We’ve all heard that to start a business, you need to have capital. Most entrepreneurs will start with an idea and then draw up a business plan. They’ll go to various investors and banks with their plan in the hopes that someone will fund it. But what happens if a bank won’t fund you? What happens if you have bad credit? How do you start a business with no money?
While it’s easier to start a business with money in the bank, it is possible to start one with no capital. What you need is to have a shift in mindset. Instead of thinking about the resources you need to buy, think about what you already have to sell.
Start with What You Have
The best way to start a business is to start small. You can even start from your basement and sell to friends and family. This way, you can save on costs and funnel anything you earn back into your business. When you first start, make a list of your:
- Skills: what can you do to contribute to your business?
- Resources: what assets do you have that can help your business?
- Experience and knowledge: what experience do you have already? How can you use it to build your business?
The answers to these questions will provide you with a baseline of what you need to start your business. First, structure your business around what you currently have. Next, build it up as your cash flow starts moving.
To start a business with no money, you need to get creative and be innovative. Consider first what’s most important. Then think about those things you don’t need. It’s tempting to spend money on a fancy website, but they’re not essential parts of your business. Pare your business down to the essentials and move on from there.
You can also consider exchanging services and resources with others online. Barter services, such as Loyalty Trade Exchange, allow users to exchange goods and services with each other. You don’t need any cash to do so. You can offer your services and swap them with some else. LTE is a safe and reliable way to trade products, resources, and services on a global scale. It can even help you gain new customers in the process.
If you have a lot of time on your hands, you can also focus on doing a lot of the marketing and website design yourself. There are plenty of free online resources that you can take advantage of as a start-up. Make a list of things you need for your business and look online for free alternatives. It will take longer than hiring someone, but you’ll get to develop new skills and save some money in the process.
Choose the Right Type of Business
Some businesses are easier to run with no funds than others. A product-based business will always be more expensive to get up and running than a service-based one. If you want to sell products, start with an alternative business model until you have the funds you need.
There several types of businesses that are cheap to start up. By starting with this type of business, you can build up funds to achieve your end goals. When you have the funds you need, you can transition to your ideal business model.
Service
The only thing you need for a service business is your time, skill, and tools. You can make your skills available to others without spending a lot of money. Many service businesses will advertise online for free. The significant upfront costs are transportation and tools of the trade. Once you have those in place, you can travel around and sell your time.
Events
Events-based businesses are those that organize events for other people. These events can include sports, weddings, concerts, and expos. By organizing the events, you get other people to cover the costs and charge for your organizational services. If you plan to organize more substantial events, your business model will be to sell tickets before you start spending money to organize the event. In this model, you use your revenue as your capital investment.
Education
Education-based businesses don’t have significant upfront costs. Examples of education-based businesses include sports coaching, tutoring children, and soft-skill training. Anybody with a passion and skills for teaching can move into the education space with ease.
Brokerage
Brokerages are platforms that bring buyers and sellers together. They’ve become popular as a way to start a business with little capital. While brokerages exist in many industries, competition can be fierce.
The most crucial aspect of a brokerage is to be fair to both buyers and sellers. If you market your platform well, you’ll be able to get the right number of buyers and sellers to keep both happy. The most challenging part of starting a brokerage is the initial phase. When there are only a few people on the platform, there may not be enough buyers to meet the sellers and vice versa. If customers start leaving at this stage, the business can fail. That’s why marketing is so important to keep getting new people in and keep the platform growing.
Use Your Support Network
It’s tough to start a business alone. If you can, try asking your friends and family for funds to help get your business off the ground. Make it clear that you’re not asking for charity and that you’ve done all your homework beforehand. It’s a good idea to draw up a simple contract that notes when you’ll pay them back.
You can also use a service like Loyalty Networking. With networks like this, you can meet up with like-minded professionals. They can help expand your range of contacts and foster long-lasting relationships. By joining Loyalty Networking, you become part of a local chapter of businesses. You also get access to the Loyalty Lifeline, a built-in advisory board. This confidential advisory service can guide on how to start a business with no money.
Loyalty Brands also offers other services for new small business owners. Small Business Accounting (SBA) aims to provide financial services to small businesses. Are you worried about how to start a business with no money? The SBA can give expert advice on cost-savings to get you started. You can take advantage of their advisory services and accounting services as well. By working with SBA, you can maximize your potential while minimizing your costs.
Look for Local Funding Opportunities
Small Business Grants
Once you’ve started a business, it becomes easier to look for funding. Once your business is running, you can start looking for local grants. Grants usually have strict requirements. But if you can meet them, you have the chance at a significant source of funding.
You can search for local small business grants on the web at government databases and local Chambers of Commerce. You can also leverage the contacts you’ve made in your Loyalty Networking chapter to help with your application.
Angel Investors
Angel investors are usually the first people to invest in a good business idea. Unlike venture capital firms, angel investors use their own funds to invest in businesses. They are more likely to take on risky projects and are less risk-averse. They tend to make the best mentors; since many were small business owners at one point themselves.
Angel investors are also great for taking your business to the next level.
Consider Franchising
If you’re a new business owner, starting a business can be intimidating. Even without financial concerns, running a business is a challenge. Franchising removes a lot of challenges by providing a template on how to run a successful business.
A franchise is a business an individual operates, but a larger company oversees. Many of the big-brand stores you see daily are franchises. Franchisees buy the right to use the franchise brand and marketing. They also get the benefit of getting a proven business model that has worked before without having to figure it out themselves.
To buy into a franchise, you need to pay an upfront fee that gives you the right to use the franchise’s brand and trademark. You also pay for ongoing training and support. This fee varies from franchise to franchise, so it’s a good idea to shop around. After the initial franchise fee, a regular royalty on your earnings, as well as regular contributions to the marketing fund is due to the franchisor.
The main benefit of franchising is that you’re buying into a successful brand, so the risk of failure is low. This is particularly important if you don’t have much money to lose. Nobody wants to spend their life savings on starting a business and end up going bust. By investing in a franchise, you’re more likely to succeed and turn a profit quicker.
Loyalty Brand has two franchise opportunities for both new and experienced business owners. These three franchises work together with Loyalty’s services. The full package of services is an excellent place for new business owners to start their journey.
First Choice is a business brokerage that operates nationwide. It provides a platform to buy and sell businesses and franchises. By becoming part of the First Choice family, you can take advantage of the booming business brokerage market. Currently, there are over 27 million business sale listings and only 4,000 brokerages nationwide, providing franchisees with substantial market opportunities to enter.
Franchisees get plenty of ongoing training and access to exclusive listings. All franchisees get training in a wide range of fields, including marketing and negotiations. First Choice is a reliable option to start a business that has a low initial investment cost and impressive expansion capacity.
As long as there are businesses, there will be a need for tax and accounting services. ATAX is a 100% Latino-owned tax preparation and business service. It offers notary services, immigration help, insurance analysis, and tax preparation for the entire US East Coast.
ATAX has a proven track record of business success, with a robust business model and extensive expansion plans. ATAX provides all franchisees with the tools and support they need to launch an accounting firm of their own. They even help existing firms transfer to the ATAX brand and scale up operations.
Final thoughts…
Starting a new business with new funds is possible, but it requires a shift in mindset to succeed. There are many strategies that you can use to start a business without much start-up capital. Make sure to work within your limits. Identify what resources you have and what you need and start small. A service or education-based business will be cheaper to start than a product-based business.
One of the simplest ways to launch a business if you’re low on funds is to buy a franchise. Many franchises have reasonable upfront costs and royalty fees. Their proven formula makes them an excellent low-risk option for new business owners.
The Loyalty umbrella of companies contains both franchises and support services. The many services Loyalty offer provides new business owners all the tools they need to succeed at launching a low-cost, low-risk business venture.
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