Have you ever wondered where to begin in establishing a business?
Maybe you have an idea, or you’re just fascinated with the idea of launching and growing your own enterprise. You’re willing to take some risks, like leaving your current job or going without personal revenue for a while.
But there’s one logistical hurdle stopping you: You don’t have much money.
On the surface, this seems like a major problem, but a lack of personal capital shouldn’t stop you from pursuing your dreams. You have two main paths of starting a business with less money: lowering your costs or increasing your available capital from outside sources. You have three options here:
1. REDUCE YOUR NEEDS
Your first option is to change your business model to demand fewer needs. For example, if you were planning on starting a company as a consultant or freelancer, you could reduce your “employee” expenses by being the sole employee at the start.
Unless you need office space, you can work from home. You can even do your homework to find cheaper sources of supplies, or cut out entire product lines that are too expensive to produce at the outset.
There are a few expenses that you won’t be able to avoid, however. Licensing and legal fees will set you back even if you cut back on everything else.
2. BOOTSTRAP
Instead of going straight into full-fledged business mode, you’ll start with just the basics. You might launch a blog and one niche service, reducing your scope, audience and profit, to get a head-start. If you can start as a self-employed individual, you’ll avoid some of the biggest initial costs.
Once you start realising some revenue, you can invest in yourself, and build the business you imagined piece by piece, rather than all at once.
3. OUTSOURCE
Here are just a few potential sources for you:
Friends and family. Don’t rule out the possibility of getting help from friends and family, even if you have to piece the capital together from multiple sources.
Angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who back business ideas early in their generation. They typically invest in exchange for partial ownership of the company, which is a sacrifice worth considering.