Funding for Women-Owned Businesses

Mage

Hi Thumbtackers! I am curious if anyone has had any success with receiving funding for their woman-owned business. My business is experiencing a reduction in conversions and traffic, and I have a feeling that it is because of the inflation this year. Since I am in the arts and education, sadly they are often the first fields to go when the economy is experiencing challenges. I have been using loans to fund my business, but it's digging too deep in debt, so I am more interested in grants or possible debt consolidation which I honestly don't know too much about. Thank you so much for your insights here! 🙏🏽😎

DustiO

Thank you for posting this here, @Mage! Moving this to the top to make sure more people see it - let's get this hive mind going!

Desiree33

I am convinced that unless I have a purpose in my business to give back to our community nothing will align like it supposed to so I have a lot of ideas but none have took off so now I want to try a different approach ladies but I can't do it by myself I fall short on a lot of different areas that I need help in so I am available for any thing ,conversation, or etc to improve and empower us women if yall want to stick together for the good of our future

DustiO

@Desiree33 Love this!

Mage

@Desiree33 not to worry–I am usually quite creative and manage to find solutions, but I too am at a loss. I am going to keep exploring what's in demand and see if I need to change my profile or start doing other kinds of music-related jobs.

DustiO

@Mage Just following up to see if you've found any good resources?

Mage

Hi @DustiO! Thank you so much for checking in! I am currently work with the SCORE business mentoring as well as the Small Business Development Center in my area. I even reached out to the career center of my alma mater (CalArts if anyone is curious) to find other resources and tips. Some of my most loyal clients even set up a GoFundMe for me when they saw how bad it was. Only two people donated so far, but that was very sweet of them to actually take the time out for that. Every day is a real challenge for my business right now, but I am hoping to find some opportunities and overcome this setback.

DustiO

I love how proactive and innovative you are!!! I've heard great things about SCORE in the past - I bet this will be a great resource! And I LOVE hearing about the GoFundMe, that just goes to show how incredible you are at what you do, that your clients would do this!!!

Modern_designer11

Hi Mage, I'm just now seeing your message and you asked a very good and important question. I think it would be a good idea as we figure out the answers to these questions to have that source information posted here on Thumbtack for others. I'm also going to do some research in my area to see what they have to offer and will let you know what I find. I hope the career center turn things around for you!

SB_Journeys

https://community.thumbtack.com/discussion/637/funding-for-women-owned-businesses

Hello, I started my own tutoring and grant writing business. We have helped various WOMEN OWNED businesses obtain funding. Minority women are most likely to get free money so I highly recommend applying for grants first then loans :) You pay a grant writer a fee $800-$1500 but you never have to pay the grant back once awarded. Also, a good grant writer will REAPPLY for you if you get rejected the first time. A loan, you pay back which is way more than $800-1500. I hope this helps! My email is sana@sbjourneys.com if you ever need to reach out to ask more questions. :)

DustiO

@Mage just tagging you to make sure you saw this last comment - might find something helpful! Thank you for sharing, @SB_Journeys!

Mage

Hi @SB_Journeys! I will send you a message!