How to apply for grants for self-employed

It is clear that one of the groups most affected by the economic crisis has been retail trade, including here the numerous self-employed who are engaged in this activity. It can also happen that after a period of unemployment, someone decides to start their own business as self-employed. In any case, and taking into account the times that are running, it is clear that an extra help never comes badly, that's why in this article of .com we explain how to ask for grants for freelancers.

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In the first place, it is convenient to point out that generally this type of subsidies in Spain are granted by the Autonomous Communities, so we will have to go to the institutions of these organisms to be able to inform us and request them.

On the other hand, they are usually found in state or European frameworks, which means that the same help will exist in all communities but with different names or characteristics.

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To better understand its structure, we will make a distinction between the two great types of self-help, since not all are equal or have the same purpose. It is important to be clear about what kind of help we need. These two types are:

• Aid for investment: Those whose purpose is to promote the emergence of new self-employed, help specific sectors such as women or depressed areas such as rural areas.
• Subsidies for the creation of employment: Its purpose is that a self-employed person with an already functioning business can hire new workers, for example bonuses to the Social Security.

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It is also important to know the process that usually follows our request within the Administration, to know the situation in which we find ourselves. It is usually structured in this way:

• Request: The moment in which our grant application is registered in the corresponding administration. To be able to ask for it, they will usually ask us for some information such as our identity, activity that we carry out, or plan in which we demonstrate where we want to invest the help.
• Resolution: We will know if our application has been adjudicated or denied, and it usually takes several months.
• Collection of the subsidy: We will receive the aid money, previously demonstrating that we are already carrying out the required investment plans.
• Follow-up: Normally someone in charge of the administration will make sure that we are using the help as planned.

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Finally, about these aids we must have some special considerations to bear in mind:

• As its name suggests, they are grants, and our business can not live exclusively on them.
• Normally the assigned amount will vary from one community to another, the business that we develop, the investment we are going to make, and so on.
• The characteristics of the aids are usually published in the official journals of each community or in the BOE, so it is important to be attentive to see which fit our needs.
• They usually have a specific application period, so we must adjust to it.
• If we request several grants, we must take into account that they are not incompatible.