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How to Start Business with No Money
If you are reading this article, you are not one of those people. “Someday” is not good enough for you. You may still face the same obstacles, but instead of letting them hold you back, you look for a way around or through them. TheThe lack of money is one of the biggest things that holds people back from starting a business. In this article, we want to show you that it does not have to be an obstacle. With enough dedication and desire, this obstacle, just like every other obstacle, can be overcome.
1. Keep Your Job
Keeping your day jobmay seem a little counterintuitive. For most people, the desire to start your own business is not to haveto clock in, to be your ownboss. Keeping your job is the opposite of that, right?
In a way yes. However, this tip is merely a means to the ultimate end. If you do not have the capital to start your business from scratch, you can become your ownangel investor. While jumping ship may seem like the most straightforward thing to do (sink or swim!), it may not be the wisest thing to do.
When you are just getting going, having a dependable paycheck could give you the extra revenue you need to get your business started.
2. Earn Sweat Equity
Someone once said, “They can outspend me, but they can never outwork me.”
If you are serious about starting your own business, sweat equity may be one of the most valuable assets that you bring to the table.
If you do follow the first bit of advice above and keep your job, it may feel like you do not have time to invest in your own business. But this is where you find out how much you want it! Are you willing to work late, work early, work on lunch break, work on weekends to make it happen? If so, this dedication can pay off even more than any financial investment.
3. Reduce Expenses
Cash flow is a simple formula – Cash from Operations minus Capital Expenditures. If you need more money to invest inyour business, you have twooptions
Increasing your cash from operations can be tricky to do. However, reducing expenditures is one of the easiest waysto free up more money.
Look at your receipts from the month and look for ways you can cut back.
Eat out less, bike to work (save on gas and maintenance), cut the cord (get rid of expensive cable TV). The list can go on and on. Reducing expenses may seem like a sacrifice, but you must ask yourself – is it worth it?
4. Assess Your Capital Needs
Sometimes we can overestimate what it takes to get something going. Getting a solid idea of what you need (rather than what you’d like to have) to get your business off the ground is a great way to determine your current ability to make it happen.
You have probably heard of the term Minimum Viable Product, which means having just the bare necessities, no frills, no fluff, realizing that once you get moving, momentum can make the next steps a lot easier. But you must get moving. After an honest assessment of your real capital needs, you may be surprised to find that a minimum viable product is much more attainable than you previously thought.
5. Secure A Small Business Loan
Did you know there is an entire government agency dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses? It’s called the Small Business Administration. They have many programs in place designed to help startups get the funding they need to get off the ground. ButBut that is not the only option! There are a variety of ways to get small business loans quick including microloansfrom non-profits, peer-to-peer lending, and more.
Most businesses require capital to get going, so don’t be afraid to explore your options for small business loans.
6. Explore Crowdfunding Platforms
The Internet is a wonderful thing, isn’t it? So many things that were impossible or extremely difficult are now achievable.
There are a variety of crowdfunding platforms out there that will allow people from all over the world to contribute to your startup. If you have a good, unique product that meets people’s needs and provides solutions, crowdfunding is a great option.
Whether you choose Crowdfund, Indiegogo, Kickstarter, or another platform, it has never been easier to spread your message and get people to support your ideas.
7. Network with People
Your network is your net worth. Never has this been truerthan today. In this age of social media and worldwide connectivity, relationships still reign supreme. And I mean real relationships, not mere “Facebook friends” but actual, real relationships.
Groups like the Chamber of Commerce or Business Network International can help you facilitate growing your network. Remember, you can’t go into networking with the sole purpose of “getting.”There’s nobetterway to repel people which is the opposite of what you want to accomplish!
Better to “dig the well before you are thirsty” as they say. Create and foster relationships, invest in people, and before long you will find that opportunities that seemed impossible before will fall into your lap.
Starting a business may seem like a daunting task. Starting a business with no money may seem even more daunting, if not impossible. But take heart. There is always a way around (or through) the obstacles in your path.
I hope these tips get more ideas sparking for how you can accomplish your goal of starting a business, regardless of your current capital situation!
How to Start Business with No Money
If you have ever dreamed of starting
your own business, welcome to the club. Most people you talk to will have, at some point in their life, had some great business idea that they would “love to do…someday.”But they never get around to it.If you are reading this article, you are not one of those people. “Someday” is not good enough for you. You may still face the same obstacles, but instead of letting them hold you back, you look for a way around or through them. TheThe lack of money is one of the biggest things that holds people back from starting a business. In this article, we want to show you that it does not have to be an obstacle. With enough dedication and desire, this obstacle, just like every other obstacle, can be overcome.
1. Keep Your Job
Keeping your day jobmay seem a little counterintuitive. For most people, the desire to start your own business is not to haveto clock in, to be your ownboss. Keeping your job is the opposite of that, right?
In a way yes. However, this tip is merely a means to the ultimate end. If you do not have the capital to start your business from scratch, you can become your ownangel investor. While jumping ship may seem like the most straightforward thing to do (sink or swim!), it may not be the wisest thing to do.
When you are just getting going, having a dependable paycheck could give you the extra revenue you need to get your business started.
2. Earn Sweat Equity
Someone once said, “They can outspend me, but they can never outwork me.”
If you are serious about starting your own business, sweat equity may be one of the most valuable assets that you bring to the table.
If you do follow the first bit of advice above and keep your job, it may feel like you do not have time to invest in your own business. But this is where you find out how much you want it! Are you willing to work late, work early, work on lunch break, work on weekends to make it happen? If so, this dedication can pay off even more than any financial investment.
3. Reduce Expenses
Cash flow is a simple formula – Cash from Operations minus Capital Expenditures. If you need more money to invest inyour business, you have twooptions
Increasing your cash from operations can be tricky to do. However, reducing expenditures is one of the easiest waysto free up more money.
Look at your receipts from the month and look for ways you can cut back.
Eat out less, bike to work (save on gas and maintenance), cut the cord (get rid of expensive cable TV). The list can go on and on. Reducing expenses may seem like a sacrifice, but you must ask yourself – is it worth it?
4. Assess Your Capital Needs
Sometimes we can overestimate what it takes to get something going. Getting a solid idea of what you need (rather than what you’d like to have) to get your business off the ground is a great way to determine your current ability to make it happen.
You have probably heard of the term Minimum Viable Product, which means having just the bare necessities, no frills, no fluff, realizing that once you get moving, momentum can make the next steps a lot easier. But you must get moving. After an honest assessment of your real capital needs, you may be surprised to find that a minimum viable product is much more attainable than you previously thought.
5. Secure A Small Business Loan
Did you know there is an entire government agency dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small businesses? It’s called the Small Business Administration. They have many programs in place designed to help startups get the funding they need to get off the ground. ButBut that is not the only option! There are a variety of ways to get small business loans quick including microloansfrom non-profits, peer-to-peer lending, and more.
Most businesses require capital to get going, so don’t be afraid to explore your options for small business loans.
6. Explore Crowdfunding Platforms
The Internet is a wonderful thing, isn’t it? So many things that were impossible or extremely difficult are now achievable.
There are a variety of crowdfunding platforms out there that will allow people from all over the world to contribute to your startup. If you have a good, unique product that meets people’s needs and provides solutions, crowdfunding is a great option.
Whether you choose Crowdfund, Indiegogo, Kickstarter, or another platform, it has never been easier to spread your message and get people to support your ideas.
7. Network with People
Your network is your net worth. Never has this been truerthan today. In this age of social media and worldwide connectivity, relationships still reign supreme. And I mean real relationships, not mere “Facebook friends” but actual, real relationships.
Groups like the Chamber of Commerce or Business Network International can help you facilitate growing your network. Remember, you can’t go into networking with the sole purpose of “getting.”There’s nobetterway to repel people which is the opposite of what you want to accomplish!
Better to “dig the well before you are thirsty” as they say. Create and foster relationships, invest in people, and before long you will find that opportunities that seemed impossible before will fall into your lap.
Starting a business may seem like a daunting task. Starting a business with no money may seem even more daunting, if not impossible. But take heart. There is always a way around (or through) the obstacles in your path.
I hope these tips get more ideas sparking for how you can accomplish your goal of starting a business, regardless of your current capital situation!
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