Advice on receiving small business grants?

[jaidenllmerritt]

Hey all, I was recently informed by a coworker of mine that I could apply for a business license and potentially get approved for business grants.

We're both into photography, except he has already established himself and done freelance work, whereas I still have unpublished content that I instead plan to upload to social media as a content creator.
He said he applied for some grants last year and received over $20k, most of which he used for equipment and regular expenses.

He claims both my and my buddy (we work together) can apply for a business license and business grants as sole proprietors and potentially be eligible to receive funding for better equipment.
I have already applied for an received a EIN number, and now I'm currently waiting until January before I apply for the actual business license and grants (he said this is the best time to do so.)
He also said I need to log all of my expenses, including regular living expenses like bills and groceries, and that they'd base my approval odds on that?

I just want to know if there's any important details I'm missing out on? My coworker made it sound way too easy and practically guaranteed I'd be approved for a grant, which sounds way too good to be true.
Also, should I be approved for grant money, do I have to report said funds on my taxes? I keep getting mixed answers on this.

[Lashundatayd]

Your coworker's story sounds a bit too easy, and honestly, grants that big are rare and competitive. Logging living expenses as business costs isn't really how it works, so be careful there. For taxes, grant funds are generally taxable income unless used for specific qualified expenses. I found a top article at GrowBizLab that breaks down the whole grant process, including reporting rules. Worth reading before you apply.