Grants for starting small businesses tend to be very locally based, so those of us who don’t live in your town/county/state won’t have much particular info to share.
Having been involved in bootstrap businesses/ self-employment for most of my working life, I’ve seen how grants often require a financial investment on your part, and ask you to create a business plan and cash flow – which is like writing fiction when you’re starting out (and even later). It has made me really cynical about grants, to be honest. Also, conforming to the requirements of a grant can be a mismatch for what you’re really trying to do. You can end up having to spend money on stuff you don’t need. It might require you to register or even incorporate a business at a level you’re not ready for, as well.
So grants can be a double-edged sword. The best programs are the ones that are designed for people on unemployment insurance or other benefit programs to get on their feet. But even then, things can be weird. I have stories….
Since you’re already strapped for cash, I highly recommend not going into any debt over it. Find ways to not pay for things until you’re really ready. If you can do practice sessions at the client’s house rather than your own, they might like that. It doesn’t work for people with kids though. All you need for online sessions is a computer and internet connection which you have already, a decent mic and maybe a pro Zoom account.
This kind of spiritually-oriented work has long been done out of the practitioners’ home. I’m fortunate to have a spare bedroom with a door to the deck. Eventually, I painted and decorated it for calm and healing. I enjoy spreading one of the pretty sheets I inherited from my mother on the bed I inherited from my father, under my late sister’s chakra painting, and use her voice recorder. They’re all with me when I work. If I had to rent a space, I’d have to charge a lot more, and I live in a low-income part of the country, so I don’t want to make it unaffordable, and I get to keep the money and deduct some “business use of home expenses” on my income tax (I’m in Canada).Â
