form your LLC for You

Two such reliable services:

You can form an LLC yourself and pay only the minimal state LLC costs or hire one of the Best LLC Services for a small, additional fee.

Recommended: You will need to elect a registered agent for your LLC. LLC formation packages usually include a free year of registered agent services. You can choose to hire a registered agent or act as your own.

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It's really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN for free through the IRS website, via fax, or by mail. If you would like to learn more about EINs and how they can benefit your LLC, read our article, What is an EIN?.

Learn how to get an EIN in our What is an EIN guide or find your existing EIN using our EIN lookup guide.

Small Business Taxes

Depending on which business structure you choose, you might have different options for how your business will be taxed. For example, some LLCs could benefit from being taxed as an S corporation (S corp).

You can learn more about small business taxes in these guides:

• LLC Taxes
• Sole Proprietorship vs LLC
• LLC vs Corporation
• LLC vs S Corp
• How to Start an S Corp

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.

Additionally, learning how to build business credit can help you get credit cards and other financing in your business's name (instead of yours), better interest rates, higher lines of credit, and more.

Open a business bank account

• This separates your personal assets from your company's assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
• It also makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank, credit union, business-loan friendly banks, one with many brick-and-mortar locations, and more.

Open net-30 accounts

When it comes to establishing your business credit, net-30 vendors are considered the way to go. The term "net-30," which is popular among vendors, refers to a business credit arrangement where the company pays the vendor within 30 days of receiving goods or services.

Net-30 credit terms are often used for businesses that need to obtain inventory quickly but do not have the cash on hand.

Besides establishing business relationships with vendors, net-30 credit accounts get reported to the major business credit bureaus (Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, and Equifax Business Credit). This is how businesses build business credit so they can qualify for credit cards and other lines of credit.

Get a business credit card

• This helps you separate personal and business expenses by putting your business' expenses all in one place.
• It also builds your company's credit history, which can be useful to raise money and investment later on.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

In most states, grant writing businesses must obtain business permits. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA's reference to state licenses and permits.

Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses.

In addition, certain local licensing or regulatory requirements may apply. For more information:

• Check with your town, city or county clerk's office
• Get assistance from one of the local associations listed in US Small Business Associations directory of local business resources.

Services Contract

Grant writing businesses should have a service contract between themselves and their clients to make the exchange of grant writing services for payment transparent. Here is an example service agreement .

Recommended: Rocket Lawyer makes it easy to create a professional service agreement for your grant writing business when you sign up for their premium membership. For $39.95 per month, members receive access to hundreds of legal agreements and on-call attorneys to get complimentary legal advice.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company's financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you're unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it's a great place to start for your business.

Learn more about General Liability Insurance.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers' Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it's a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers' Compensation Coverage.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you aren't feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners, we'll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator. Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote & market a grant writing business

Use social media and self-promotional marketing materials to expound on your abilities and to highlight your accomplishments. You'll also want to spend equal time engaging prospective clients and the funding sources that will serve their needs. Get involved volunteering within your target industry, attend fundraisers, sit on boards and otherwise interact with your audience and get to know decision makers.

How to keep customers coming back

It's your grantmaking "wins" that will attract new clients and maintain the interest of your existing roster. However, this is only partially within your control. Every grant proposal you write must be comprehensive, logical and persuasive—and you still might not land the grant. That's because of the intense competition for funding.

This fact underscores the need for self-promotion when strategically beneficial. Use social media to highlight your victories. And be sure to ask your clients to recommend you to others potential clients. It's a small, insular community, putting you at an advantage if you can offer prospective new clients the commendation of people they know and respect.

Still unsure about what kind of business you want to start? Check out the latest Small Business Trends to help inspire you.

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business.

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it's out of their reach because they don't have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn't delay building your website:

• All legitimate businesses have websites - full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
• Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
• Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don't need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Using our website building guides, the process will be simple and painless and shouldn't take you any longer than 2-3 hours to complete.

Other popular website builders are: WordPress, WIX, Weebly, Squarespace, and Shopify.

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That's not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We've reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2021 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Nextiva

Nextiva is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it's fair pricing.

How to Become a Grant Writing Consultant a Start-up Resource Guide for Your Home Based Business

Source: https://howtostartanllc.com/business-ideas/grant-writing

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