This document provides information on various types of financial assistance available to minority business owners, including certifications and programs offered by the federal government, state governments, and other organizations. It discusses the National Minority Supplier Development Council certification, SBA 8(a) Business Development Program certification, state minority business enterprise programs, and the Department of Transportation's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program. It also mentions SBIR grants, Individual Development Accounts, microloans, and searching Grants.gov as potential sources of funding. In the last section, it provides a brief biography of the author, Mel Feller, describing his business coaching services.

1. Mel FellerExaminesFinancial HelpFor Minority BusinessOwnersby Mel Feller
Openinganewsmall businessisacomplex andtime-consumingundertakingandyouneedeverybigof
helpyoucan get.
Luckily,there isa huge range of supportout there andit isimportantto checkout what isavailable for
your demographic. The governmentoffersarange of supportto small businessownerswhoqualifyas
sociallyoreconomicallydisadvantageddue totheirbackground.
GetA Minority-OwnedBusinessCertification
Many corporationsandgovernmentagencieswanttodobusinesswithminority-ownedestablishments,
and several are requiredto(suchasthe Departmentof Transportation).Totake advantage of this,get
your businesscertified!There are fourtypesof certificationsyoucanget,dependingonyourbusiness.
National MinoritySupplierDevelopmentCouncil
Anyfor-profitenterprise (sizedoesnotmatter) canapply,as longas overhalf (51% or more) of the
businessisownedbyaminority.Contactthe National MinoritySupplierDevelopmentCouncil (NMSDC),
whoprovidesthe certificates.Contactthe council closesttoyoutoapplyfor certification.Theywill
provide anapplication,andletyouknowwhatdocumentstheyneedtoprove youreligibility.The
certificationdoescost$350-1200, dependingonourregion.
Once you are certified,youwillbe listedinthe Regional Council MinoritySupplierDatabase,aswell as
the NMSDC’s database.Yourcompanywill qualifytoparticipate inmanagementtrainingprograms,and
youwill be able toapplyfor a BusinessConsortiumFund’sworkingcapital loanprogram, aswell as
attendNMSDC businessfairs.
SBA 8(a) BusinessDevelopmentProgram
Thiscertificationisofferedbythe Small BusinessAdministration,andhelpsminority-ownedcompanies
obtainpublicsectorcontracts.Some governmentagenciesneedtocomplete federal contractswith
companiesthatholdthiscertification,soyouwill be able toobtainmore businessif yourservicesare
applicable.Thiscertificationisfree.
Thiscertificationisnotnecessarilyonlyforthose of minoritybackground;instead,the requirementsare
that the businessbe ownedandcontrolledbyU.S.citizenswhoare “sociallyandeconomically
disadvantaged.”Belongingtoa minoritygroupthat has historicallybeensubjectedtoracial of ethnic
prejudice will qualifyyouforthiscertification. Formore details,youcancheck outthe SBA website.

2. MinorityBusinessEnterprise by State
Checkif your state has itsownMinorityBusinessEnterprise programmostdo!It islikelythatthe local
governmentalsohasgoal of workingwitha certainnumberof minorityownedbusinesses.Your
companymay be eligible formore supportviastate assistance of educationalprogramsandcouldeven
be eligibleforfavorable treatmentwhenitcomestosecuringgovernmentcontracts.
Department of Transportation’s DisadvantagedBusinessEnterprise Program
The Departmentof Transportationrequiresthatatleasttenpercentof theirbudgetforcontractors go
to minority ownedbusinesses.Thisappliestostate transportationagenciesaswell asfederal,soitcould
well be worthyourtime beingregisteredasaDBE establishment.Contactyourstate or local
transportationentitytogetthe processstarted.Make sure youhave properdocumentationof your
company,itssize,andthat youcan shotthat yourbusinessisindependent(there isnoparentcompany).
It alsoimportantthat youownand control it.
Check For Grants or Loans
Thoughwe wishtheydid,the governmentdoes notfundbusinessgrowthanddevelopment.However,
do notbe disheartenedthere ismoneyif youare willingtolookforit!
SBIR Grants
Is yourbusinessmanufacturingoradvancingtech?The Small BusinessInnovationResearchGrantor
Small Business TechnologyTransferProgramFundingmayapplytoyou!Theyreach out andsupport
sociallyandeconomicallydisadvantagedfirmsthatare workingtomake our worldbetter.Learnmore
here.
Individual DevelopmentAccounts
IDAsare grants that match yourdeposittowardyourownbusiness,andputintoa savingsaccount.For
each dollarmore thatyou contribute towardsit,youwill getone more.Youwill alsoneedtocomplete a
financial educationcourse,andyoumustuse the moneyfor“asset buildingpurposes,” suchasa
business.Because IDAstargetthose withmodestfinancial means,anincome capto qualifyvariesby
state.Browse throughthe IDA Directorytolearnmore.
Micro Loans

3. If you have poor or nocredit,and are havingtrouble gettingloans,consider applyingforamicro-loan.
You can get small creditsaslowas $500, butalsoas highas $35000. Get more informationatthe
AssociationforEnterprise Opportunity.
Keepyoureyespeeledforgrantsforyour particulardemographic!There are toomanyto put inone
article,buta great place to start isright onGrants.Gov.
Bio For Mel FellerIn BusinessCoaching
Mel Fellerknowsthatbusinesscoachingisaprocessusedtotake a businessfromwhere itisnow to
where the businessownerwantsittobe.A businesscoachwill assistandguide the businessownerin
growingtheirbusinessbyhelpingthemclarifythe visionof theirbusinessandhow itfitsinwiththeir
personal goals.Fittingthe businessvisioninwiththe businessowner’spersonalgoalsisa stepthat is
oftenmissedbymostbusinesscoaches,whooftenonlyfocusonthe businessgoals.Insodoing,they
are omittingthe goalsof the businessowneraltogether.
A greatbusinessownerseekstounderstandwhyreachingbusinessgrowthgoalsisimportanttothem
personally,andthe impactitwill have ontheirlife.Afterall,the businessownerultimatelydetermines
the speedandpassioninwhichthe goal is met(if ever),andif itisnot linkedtothe businessowner’s
personal dreams,goalsand plansforthemselves,thereisnoburningreasonwhygettingtothat
businessgoal iscritical.
Afterclarifyingwhereabusinessownerwouldlike totake theirbusiness,businesscoachingwillhelp
strategize andprioritize whatgoalsandstrategiesare neededtohelpprogressthe businessclosertoits
goal.A businesscoachwill meetwiththe businessownerregularly,eitherweeklyormonthly,tokeep
themon track to the commitmentsmade duringthe pastcoachingsession.
A critical componentof businesscoachingisaccountability.Youwill neversee afootball coachrunlaps
of the fieldfortheirteam.The verysame factis true of a businesscoach.A businesscoachisnot a
consultant.Theywill notdothe workfor youin yourbusiness.Theyare there tokeepyoufocusedon
the endresultand remindyouwhyitisimportant.Theywill motivate youtokeepyourcommitments.
Theywill actas a soundingboardandwhenneededholdamirrorinfrontof you,highlightingyour
businessandpersonal blindspots.
Many great businesssuccessstoriescredittheirresultsinpartto havinga greatbusinesscoach.The Mel
Fellerprovidesmonthlycoachingtoall itsboardmembersaspart of membership.Bycombiningthe
powerof a businessadvisoryboard(whoactsas a soundingboardforideasand challengesinyour
business),Mel Fellerwillhelpyoutoimplementideasandstrategiesborne fromeachmonthlymeeting.

4. Your businesscoachingsessions,alongwithCoachingForSuccess360 boardmembers,provides
accountabilityandstrategytogetyour businessfromwhere itistoday,towhere youwouldlike tobe in
the future.