From City Clerk to Thriving Grant Writer: A Rural Success Story

The Unexpected Path to Grant Writing Success

Many of us find ourselves in situations where we're asked to take on tasks outside our job descriptions. For Christe, this unexpected detour led her to discover a passion and talent for grant writing that would transform her career and life.

From City Clerk to Grant Writing Pioneer

Christe's journey into grant writing began when she was serving as the acting city clerk of a small Kansas town. The city had recently experienced an emergency, resulting in eight open FEMA grants that no one was managing. Seeing an opportunity, Christe volunteered to take on these projects.

"I dug in and learned on the job how to figure out emergency FEMA funding and projects," Christe recalls. "It was a lot of fun, and I enjoy learning new things."

This initial foray into grant management involved overseeing approximately $900,000 in funding across all projects. Christe successfully managed these to completion within six months, demonstrating her natural aptitude for the work.

Taking the Leap into Federal Grants

Encouraged by her success with the FEMA grants, Christe decided to try her hand at writing federal grants. She explains, "The FEMA Brick program came across my desk, and I knew there were a couple of projects that the city needed. I thought I could get them funded with the Brick program."

With the city's approval, Christe wrote three Letters of Intent (LOIs) in August, all of which were selected to proceed to full applications. She then completed these applications within a month and a half - a timeline she later learned was quite ambitious for federal grants.

"The grants took two years to award," Christe notes, highlighting the often lengthy process involved in federal grant funding.

Recognizing a Business Opportunity

As Christe's grant writing successes accumulated, she began to see the potential for turning this skill into a business. However, she faced a common challenge for many aspiring entrepreneurs: "I didn't know how to monetize it. I didn't know the business model around it."

This realization led Christe to seek out resources and training to help her transform her grant writing skills into a viable business model.

The Journey to Entrepreneurship

Christe's path to entrepreneurship wasn't a straightforward one. Like many successful business owners, she had to overcome self-doubt and embrace the uncertainties that come with starting a new venture.

Embracing the Entrepreneurial Mindset

When asked if she identified as an entrepreneur, Christe admits, "I think I'm embracing it more now. The reason I've been an entrepreneur in the past is because I had other goals. It wasn't that I wanted to be an entrepreneur; it's that I wanted to stay home while my kids were in school."

This perspective highlights an important truth about entrepreneurship - often, it's not the end goal itself, but a means to achieve other life objectives.

Christe recognizes that her past experiences have prepared her for this new role: "Entrepreneurship requires the capacity for risk-taking, the capacity to kind of swing by the seat of your pants, and the capacity to wear a lot of hats at once. I have been able to do that in my many careers, so I feel like all of that experience, if you are an entrepreneur, just layers on top of each other."

From One Client to a Thriving Business

Christe's grant writing business started modestly with a single client - the city where she had previously worked as a clerk. She began by managing their existing grants and applying for new ones. "I applied for five grants, and four were successful. I'm now managing those four grants and the associated projects for them," she explains.

But Christe's ambitions didn't stop there. After being laid off from her job in the tech industry in August 2023, she decided to fully commit to her grant writing business. "I found Learn Grant Writing in May and thought, you know, I'm just going to make a job," she recalls.

This decision marked a turning point in Christe's career. Within just six months, she had achieved remarkable growth:

• Secured 10 clients
• Sold four grant writes and three funding strategies
• Obtained a retainer agreement
• Hired a part-time virtual assistant and a bookkeeper
• Began working with several contractors

"I'm at the place with my business where I'm not necessarily worried about the next grant write," Christe says, reflecting on her rapid progress.

Overcoming Challenges

Despite her success, Christe's journey hasn't been without its challenges. She candidly shares some of the difficulties she faced:

• Financial stress: "Not having enough money is always challenging."
• Multitasking: "Trying to set up systems, figure out if I could remember how to write a grant, and hiring people to write grants for me all at the same time."
• Perfectionism: "It bothered me that all my ducks weren't in a row."
• Balancing sales and delivery: "Figuring out what to do when you've been working in sales and now all of a sudden you've got way more work than you can do."

Christe acknowledges that entrepreneurship is inherently uncomfortable: "I think entrepreneurship is just uncomfortable. The highs are really high, and also there's this state of constantly taking risk, constantly working for your next paycheck to make sure that it's stable, and now to pay other people as well."

However, she also finds joy in the freedom that comes with running her own business: "I'm liking this freedom of there's the pressure always of needing to perform, but I'm also liking the freedom of being able to pick who I work with and pick when I work and where I work from."

The Power of Rural Grant Writing

One of the most inspiring aspects of Christe's story is her commitment to serving rural communities through her grant writing business.

Addressing Rural Needs

Christe's passion for rural development stems from her own background: "I am from rural Kansas. I've always wanted to give back to the area I came from, and this has given me an avenue to do that."

She explains that there's a significant need for grant writing services in rural areas, particularly for infrastructure projects: "The grants I write are for infrastructure, parks grants. There's a ton of things with infrastructure. Cities run their own electricity, gas, water, and sewer plants. There are grants for all of that stuff. They need the maintenance. There's a lot of work."

This focus on rural infrastructure has resonated strongly with her target market: "It resonated immediately with engineering companies as well as with small towns and water districts. There's a lot of need."

Overcoming Rural Challenges

Christe acknowledges that rural communities often face unique challenges when it comes to accessing grant funding:

• Lack of personnel
• Limited knowledge about available funding opportunities
• Difficulty in strategically applying for grants

To address these issues, Christe has observed various initiatives aimed at supporting rural grant writing: "I've run across nonprofits and government entities working to pay for grant writing in rural areas. A nonprofit entity in Kentucky, one in Washington state, and then there's one here in Kansas that is government - but they're all working to get monies for grant writing for rural towns."

The Impact of Rural Grant Writing

Christe sees her work as more than just a business opportunity; it's a way to make a meaningful impact on rural communities:

• Bringing much-needed funding to small towns
• Helping to maintain and improve local infrastructure
• Providing skilled job opportunities for rural residents

"The more we can also help people who want to stay in their hometown have skills that also challenge them or that they want to do and feel like they could only do in a big city - how exciting to actually give that back to the rural communities," Christe enthuses.

The Flexibility of Grant Writing

One of the advantages of grant writing as a career is its flexibility. As Christe points out, "Grant writing you can basically do from wherever." This makes it an ideal option for those who want to work remotely or stay in their rural communities.

However, Christe also notes the importance of in-person interactions, especially when working with municipal clients: "I do find that sales in person, especially with the clientele that I work with like cities, they want to talk to you." She shares an anecdote of driving seven hours round trip for an 11-minute city council presentation, which resulted in a $5,000 funding strategy sale.

Building a Sustainable Business Model

Christe's rapid success in building her grant writing business offers valuable insights for others looking to enter the field or grow their existing operations.

Setting Ambitious Goals

From the outset, Christe set ambitious goals for her business. Her initial target was to earn $150,000 in her first year, a goal she's on track to exceed significantly. Looking ahead to 2025, she's aiming even higher:

"I'm hoping to hit $200,000 by May, probably looking at goalwise maybe $350,000 [for the year]," she shares.

These ambitious targets have helped drive Christe's rapid growth and success.

Investing in Education and Support

Christe credits much of her success to her decision to invest in education and support through the Learn Grant Writing program. Despite being unemployed at the time, she saw the value in this investment:

"The price point I would not typically have added a large monthly expense unemployed. It was an investment in me and investment in education, and it's well paid for itself."

This willingness to invest in herself and her business has been a key factor in Christe's rapid growth and success.

Diversifying Services

Christe's business model goes beyond just writing grants. She offers a range of services including:

• Grant writing
• Grant management
• Funding strategies

This diversification helps to create a more stable income stream and provides additional value to her clients.

Building a Team

As her business has grown, Christe has begun to build a team to support her work:

• A part-time virtual assistant
• A bookkeeper
• Several contractors

This team approach allows Christe to take on more work and provide better service to her clients.

Balancing Growth and Quality

While Christe's business has grown rapidly, she remains focused on maintaining quality: "I've got to get better at what I do obviously," she acknowledges. This commitment to continuous improvement is crucial for long-term success in the grant writing field.

The Future of Rural Grant Writing

As Christe looks to the future, she sees exciting possibilities not just for her own business, but for the broader field of rural grant writing.

Creating Opportunities for Others

One of Christe's goals is to create opportunities for others, particularly in rural areas: "Through this business, I can not only impact rural Kansas, which is the passion, but also impact moms with small kids who want to work from home. Now I have the opportunity to provide that, and it's kind of exciting."

This vision of creating flexible, skilled job opportunities in rural areas could have a significant positive impact on these communities.

Addressing Rural Brain Drain

By providing skilled, well-paying job opportunities in rural areas, grant writing businesses like Christe's could help address the issue of "brain drain" that many rural communities face. This could help to revitalize these areas and create more sustainable local economies.

Improving Rural Infrastructure

The focus on infrastructure grants for rural communities has the potential to make a significant impact on the quality of life in these areas. Improved water systems, better roads, updated electrical grids, and other infrastructure projects can help rural towns become more attractive places to live and work.

Bridging the Urban-Rural Divide

By bringing urban-level skills and opportunities to rural areas, grant writing businesses like Christe's can help to bridge the growing divide between urban and rural communities. This could lead to more balanced regional development and reduce some of the economic disparities between urban and rural areas.

Lessons for Aspiring Grant Writers

Christe's journey offers valuable lessons for anyone considering a career in grant writing, particularly those interested in serving rural communities:

1. Embrace unexpected opportunities: Christe's entry into grant writing came from volunteering for a task outside her job description. Be open to new experiences and challenges.

2. Invest in education: Despite financial constraints, Christe invested in training to build her skills and business knowledge. Continuous learning is crucial in this field.

3. Start small, but think big: Christe began with one client but quickly set ambitious goals for growth. Don't be afraid to dream big, even when starting small.

4. Embrace discomfort: Entrepreneurship involves risk and uncertainty. Christe's willingness to push through uncomfortable situations has been key to her success.

5. Focus on underserved markets: By specializing in rural grant writing, Christe found a niche with high demand and less competition.

6. Diversify your services: Offering a range of services, from grant writing to funding strategies, can create a more stable business model.

7. Build a team: As your business grows, bringing on team members can help you scale and provide better service to clients.

8. Stay connected to your why: Christe's passion for helping rural communities drives her business. Having a strong sense of purpose can help you push through challenges.

Conclusion

Christe's journey from city clerk to successful grant writing entrepreneur is a testament to the opportunities available in this field, particularly for those willing to serve rural communities. Her story demonstrates that with determination, a willingness to learn, and a passion for making a difference, it's possible to build a thriving business while also creating positive change in underserved areas.

As the need for skilled grant writers continues to grow, particularly in rural areas, stories like Christe's offer inspiration and a roadmap for others looking to enter this rewarding field. Whether you're a stay-at-home parent looking for flexible work, a professional seeking a career change, or someone passionate about rural development, grant writing offers exciting possibilities.

By following Christe's example - embracing opportunities, investing in education, setting ambitious goals, and staying committed to a larger purpose - aspiring grant writers can not only build successful businesses but also make a significant impact on the communities they serve. As we look to the future, the potential for grant writing to drive rural development and create opportunities in small towns across the country is truly exciting.

Article created from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWPL5HVyLA8