Although the recent news stories have been positive about the growth prospects of the economy and have been saying that we are finally heading out of this recession that has gripped the nation for years, there is no denying that times are still hard for your average business out there, especially the micro and small businesses.

Many business owners are living “hand to mouth” and barely surviving, let alone being able to expand, or hire staff, money is just too tight. However there is help available, if you know where to look for it.

Getting a grant for your business can seem like a daunting process with mountains of paperwork, and many business owners tend to think that it is more effort than it is worth in the long run as the chances are they feel that they won’t get the grant anyhow.

However, with the right help and support, there is no reason your grant application would be turned down so long as all the supporting paperwork is in place. Firstly you need to find out what grants are available and suitable for your particular business, this is something that you can find out by several means, firstly by looking online the gov.uk site has a whole section dedicated to helping your find the right financial and business support for your business.

You can also approach your local council, many have teams set up purely to help their local businesses, and one such scheme is situation in North Wales which the author has dealt with personally. The Conwy Rural Partnership team work their socks off to provide support, financial aid, and promotion opportunities for businesses in their community, always more than happy to give advice, let businesses know about the new grants and loans that are out there to assist and many areas have “sister” departments that would be just as willing to help.

You can also approach your accountant who may know of schemes or be able to find out more information for you.

Many grants are available for specific things, either to allow you to purchase specialist equipment to assist your business (for example if you do a lot of mailshots, then you may find an envelope stuffing machine useful to increase your productivity), or it may be that the grant it to allow you to train your staff or grow your business by hiring more staff.