You have this brilliant idea and you are more than willing to leave your full-time job and personal revenue to start working on it. You have the desire to make it work. However, there’s one huge problem that’s blocking your way– you do not have the funds to make it happen.
Having a capital might sound like a major trouble, and it’s a common reason that compels most of the aspirants to shut down the idea. However, that should never be the case. You can still pursue whatever you want to happen even with (almost) no money. As long as you are sure with your business model, you can surely find a way.
Why a Business Needs Money
Let’s first talk about why you need money to get started. Although it may sound intuitive, talking about this would still actually make sense. First of all, there is no fixed fee in building businesses. Each business requires a different extent of capital. Thus, you first need to figure out how much you need before looking for alternate ways to fund your new business.
You also need to take the following into consideration:
- Permit and licenses– Depending on where you are located, you may have to process some paperwork and registry to start your operations.
- Supplies– Do you need raw materials? Computers and other devices?
- Do you require specific software or machinery?
- Office space– Having a commercial space can be really costly. This includes utilities and internet costs.
- Associations, subscriptions, and memberships– Do you need to subscribe to an publication or affiliation?
- Operating expenses– You must think about all the nitty gritty of the necessary expenses for your business, and this includes the marketing budget.
- Legal charges– Do you require a lawyer’s consultation to develop your business?
- Contractors and employees– You can’t operate a business all by yourself. You need to have employees and contractors to make things work.
In order to set up business with the least cost, you can consider the following options:
Reduce Your Needs
You are in control of your business model. You have to efficiently find a way to minimize your business necessities. At first, you can spend time working on the low-leverage tasks to get the sales coming, and eventually you can start hiring more people once you have expanded your loyal client base. Instead of renting a commercial space, you can start working from home. Find the cheapest suppliers or get rid of the product lines which are too costly to produce at the beginning. If your niche is based online, your operating costs can also be way cheaper.
Bootstrap
Bootstrap involves using the readily available resources within your reach than gathering readily external help. Instead of going all-out with a business launching, you can start slowly but surely with the basics. You can be self-employed at first to avoid big initial costs and enjoy simpler tax cases.
Once you can gain bigger enough profit, you can start your investments and build your dream business without heavy financial restraint.
Outsource
If it can’t really be helped, you can resort to acquiring funding from external sources. The following can be your go-to choices:
- Friends and family.Your family and friends trust you better. They also are your main supporters. You can always count on them if you have no other choice.
- Angel investors.An angel investor is a rich individual who supports start-up business ideas by funding them. They usually invest in exchange for the company’s partial ownership, which is a worthwhile resort.
- Venture capitalists.They’re like angel investors. However, they’re usually organizations or partnerships that scout at existing businesses around.
- As long as you have a unique and brilliant business idea, you can easily attract funding from people worldwide through online crowdfunding platforms.
- Government grants and loans.There are lots of loans and grants that could help you get started. You can search for the best deals to finally kick it off.
- Bank loans.If you have a good credit score, you can choose opening a line of credit with the bank.
If there’s a will, there’s a way. It all starts with a decision. A firm decision that can bring the largest difference in your life as long as you know how to play the game right. You don’t have to be experienced because you can just learn along the way. Coupled with good planning, proper risk management, smooth system, good people, and impeccable management, you can surely be one of the folks who successfully raked in millions from scratch.