How to Start a Business With Little or No Money

The first thing to consider is the type of business that is the easiest to start with two important considerations:

1. It will require very little money and time to start it.  In other words, an ideal scenario would be to find a customer today and because of the type of business you are starting, you can serve the customer very quickly.

2. This business allows you to work out of your home.

1. A service business such as a wedding consultant, event planner or virtual assistant are good examples of a service business. 

2. A direct sale, multi-level marketing, or networking marketing business where you sale someone else’s product such as Tupperware or Avon.

So, here are four key things to consider before you decide what business you can start:

1. It should be home-based because you won’t incur upfront costs such as rental or purchase of a space and large enough inventory to fill the place.
2. It should be non-capital intensive.  The upfront cost should be minimal.  If you are going to sell a product such as in our previous example, Avon or Tupperware, the upfront cost to get started should be minimal – under $500.
3. The products or services should be quick cash generating products or services.  Let’s revisit the wedding planning business.  If someone hires your services to plan their wedding, you would most likely (and wisely) require a retainer and intermittent payments as the planning process unfolds.  If you are selling Avon, your minimal outlays are the books and perhaps small samples.  Because this is a well known, long standing company that has established it’s method of doing business, most buyers know that you look through Avon’s colorful catalog and you place your order from the catalog.  You, as the entrepreneur, receive your cut once the sale is made.

4. Your product or service should yield high-value meaning that each sale generates a high level of revenue, comparatively speaking.

Tip:      Set realistic goals and know what you are getting into.

Do you have what it takes?

Launching a business as a bootstrapping entrepreneur is rough – very rough.  Take it from me; I’ve done it and it is not for the faint of heart.

Successful Boot-strapping entrepreneurs possess the following traits:

• Passionate
• Tenacious
• Persistent
• Self-reliant
• Risk-takers
• Focused
• Curious

The two most important of these traits are passion and persistence.  If you are not passionate about the business, at the first sign of trouble, you may give up in defeat.  You must be persistent and decide that you are going to stick with it, however, be open to trying different ways of accomplishing your goal.  For example, rather than being dogmatic that you will only work toward the business, consider a part-time job or remaining on your full-time job until the business begins to turn a good profit.  Persistence will pay off.

Do people want what you are selling?

In the case of the Avon and Tupperware, people have proven that they do want those products.  However, in the case of the wedding consultant business, based on where you live and the demographics of the population, you may want to do a little, inexpensive market research before you sink a lot of time and money into the endeavor.

Using the wedding planning example again, there are several inexpensive ways to conduct market research; three of which are:

1. Visit other wedding professionals such as caterers, bakers and florists and ask them if wedding couples ask if they know of someone who can plan or direct the wedding.

2. Look in the local yellow pages and see if there are an ample amount of wedding planners in the area.  Chances are if there a significant number, you’ve got a market.  Don’t be afraid of the competition either.  Because you are just starting out, you might be able to provide wonderful service for less cost than more established business with overhead such as rent and salaries.
3. Attend local free bridal shows, mingle with brides and talk to vendors.  You’ll learn a lot.  Perhaps a vendor will allow you to leave business cards if you are open to referring your clients to their business.

Define your target market.

This may sound simplistic and obvious but it’s not.  You are not just doing wedding planning.  Maybe the wedding planners in your area are only planning weddings for wealthy or well-to-do families.  Perhaps you could focus your marketing efforts on putting together affordable wedding packages for those families who are not wealthy.  The more targeted your niche market is in your mind, the more focused you will be and the more superior service you will offer them.  Once you have defined your market, you’ll be surprised at how many creative ideas you come up with to serve them.

Some ideas to help you identify your market:

1. Talk to professionals in the business.  Using our example, visit bridal dress shops, reception equipment rental companies – the list is endless.

2. Talk to family and friends, particularly those who may have been involved in a wedding recently.  Let’s say you were starting a business where you cooked full meals for busy families to be delivered twice a week.  Ask family and friends would they include this type of service in their budget on a monthly basis.  Find out what types of meals they would prefer; would it be hearty meals such as spaghetti, salad and French bread or lighter fare such as grilled chicken salad and fruit?

3. Take out an inexpensive ad in a local neighborhood type newspaper and see if you get any takers.

4. Talk to your market.  If you are a wedding planner, spend time one Saturday outside of a local bridal shop and as brides enter or leave the store, tell them who you are and what you are doing and ask them how likely would it be that they would use a wedding planner.  Most will probably be interested in hearing more about what you are offering and will gladly take your card.  When they call, be ready to ask them how planning has been done and what still needs to be done.  From there, you can tell the bride how you can help her make her special day go much smoother.

Learn about the competition.

Find out what your competitors do well, what they don’t do well or what they don’t offer. Find out what they charge.  Talk to people in the area and find out what they know about your competitors.

No business does everything well.  Find out where your competitors are not fulfilling the need and you fill it.  Again, make sure that you whittle down the market to a tight focus and once you’ve found your niche, offer superior service on what you are focusing on.  As your company grows, of course you can expand what you are offering.