Free Money

Could your business use thousands of dollars in additional cash or assistance?  If so Matthew Nolan provides some helpful tips on getting your slice of the millions available in government and industry grants accessible to fashion businesses.

Every year thousands of Australian businesses benefit from industry grants or State and Federal Government backing. In stark difference to a typical loan from a bank, a great benefit is that these don't typically need to be paid back.
There is a raft of different grants or support available to Australian fashion businesses, which can be broadly grouped into the following categories:

Seed capital
Competitions such as the long running Nescafé Big Break or the Federal Government's New Enterprise Incentive Scheme can help you get your new business idea up and running. Assistance can include mentoring, training, business plan development and income support.

Growth funding
If your small business would like support in growing its business enterprise culture or if you have a larger business and would like support to invest in new plant and equipment, building expenditure, trade showings or in-store promotions for clothing and finished textiles, then a grant from the Federal Government's textile, clothing and footwear small business or strategic investment programs could be the answer.

Diversifying your business
Expanding your product line can add greatly to sales and business growth. To assist you achieve this, the Federal Government's Product Diversification Scheme assists Australian clothing and finished textile manufacturers to internationalise their sourcing arrangements and expand their product range. Support is provided through credits, that offset the duty that may be payable on the import of finished clothing or relevant finished textile articles.

Expanding your exports
Austrade has a range of support available to businesses wishing to export, such as reimbursements for overseas representation, marketing consultants and visits. Refunds for other costs in export promotional activities such as phone calls, free samples, attending trade fairs and seminars, promotional literature, advertising and even bringing potential overseas buyers to Australia can also potentially be included.

Training and apprenticeships
There are a wide range of government programs that fund staff training, helping you to develop and retain valuable staff. As these vary depending on where your business is located, it's important to check what's available for your business locally. If suitable, you may also like to consider hiring an apprentice, with subsidies provided for both apprentices that are new entrants to the work force and mature age workers.

Business improvement
Through the Australian Industry Productivity Centres, Australian fashion businesses can get a free review of their productivity and competitiveness. Financial and other assistance can then potentially be available to help implement any identified future improvements.
Here are some tips on how to give your business the best chance of successfully applying for a grant:

* Check the eligibility criteria. Make sure your business qualifies. These criteria are usually strictly enforced, so save yourself some time by only applying for a grant you can be awarded.

* Prepare a high quality submission. Let the reader share in your enthusiasm and vision for your business. With many of the grants competitively based, it's important to have a submission that stands out from the crowd in quality, depth and presentation.

* Meet the deadlines. Most grants have a closing date for submissions which aren't flexible. It's important to find out now which grants you may like to apply for in the coming year, as some are only offered once a year.

Finally, it's important to remember that whilst there's a wide range of grants available, there are also many businesses just like yours vying for them. Persevere...if at first you don't succeed, keep trying.

This brief overview covers just a few of the many grants offered. As there is an ever growing range available to your fashion business, it pays to look into whether you can access some of them by reviewing the detailed eligibility criteria. The most comprehensive source for information on Federal Government grants is grantslink.gov.au.

By Matthew Nolan