Owner To Owner Podcast

Steve Dowling from GrantHelper on accessing grants to grow your business

Episode Summary

Stephen Dowling is the founder of www.granthelper.com.au. In this discussion he shares his tips on accessing the massive, but confusing array of council, state and federal grants currently available.

Episode Notes

Stephen Dowling is the founder of www.granthelper.com.au and helps businesses to access #grants and increase their chances of being successful.

In this discussion we talk about;

the massive and confusing array of grants at #councilgrants #stategrants and #federalgrants
the size of the grant market (currently in the billions)
the industries where the grants are e.g. #medical, #foodandbeverage, #defense, #space, #mining, #resources
#regionalgrants
where to go to actually find it
finding a #grantconsultant that is well connected and knowledgeable
#manufacturingsovereignty - a real issue - the federal government has invested quite a lot of money in that areato prop up the nation's capability
the #export arena, and helping #exporters to develop their channels, develop their relationships through innovative means given the travel restrictions at the moment
the #femalebusinessfoundergrant helping #femaleentrepreneurs or #businessowners to grow their businesses
his best tips for increasing chances of success;
- thinking about what is the project that they want to undertake and being clear on what their activities as the starting point, rather than worrying about what the grant is
- incorporating a business strategy overview, and, and a marketing plan as to have it going to grow the business as a result of the activity that they're planting
- telling a story about how a business is making some sort of transformation and how that transformation benefits the business, but also benefits the sector, maybe the #localeconomy, and so has these sort of rippling effects
- using the right sort of language when responding to questions
- using a grant consultant
- looking at the grant and the benefits from an external perspective
- thinking of it as an investment in a business by an external party, whether it be government or investors
- reporting back to the granter - there is compliance
developing business by looking at new markets and new products
the #modernmanufacturinginitiative which is currently being rolled out across Australia. food beverage covering ;
case studies;
- working with a manufacturer in the food and beverage sector based in South Australia who work across an entire supply chain, from harvesting wild game animals and processing them, and exporting the outputs as much as selling them domestically, and they utilize 100% of the carcass on the animal and have no waste so this particular business is actually applicable across a number of different sectors food and beverage manufacturing circular economy.
- a biomedtech company
understanding that there can be an opportunity costs associated with applying for a grant because there's often a long lead time