How To Start A Business Without Money
Do you have an innovative business idea but aren’t sure if it’s possible to start a business with no money?
At My New Venture, we’re here to answer all these questions.
To get a business up and running you don’t always have to have a lot of capital. Starting a business with limited to no money forces you to be creative, adaptive, and determined. Whether you’re wondering what a good business is to start with no money or the required resources, here’s how to get your new venture off the ground.
See What Skills You Have That Are Profitable
What are your strongest professional attributes?
How do you respond to adversity and challenges?
What do you enjoy in your professional life?
What skills can you take from your current job?
Answering these questions can help you dive into your capabilities, skills, and expertise. Tapping into the wealth of knowledge you already have is a major win to determine how profitable your skill set truly is.
Reflecting on your past education, experiences, and daily life is the best basis to motivate you and help you to start selling your skills and knowledge. Exploiting your current knowledge not only improves the quality of your product or service but works as the catalyst for your brand value.
Your skills are inherently unique to you, which gives you a competitive edge for your new business idea.
Here are some skills and services you may be able to offer your new venture:
Financial management
Marketing and advertising
Leadership
Project management
Problem-solving
Networking
Time management
Team work
Oral and written communication
Choose A Low-Cost Business Idea And Plan
Business budget planning is so important to succeeding in your start-up.
Budgets work to accurately set goals, priorities, and spending caps, to aid in the longevity of your business. Planning a low-cost budget business plan to start your business helps to break down uncertainty and highlight potential risks.
Preparing and reviewing your budgets avoids major setbacks in the beginning phase of your venture, helping you monitor and manage finances and performance.
Unsure which low-cost business is right for you? Here are our top ideas to help inspire your entrepreneurial passion:
Social media consultant
Content creation
Event planning services
Online tutoring services
Personal training and fitness coach
Digital marketing
See What Tools And Resources Are Available For Free
It’s good practice to have a clear understanding of your business needs according to your marketing plan. Once you have this, you can use a wealth of online resources that are accessible, digitally-driven, and free!
Here are some great free tools:
- Google’s G-Suite for communication and productivity tools
- MailChimp for online marketing and sales
- WordPress for website building
- Trello for project management
Build A Strong Network
Searching for a low-cost marketing method?
Business networking might just be the best option for you. This method of marketing not only helps to develop sales but increases your brand awareness.
Growing your opportunities and contacts from referrals or introductions is a vital way to secure success in your business journey. Building networks and connections to trade favours, knowledge and expertise with other professionals can help drastically further your business.
Whether it creates deals or connects you with the right vendors or suppliers, professional networking should stay at the forefront of your mind. Evaluating your connections illuminates where you might have prospective clients or a competitive edge.
Exchanging ideas and skills with like-minded individuals is the perfect, low-cost source to secure success for your new venture.
Start With Family And Friends
Family and friends are a multi-layered resource to fuel the progression of your business. Creating a business plan with the guidance and feedback of family and friends for little to no money makes a great entry point into any market.
Your nearest and dearest can offer practical or strategic business advice by guiding you with their experience, knowledge, and insights. Understanding a wide range of trials and tribulations works to help you overcome unforeseen challenges or obstacles. When starting your small business, it’s important to request honest testimonials to social proof amongst your customer bases. This means your family and friends try-out your product or service providing constructive feedback helping you to achieve a positive outcome, spotlight weaknesses and give insight into new perspectives.
Join Online Communities
An online community acts as a hub for professional networking, peer-to-peer collaborations, and shared experiences.
Why should you join an online community? Here are the benefits that can transform your business:
Create real connections with like-minded professionals and customers
Have a competitive edge by understanding the customer experience
Generate leads
Acquire new customers
Gather feedback to improve your product or service
Crowdsource support and reduce support costs
A scalable and efficient way to engage your customer bases
Finding the right online community can sometimes be a challenge. Here are some resources and platforms to help you join or build a community:
Networking Events
Good conferences and events create opportunities for you to share and learn knowledge that may not have been accessible to you. Forming new connections and strengthening existing relationships helps you take advantage of real-world experiences and knowledge. Not only can you solidify your business’s mission statement but help determine your brand’s vision.
However, it’s worth noting that not all networking events may be relevant to you and your business. Recognising when a networking event hosts professionals with different reasons for attendance, will help you identify if you’re attending the wrong types of networking events.
Find Investors To Get Funding
Applying for a small business loan or seeking the financial help of an investor might be the best option for you. Banks and online lenders offer various avenues to inject cash flow or investment funding into your business. Don’t be put off if you don’t have the capital, with an innovative business idea and plan, you can secure the right investors and loans for you.
Finding who or where you can request funds shouldn’t be complicated. Try out these resources to get you started:
- Government grants
- Grantify
- Local funding opportunities
- GrantsOnline
- Angel investors
- Crowdfunding platforms: GoFundMe or JustGiving
Unsure how to make a funding request?
Here’s how to properly request funding to get the cash your small business needs:
Research your chosen resource
Write a concise outline of your business
Determine what you need in the funding request
Clarify how the funds will be used
Include realistic financial information
Conclude with why your small business is a good investment