Business Opportunities, Benefits, and Grants for Women in Indianapolis, Indiana

We both know that small businesses have a greater impact on our local communities. Why? They generate employment opportunities and contribute to the overall well-being of the community members.  For that reason, it is important to support their growth and prosperity as this enables them to close the wealth gap. The City of Indianapolis understands the need to assist these businesses and promote entrepreneurial culture in the neighborhoods. This article provides more information on the existing resources for businesswomen in the City of Indianapolis. Keep reading….

Central Indiana Small Business Development Center (SBDC)

SBDC provides female entrepreneurs and business owners the guidance and tools they need for startup, maturity, and expansion of their businesses. The goal of the SBDC is to ensure the measurable impact on the growth and sustainability of women-owned small businesses in Indiana and to support the development of entrepreneurial spirit in the community. SBDC works to help businesswomen remain competitive in the ever-changing marketplace. It is funded through a partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Looking for advisory services? SBDC is comprised of business advisors who offer free consulting and training on business planning, finance and budgeting, exports and imports, disaster recovery, marketing, and procurement. For more details, please visit https://isbdc.org/.

Indiana Black Expo

Indiana Black Expo has partnered with the Indiana Small Business Development Center to create webinar series to help women business owners prosper in their operations. The Webinar Series cover topics, including business planning, financial health, management, and banking. How does this work? The female minority business owners share their experiences and success stories through Q&A sessions and panel discussions. How do you market your brand to increase sales? How do you carry out customer engagement? How do you improve your business visibility? The webinar panel consists of experts, including CEOs and marketers who will respond to all your queries. It doesn’t matter which development stage your business is in. This program is available for both startups and already running businesses. It comes with services that will help you achieve your goals. Visit https://www.indianablackexpo.com/minority-small-business/ for more details about the program.

Skills Enhancement Fund (SEF)

The SEF program work to provide support to women-owned businesses through training and skills development. That will help business owners to make good use of new capital investment. The skills are imparted to the employees to enable them to improve their general work performance and contribute to the future growth of the business. Visit https://iedc.in.gov/indiana-advantages/incentives/skills-enhancement-fund-sef for more information.

Indiana Government – Promotion of Growth, Innovation, and Profits

Indiana State offers all women-owned small businesses an opportunity to grow and expand. The government also supports economic development programs that lead to the generation of more employment opportunities and new investments in the state. It also provides business tax incentives and corporate tax credits. For more details, please visit https://iedc.in.gov/indiana-advantages/incentives.

Business Ownership Initiative

The Business Ownership Initiative is hosted by the Indy Chamber and allows female entrepreneurs and business owners to borrow loans ranging from $1,000 to $50,000+. It provides financial support to the business owners to help them overcome their everyday challenges that have become barriers to entrepreneurial success. These loans are available for both startups and already existing and running a business that requires expansion. The program does not require applicants to meet a given credit score. Please visit http://www.businessownership.org/lending for more details on the program.

SBA’s Complete Startup Guide

Want to know everything needed to start a successful venture? SBA’s s5tartup guide will let you know everything to get you started. It shows you the basic steps for developing a business plan and how to grow your business. The guide is divided into four main sections:

  • Planning Your Business. Here you learn about market research, financing, and how to develop a viable business plan.
  • Launch Your Business. Do you have a business plan in place? It is time to launch your venture. How do you choose the right location for the nature of your business? Learn to choose a location and everything about business permits, insurance, among others.
  • Managing Your Business. Here, you will learn how to manage your daily business operations and get prepared for the success of your venture.
  • Growing Your Business. Now you have established your venture. How do you grow it? Do you want to expand to new locations? Open branches? Or do you want to become a federal contractor? This guide will help you do the right thing.

Learn more at https://www.sba.gov/business-guide.

BOI’s Online Instruction Center

This is a BOI’s platform for providing business education to local female entrepreneurs. It is a site that offers business courses that you learn over the internet. All the courses are affordable courses are run by business experts. You can always learn a lot about business staff from these courses. Visit https://www.ed2go.com/boi/ to learn more.

Lender Match

Looking for funding opportunities to support your business growth? Well, Lender Match is a program that connects you with lenders offering funds backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. How does the program work? It is required that you describe your business needs first. Here, you will take just five minutes to respond to questions about your business. You will then wait for at least two days to be matched with a suitable lender for financing. Lender Match will notify you via email about the lenders that have developed an interest in your loan. What next? Now you have received a matching lender. It is time you talk to them about rates, terms, and maybe fees. Once you have agreed with your lender on loan terms and conditions, you can now apply for a loan. Submit our application and ensure you attach the paperwork. You are now on the right track to securing funding for your business. You should note a few things when it comes to seeking lenders. First, you need to have a business plan in place. Most lenders expect this when applying for startup financing. Secondly, you should exactly the amount of capital you need to start your business venture. And lastly, your credit score should meet the requirements because it is used to determine credit risk and loan interest rates. Visit https://catran.sba.gov/lendermatch/form/contact.cfm to find a lender.