How to Start a Business with Little to No Money

Do you dream of being your own boss, but are unsure about how to start a business with little to no money? While it’s true that some business will require considerable amounts of money to get off the ground, that’s not always the case. There are many businesses that can be started from home, and don’t require large amounts of capital to start generating income. In many cases, the answer to how to start a business with little money involves spending your time instead of your cash.

Business Ideas That Are Suitable For Low Cost Bootstrapping

Some businesses are more likely to be successful even when you have little money to invest than others. If you are looking for ideas to make money that don’t require start-up capital consider the following:

• Producing information products, such as EBooks
• Dropshipping
• Tutoring and childcare, provided you have the relevant certifications
• Affiliate marketing and online advertising
• Consulting or freelancing on a variety of niches, from web design to accountancy

      If you look at those business ideas you’ll notice that they require minimum or no equipment, pay their suppliers only after a successful sale or build on existing skills that the entrepreneur already has.

Finding Business Finance

It is true that finding money to start a business is challenging when the global economy is not at its best, but you should consider preparing a good business plan and talking with potential investors and business partners to raise that vital start-up capital you need to generate profits. If you have done your homework and minimized your requirements you may be able to raise just enough to get started as a personal loan instead of a business one. Mixing business and family sometimes gets sour, so instead of turning to your family and friends for capital ask them to help you with tasks that you would normally outsource.

Alternative Ways of Generating Income

If you really need some money to get your business started, but don’t have the means yourself and consider bank loans a last resort you may want to look into alternative ways of producing revenue and further your business goals at the same time. For example you could consider writing a blog for money on your business topic, which means you can generate interest on your project, position yourself as an authority on your niche and generate enough revenue to bootstrap your small business. You could also consider partnering up with somebody else in order to create a prototype and bring it to market, instead of waiting until you have enough money to launch the finished product.

Make Do with What You Have

If you wait until you have the perfect business setup in order to get started you may never launch. Many entrepreneurs started in less than optimal conditions, working from their garage or Internet cafes or using their old home computer instead of a brand new netbook. If you don’t have money to launch a new product on a nationwide level consider creating a few batches and trying to get it on your local stores, so when you decide it’s a good moment to push for more sales you can show that it’s actually on demand. Starting small also means you can show a potential investor that you are good at managing limited resources and able to create success even if you had to start a business with little to no money.