2041: Starting a Business in Midlife? Here’s Where to Find the Money

Farnoosh Torabi (0:00)

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SPEAKER_2 (0:37)

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Trae Bodge (1:03)

We give grants to midlife entrepreneurs specifically.

What we saw last year in our first grant-giving cycle, is that there is a great need for grant money. The government is not giving out as many grants now, so we're seeing some spill down into more independent or private grant foundations, and so I think that looking for grants can be very helpful, but you could also go down into a wormhole on grants. I'm doing this myself as one of the co-founders. I'm looking for grants for us to raise money so we can give more grants, and we're very specific. We're a non-profit. We're looking to re-gift this money, and so if you are going to apply for grants, make sure that you take the time to vet those grants, make sure that you are a good candidate for them before you spend all the time it's going to take to complete that grant application. So be very, very selective would be my advice if you're applying for grants.

Farnoosh Torabi (2:05)

Welcome to So Money, everybody. I'm Farnoosh, and today we're talking about starting a business in midlife.

If you've ever attempted this, you know that the idea is often the very easy part. Finding the money, the support, and frankly, the confidence to actually do it is where things get complicated. Today we're talking about what it really takes to launch and grow a business in your 40s, 50s, and beyond, especially at a time when borrowing is expensive, and traditional funding can be tough to come by.

My guest is Trae Bodge. She's a longtime consumer expert, entrepreneur, and co-founder of the Threadneedle Alley Foundation. It's a non-profit helping midlife entrepreneurs turn their ideas into sustainable businesses through grants and mentorship. Trae and I talk about where entrepreneurs can find funding right now, including grants that many business owners don't even realize they qualify for. Why applying for every grant you see may actually be a terrible strategy, and how even just $5,000 can completely change the trajectory of a small business. We also get into something that I think is especially important in midlife, building your own board of advisors, the people who can help you think through the things you don't know, make smarter decisions and keep you from operating in a vacuum. Plus, Trae shares what she learned after reviewing more than 450 grant applications last year, including the surprisingly simple things that can move your application to the top of the pile. Here's Trae Bodge.

Trae Bodge, welcome back to So Money, my friend. It's good to see you.

Trae Bodge (3:41)

So great to see you. Thanks for having me back.

Farnoosh Torabi (3:44)

Yes, and we're going to get into all the progress that you're making with your nonprofit, helping midlifers launch and grow their small businesses.

Speaking of small businesses, let's talk about the landscape right now, the big picture. We hear constantly that Americans want to work for themselves. Just had a conversation yesterday about this, you know, starting their own businesses, women in particular, women of color in particular. But wanting to become an entrepreneur and actually getting the money to do that, two very different things. What are you seeing right now with small business owners and just the economic environment?

Trae Bodge (4:23)

Yeah, I mean, you know, the most important thing I feel about starting a small business is the money aspect. You know, I started a business in my mid-20s with two partners, and we saved for a couple of years and bootstrapped that business. And what we're seeing now is that people are having a harder time borrowing.

Bank loans are more stringent. The rules that they're putting in place are harder to reach. And so it's a tricky time for entrepreneurs to start their businesses or take on loans to sustain their businesses. And so it's really important that small businesses look for the resources that can be the most helpful. I've been finding some resources out there like Grants.gov for grants.