Small Business News You Can Use (3/26)

Grants are like free money for small businesses: Unlike loans and other debt, grants don’t typically require you to pay anyone back. Of course, finding and qualifying for public or private funds takes some effort. To help make the process a bit easier, here are five potential sources of grants for small enterprises and entrepreneurs. The House Small Business Committee held a hearing Wednesday on entrepreneurial growth, “A Job Creation Roadmap: How America’s Entrepreneurs Can Lead Our Economic Recovery,” calling on successful small business owners to tell their stories of triumph despite economic challenges. The hearing also focused on government regulations which some argue stand in the way of job creation and entrepreneurial growth. Employers in the U.S. plan to boost hiring during the next three months as the pace of economic growth picks up, a survey showed. The director of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the agency created under the 2010 Wall Street reform law has initiated a number of investigations, including probes of large banks.