How To Startup A Business With Little Or No Capital

It is possible to start a business with very little money, if you have the right combination of skills, work ethic and marketing know-how. Starting a business requires ingenuity and a passion for what you are doing.
Once you find yourself doing something you enjoy, you will be more likely to find ways to make it all come together.
You can start many service-based businesses with no cash outlay.

Here are the things you need to know if you don't have capital to start a business.

1. CHOOSE A SERVICE BASE BUSINESS

Choose a service business for which you don't need supplies and equipment or already have the things you need. For example, you may start a web design or lawn care business without incurring any startup costs.

2. RESELL SOMETHING.

If you don’t want to make anything (or you don’t consider yourself a creative person), many business owners have grown large businesses just be reselling products that have already been made.

This can be done through a variety of ways or channels:

Drop shipping: Set up an online store and partner with drop-shipping companies that will do all the order fulfillment for you. Online ecommerce platform Shopify has a great drop shipping guide.

Thrift stores and garage sales: If you know where to look, you can find items at thrift stores, antique shops, flea markets and garage sales and resell them online or in your local community for more than you purchased them for. One extremely successful example of this is Sophia Amoruso, the founder of Nasty Gal. Amoruso started buying and reselling vintage and unique fashion pieces on eBay, and her company has grown to a net income of $24 million in 2011 with over 200 employees.

3. SELL YOUR SERVICES.

One way to start a business with little to no startup capital is to sell your services, instead of a physical product. There’s a huge variety of services you can offer, depending on your background and interests

Some will require advanced degrees, such as accounting, while others require little more than a working knowledge of how it’s done (such as babysitting, lawn mowing or personal assistance).

Because you are selling your services, you will need a branding plan to make sure your name and company gets in front of the people who may need the service. Some places that are free for promoting your services include Fiverr, Craigslist, Elance, Taskrabbit, Skillshare, Nairaland and Whitedrums.

It’s also useful to have a website to show examples of your work, list your experience, and blog about your industry to draw visitors. If you want to learn more about branding and online marketing, check out Buffer's social-media blog and Hubspot's blog.

4. HAVE A BUSINESS PARTNER

Find a business partner who has money to invest in the business. Because your partner will provide the startup funds for your business, you can agree to do most of the initial work to make your partnership fair. Alternatively, you may agree to allow your partner to keep all of the initial profits to repay him for your part of the startup money.

5. BARTER TO GET THINGS YOU NEED

Unfortunately, it’s extremely hard to start a business without any type of funds at all. Even creating a freelance-writing business utilizing Elance and a free Wordpress or Wix website will still require a computer to work on as well as Internet. However, there are ways to get supplies you need for starting your business without money.

For instance, if you find yourself in need of a used laptop, try to barter for it. Build a new website for a used electronics supplier. Offer any service free to someone who has agreed to give you what you need in exchange.

6. UTILISE LOW-COST SERVICES

As mentioned previously, you can use sites such as Fiverr or Elance to advertise your products and services on, but you can also use these platforms to build up your own company. For instance, many designers offer $5 to $25 logo designs (that come with free revisions). Sort by reviews and look at past examples to find a designer or service provider that matches your style.

7. SEEK HELP FROM YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS

 Ask friends and family members to help you get customers via word of mouth. You may secure your first sale this way, without spending a dime.

8. USE FREE ONLINE PAYMENT SYSTEM

Use a payment processor to handle payments to your business. You can typically get an account with a payment processor for free. You will pay a transaction fee for payments, but they are taken from the money your customers send.