How to Fund Your Business With No Start-Up Capital
Before you start a business, you need to have a business idea. When you get this idea, the next thing on your mind is, how do I make this idea become a reality? How do I fund this business?
Russel Conwell, the author of “Acres of Diamonds,” believes that you do not need capital to have a successful business or become rich. He goes on to tell a story about a man who used firewood to make unique toys through his observation of the things his children liked. The business grew, and he became a millionaire right before everyone’s eyes.
Waiting for that significant capital to fund your business means you’ve not learned the art of resourcefulness. And to become successful, you need to learn how to make do with what you have. All you need is the right combination of skills and work ethic to make headway. Here are some smart options to get funding for your business if you have no capital:
Make something and sell
So you need money for this big business venture that seems to be out of your grasp. Why don’t you look inwards and find out what you can make with your hands to generate some money? Like the story of the man who used firewood to make toys. You might be good at baking, making smoothies, lemonade, furniture, bead jewelry, etc.
Make something and sell around your neighborhood or online. With access to online marketplaces like eBay, Etsy, Bonanza, it is now easy to sell your handmade products. You can decide to use all the channels available to increase your exposure and make more sales.
If you cannot make something with your hands, you might be able to write. Write about anything that contains unique information you feel people will need. Turn your writing in an ebook and sell on marketplaces such as Amazon Kindle, blurb, AuthorHouse, Lulu, etc.
You have lots of options to sell the things you make and save up money for that big idea. Do your research on how to sell them.
Resell products
It’s okay if you don’t know how to make stuff, not everyone is cut out to be creative, but you can resell what people have made. Lots of big business names you hear of are only reselling what is in existence. What you need to do is find a product you are passionate about and start reselling.
There are lots of available platforms to resell things, depending on the reselling method you pick. One reselling way is the big garage sales which you might have done while growing up or watched your parents do. And the other is drop shipping, the relatively new and inexpensive method to resell.
You can visit thrift stores, garage sales of other people, and get items that are still in good condition and sell them in your neighborhood or online. If you chose the sell online, eBay is the perfect place. If you have decided to go through dropshipping route, set up an online store with Shopify, partner with dropshipping suppliers, and start reselling.
Lots of sellers are making huge sales running into millions of dollars by reselling. You can be part of them. Don’t wait until someone comes to offer you money, go out and make it.
Offer your services
If you are not making, selling, and reselling products, you can at least offer your services in exchange for money. There are different types of services around the world you can provide to people and get them to reward you. It could be mowing the lawn, babysitting, home tutoring, personal assistance, writing, web designing and developing, typing, etc.
Get the word out that you can offer these services. Inform your family and friends, neighbors, phone contacts, etc. You can also advertise your services on marketplaces such as craigslist, Upwork, Fiverr, TaskRabbit, skillshare, freelancer, etc. It allows more exposure and leads prospects right of your email.
Try trade by barter
You can also try to do barter with your services. Remember the old days of trade and barter when you didn’t need to have money before you live a comfortable life? Sometimes, you don’t need to offer your services in exchange for cash. You can offer it in exchange for something more valuable they can give you.
For instance, if you need a laptop for your writing services, it could take a while before you can save up for a good laptop. So, why don’t you ask for your neighbor’s old laptop while you mow their lawn every Saturday? Think of the right way to barter your services to get what you need.
Try outsourcing
If you’ve been keeping up with recent trends, then it’s not news that outsourcing is the new way of saving lots of money on operational costs. You don’t need to think of hiring staff that will report to you on a physical location.
You can build a virtual team through outsourcing means. They cost less, and you don’t have to bother about paying them other benefits aside from their project earning.
For example, if you need a logo design for your company, you can always check sites like Upwork, freelancer, and others to get designers who are willing to do a perfect job for even half the standard price. They will want to make sure they do an excellent job so that they can get good reviews and get more work. All you need to do is check their samples and past reviews before contacting them.
Crowdfunding
Another way to raise money to fund your business, so you don’t lose the total rights of your business is through crowdfunding. You can get friends and family and even strangers to donate to your business. There are different sites you can use to achieve this goal; one of them is kickstarter.com.
The Kickstarter site does not include carter for long term funding; it is for one-off ideas. And the best way to get people to donate is by offering something for return. It doesn’t have to be shares of your company; it could be some form of services. For example, you can offer to give them a book if you are a writer. There are numerous ideas to fund your business if you have no startup capital; you just have to find them. Contact us if you need more information on how to raise funds.
Originally published at https://indepthbusinesswriting.com on July 22, 2019.
