8 Musts to Start
Your Business With
Little to No Capital
Starting up a business with a million dollars or a huge sum of capital does not guarantee the success of the business,all you need to do is to strategies. Follow the step bellow.
1. Build your business around what you
know. Instead of venturing off into
uncharted territory, make sure that you
build your business around your skills and
knowledge. The less you have to rely on
outside sources the better. When your
business is built around your own
personal expertise you can eliminate
consultants and outside assistance.
Also, having that knowledge is sometimes
all that is needed to successfully take the
plunge into entrepreneurship.
2. Tell everyone you know what you are
doing. Inform your family, friends,
business contacts and past colleagues
about your new business. Call, send
emails and make your new venture known
on your social-media profiles. Your friends
and family members can help you spread
the word, and past business contacts can
introduce your brand to their professional
contacts as well. This type of grassroots
marketing can help introduce your
company to a much larger audience.
3. Avoid unnecessary expenses. You are
going to have plenty of expenses, and
there are some that just can’t be avoided.
What you can avoid though is
overspending. Take something as simple
as business cards. You could drop $1,000
on 500 metal business cards that give off
the “cool” factor, or you could spend $10
on 500 traditional business cards. Being
frugal in the beginning can be the
difference between success and a failed
business.
4. Don’t get buried in credit card debt.
There is a smart way and a suicidal way to
use credit when starting a business. New
computers, office furniture, phones and
supplies can all quickly add up. Instead of
purchasing everything at once and
throwing it all on a credit card, use your
company’s revenue to finance your
expenses. Eliminating the stress and
burden of debt will greatly increase the
chances of creating a successful
business.
Related: Funding Your Business on Your
Own? Learn From These 7 Entrepreneurs
5. Make sure your receivables policy won’t
sink you. If your business is a retail
operation then this isn’t going to apply,
but if you are providing services such as
consulting or products to retailers you
need to make sure that your payment
policy is well thought out. Can you remain
above water with net-15 or net-30 terms?
Don’t base your receivables on what you
think your customers will want. Base them
on what is going to make your business
operate successfully.
6. Build up sweat equity. When I first
started my business I worked around the
clock, handling every aspect of the
business as well as the marketing and
growth. All of the hard work and long days
that you put in isn’t for nothing. You are
building a brand and your hard work is
essentially increasing the value of your
business. Your sweat equity will come into
play if you ever decide to sell off a piece
of your company or take on a partner.
7. Take advantage of free advertising and
marketing. There are several ways to
generate a buzz for your business without
breaking the bank. Social media is a great
way to gain exposure and interact with
potential customers. You can also reach
out to local media and offer your
expertise.
Make as many local media contacts as
you can and be extremely responsive with
their requests. This can lead to them to
branding you as the local authority,
generating plenty of free press for your
business.
8. Get ready to hustle. Hard work is an
absolute necessity, but when you are
starting a business with little to no capital
then you must be prepared to dedicate
everything you have into making the
business a success. This might mean cold
calling, handling customer support,
dealing with billing and accounting, and
every other working part of your business.
You will wear many hats and it will require
the majority of your time and energy if
you are to make it.
Don’t let limited capital prevent you from
taking a great idea and running with it. Will
it be difficult and will you have some
stressful situations? Of course, but that is
part of entrepreneurship.
Have you started a business with sweat
equity alone? If so, let us know about your
experiences in the comments sectio
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