culled from:phroogal.com
One of the most important things that a business needs is working capital. Therefore, what do you do if you don’t have any money to start a business with? The good news is that there are many ways to get your business up and running and get the money as you go. Let’s take a look at just how far you can get your company even if you don’t have any cash to spare.
Starting a Service Company Doesn’t Take Much Capital
If you are offering a service, you may need nothing more than you own power to run your company. For instance, if you walk dogs, you may have materials provided to you by the dog’s owner. You may also be given materials to work with if you are babysitting a child or offering tutoring services.
Beyond that, marketing doesn’t have to be expensive either. You can start a website for free and get domain hosting for as little as $10 a year. If you understand coding, you may be able to build a comprehensive website without needing to pay for any add-ons. Digital marketing through social media can be done for free, and word of mouth advertising is both free and an effective marketing tool.
Take Stock of What You Have When Building a Product
What can you do if you are trying to sell a product instead of a service? While you may not have thousands of dollars to build products in a factory, you may have enough to rig together a rough prototype of your product. If the prototype shows potential, that may be enough to get an investor to provide the money needed to build a better quality product that can be shown to retailers.
If you don’t have money for packaging or slick artwork, you can always draw a rough sketch of what your packaging will look like. Typically, an investor is more interested in your branding and color scheme as opposed to what the package looks like when first conceived. Fortunately, those are all issues that can be worked out if the product is strong enough to create demand in the marketplace.
Get Creative When Seeking Funds for Your New Business
There are a variety of ways to get money before you have created your product. For instance, you may ask customers to pre-order your product. This will allow you to collect payment upfront and use the money to build and ship the good to consumers. You may also be able to fund your business with a loan from friends or family members or through your 401K.
You may also want to ask other business owners in your area how they were able to get funding for their business. There may be a range of ideas that you haven’t considered that can help you get the cash you need to start your company. For example, you may be able to get a small business loan your local or state government.
In a worst case scenario, you may be able to get a personal loan or credit card to fund operations when you first get started. If you have poor credit, you may wish to seek out microlending sites that allow you to borrow based on nothing more than gaining the trust of other users.
Getting the money to start your company can be the difference between success and failure as an entrepreneur. Fortunately, there are a lot of great ways that you can muddle along until you find an investor or another source of funding that meets your needs. In time, your company’s revenues will be strong enough to ensure that it will be around for years to come making new products and developing a strong and loyal brand following.
