Is it possible to start a business without money? Technically, yes, but this depends on several factors. While we highlight these factors, we will also give you a step-by-step guide on how to successfully start both a physical and an online business without money. Although financing is necessary to the success of a business, this guide will mostly help those with no money start their own business, even if it is an online business, so long as it is feasible. Now, why would we take the pain to put this write-up together? It is simply because we do not want you to give up on your entrepreneurial goals. Yeah, you can start that retail business with no money too.
How to Start a Business Without Money
The following are proven steps that will help you start your journey to entrepreneurship even without money.
#1. Get a Business Idea
I think the first question should be, “Do you have a business idea?” This is the first step to starting a business with or without money. Having a feasible idea is the first part of the equation. Planning and Management are another part of that equation and of course, money is also part of it. Any entrepreneur will almost always improvise when faced with a certain situation but not an idea. If you do not have a business idea? Then starting a business is no use even if you have all the money. So if you already have an idea, great but if you do not, you can get ideas by highlighting some of the problems in the economy and proffering solutions to those problems. For instance, the effect of carbon on the greenhouse resulted in the use of paper bags rather than polythene all over the States. Ideas can also be in the form of services, it mustn’t be a physical product.
#2. Test the Feasibility of the Business Idea
When you want to start a business with or without money, it isn’t enough to have an idea. You must vet those ideas to test their practicality. Checking is just to ensure that the money and time invested are not in vain. You vet your ideas by running a feasibility study on your ideas. If for instance, you want to start an online business without money, you can look up the current trend of similar products online and see how you can test the feasibility of the idea. Any idea that isn’t practicable or achievable is not feasible. And any idea that isn’t feasible will irrefutably fall out irrespective of the time and money invested into it. So just before you think of starting up a business without money, test the practicality of that idea.
#3. Choose a Business Name
A business name is crucial to starting a business with or without money. Your business name is its unique identity. It is one of the first steps you must take before startup. Check out this write-up on how to generate a business name if you have issues coming up with a unique name for your business. In choosing a business name, make sure it isn’t just something you love but also something that will attract customers.
#4. Write a Business Plan
Well, just before you argue the usefulness of a business plan when you have no money, always remember that it tells whether your business will survive time or not. The business plan is a roadmap or a blueprint that points through the path you need to take daily. It details how you will grow your business, including its vision and mission.
Contents of a Business Plan
Generally, the business plan holds information about various aspects of a business. While every business plan differs from the other, most business plans include the following;
Executive Summary
Most business plans have an executive summary immediately after the content page. It is more like an overview of what the business plan is about. It summarizes the key aspects of a bigger report. The executive summary must be well-organized and captivating enough to convince a reader to browse through the entire plan. The executive summary isn’t just about a business plan, it is used in the investment proposal or project proposal.
Business Description
In defining a business description, it is more or less a company’s profile. You will find a business description immediately after the executive summary. The business description tells others what your business is about, the product and services it offers, what distinguishes it from others, the kind of business it is, and so on.
Your business description should explain how your company helps customers and where it fits in the market to readers such as lenders, investors, potential partners, and even workers. Readers should be able to grasp your company and its functions from your business description. Generally, the purpose of the business description is to give an overview of the company, including what it does and how it differs from competitors. It goes as far as covering information such as the company’s location and the number of employees who will be employed, in addition to detailing goals and how they will be reached.
Market Research
If you’re going to start a business with or without money, then you must conduct market research on the product or service before starting. This is necessary for any business that will be successful. Some people give the go-ahead to launch a product without first conducting market research. It fails in the long run. Market research is useful in so many ways. With it, a business can identify its target market and get customers’ opinions as well as interest in a product or service. It is the process of actively interviewing potential customers to determine the viability of a new service or product. Therefore, you must do this before you start a physical or online business without money.
Organization & Management
This section of a business plan is focused on relevant information about your business and its team. The team has to do with business management. While the organization has to do with your business structure.
Product and Service
What product or service do you offer, and how is it different from your competitors? You need to describe that in your business plan too. Everyone in business sells either a product or a service.
Marketing Analysis and Strategy
The marketing strategy explains how you intend to influence the market by promoting your product or service. Your business ideas already have competitors. The marketing strategy explains how you intend to get a share of the entire market segment. There are several ways of doing this. This is where you describe how you will penetrate the market.
Financial Forecast
The financial forecast is where you highlight the financial aspect of your business. It projects your business’s possible expenses and possible income. Generally, your financial forecast includes your cash flow, costs and expenses, balance sheet, and the business’s financial needs. In most cases, this is one aspect of a business plan that interests investors. Therefore, you must ensure it is well articulated.
Others Include
- Funding request
- Logistic and Operational Plan
If you are having issues with writing a business plan, you can check out our professional guide on how to effectively write one from scratch.
Register Your Business
Do you have a business name? You wouldn’t register a business without a name, would you? You have to get a business name before registering the business. Some people started a business but failed to register their business name. When they eventually went to do that, they realized the business name had already been registered and were forced to change it. Even if you do not have the money to do this before starting up, you should do this with your savings or as soon as you raise little funds from your business.
Seek Funding
You can also source funds from external sources. You can apply for loans, look out for angel investors, or even get grants for small businesses. But hey, before going for loans, look out for grants or angel investors. A grant simply means you won’t be returning the money. Angel investing means you will be returning the money with little interest. But a loan? You will pay back at the normal interest rate. If you are applying for a grant or an angel investor, then you need to prepare a convincing business plan. A well-articulated business plan will likely woo angel investors and win business grants for you.
Dig into Personal Savings
When you want to start a business without money, then you will have to dig deep into your savings. It isn’t the best of options but then, it is something we will all have to do at some point or the other. If you are a freelancer in copywriting or content creation, for instance, you will still pay for utilities. And you will have to pay bills even before striking your first deal as a freelancer.
Ask Friends and Family For Help
Well, rather than shutting down your business idea because you do not have the money to start, why not look out for family and friends who love you enough to support your dream? If you have family and friends who may be small business owners or entrepreneurs themselves, they can offer practical or strategic business advice as well as funds. You know, for most people, their first customers are their family and friends. So they are a necessary part of your start-up. You can also get them to do some crowdfunding for you. You never can tell.
How to Start a Business Without Money Online
If you want to start a business online, it is actually capital intensive due to the costs of establishing an online presence. However, you can boycott some steps. What does this mean? This simply means you can start your ideal business online even without money.
How to Start a Business Without Money Online: Step-By-Step Guide
The following steps are guides on how to successfully run a business without money online.
#1. Get an Assessed Business Idea
What is the business all about? Is it product-based or service-based? If you intend to start a business online without money, then it is most preferably a service. Why is this so? Because it will cost money to get the materials you will use in creating a product, unless you want to sell other people’s products. If you intend to start a retail business without money, you can even opt for affiliate marketing or social influencers.
The bottom line is that you cannot start a business without a business idea. If you already have a business idea, that’s great. You can go on to vet the feasibility of that idea. But if you don’t have one, you can start by highlighting some of the problems in the economy or even a product. And then proffer better solutions to it. With that, then you can proceed to vet the idea before starting.
What Kind of Business do You Want to Start Online?
If your business is service-based, then you can successfully start and effectively build your online retail business even without money. Over the years, the demand for digital services has been on the increase. Starting a website costs some dollars to build and maintain. However, you can boycott this initially by starting your business with your social media handles. This doesn’t overrule the need for a website, it allows you to start up a business with no money and earn. After the first dollars roll in, you can proceed to create your website.
Test Your Business Idea
Not every idea is profitable. That is why you must put it to the test. When you test a business idea, you are simply assessing the business to ensure it is practicable and also profitable. You can outrightly start without doing this, but most of the time, it turns out the business was a complete waste of time, money, and effort.
#2. Choose a Business Name
Anyone who wants to start a business must have a business name. Your business name is your unique identity. If you are having difficulties with this, you can check some of the resources online for generating business names.
#3. Decide the Nature of Your Business
The nature of your business is the form in which the online business you want to start exists. Would it be a sole proprietor business, a limited liability company, or a joint partnership business? Even though you want to start an online business without money, you still need to decide the form in which your business will exist, then proceed to take the necessary registration as soon as you earn your first dollars
#4. Register Your Business Name
This is as important as generating a business name. Why? Because when you fail to register a business name, someone else might do that before you do and it makes the person the real owner of the name. Even though you want to start your online business without money, you will still have to register your business as soon as you start earning.
#5. Launch Your Business
Starting online business costs some dollars, but you can also use your social media platform to start. Let’s assume you bake, you can create a Facebook page and post relevant content on it daily or several times weekly. You can also use a content calendar to keep showing up across all your social media accounts till you can afford to pay for ads or create your website. Do not get tired of shoving your business in people’s faces. They will also spread the good about what you do.
Are There Online Businesses That One Can Start Without Money?
Technically, yes. There are several businesses that one can start online without money. While we highlight some of them, we will also elaborate on how anyone can outrightly start a business without money.
List of Businesses That You Can Start Online Without Money
The following are some of the businesses you can start without money;
#1. Dropshipping
Grand View conducted research and, according to their findings, estimated that the drop-shipping business is expected to reach $557.9 billion by 2025. Clearly, dropshipping is an ideal business for anyone who wants to start an online small business without money. Simply set up an online retail store and select a dropshipping provider such as DSers or AliExpress to begin your journey with no money.
How Does Dropshipping Work?
When a customer places an order, your e-commerce platform sends the information to your supplier. It is their responsibility to pick, pack, and ship your customer’s order.
#2. Online Retail
Online retail is one of the businesses that anyone can start even with no money. To do this, you must have a product that you sell. Since it is an online store, you will have to store your products somewhere and draw up a logistic plan so delivery is ready at all times. Then go ahead and create an account with online selling platforms such as Amazon, Shopify, and so on, since you do not have the initial funds for a startup.
#3. Social Media Influencer
If you have a good number of followers, then being a social media influencer is another online business you can start with no money. If you have more than 5k followers across all your social media accounts, Influencers are also good at affiliate marketing. All they have to do is to promote the product or services through their social media accounts. Influencers also make money from their social media platforms by getting “likes,” “shares,” and subscriptions for their interesting material.
#4. Consulting Service
People are always in need of assistance and guidance from specialists because they want results. So if you have knowledge in a particular field and you have gathered results and experience, when you can set up an online consultancy service.
#5. Virtual Assistant Service
If you are a good time manager, then you are a huge asset to business managers, CEOs, and other entrepreneurs. Virtual assistants are self-employed workers who specialize in offering administrative services. However, this can be done from the comfort of one’s house. So we have clients from a remote location, usually a home office. Generally, a virtual assistant does the following,
- Scheduling appointments
- Making phone calls
- Arrange travel arrangements
- Managing email accounts and so on.
#6. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a business that has unlimited possibilities. It is one of the best online businesses that anyone can start without any money. It is a relatively capital-intensive business that just about anyone can do. All you have to do is to sign up to the affiliate programs that businesses offer, refer people to buy from them using your link, and then keep earning as people keep buying through your links. It is the best passive income that just about anyone with good social influence can do successfully. So, if you already have a website or a good number of followers, this is for you.
#7. Start a Sitting Service
A sitting service is another online business that you can start without money. All you have to do is to register for your sitting service at the right site. Then sit back and get clients. Most sitting sites link you to clients. Your sitting business can be for babies, pets, or even house sitting.
How to Start a Retail Business With No Money
The retail industry is quite a striving business with a good load of profits. Although you can’t directly compare it to a bigger industry, it’s a necessary part of the economy. Imagine if you had to visit your favorite coffee manufacturer before grabbing a mug of coffee. That would be draining or almost impossible, right? That tells you that the coffee shop beside your office is quite important. It also proves the importance of every small business across the United States.
It is possible to start a retail business with no money. Simply follow our detailed step-by-step guide and start your desired retail business even with no money.
How to Start a Retail Business With No Money: Step-By-Step Guide
The following process will enable you to start a retail business with no money effectively;
1. Determine a Business Niche or Idea
This simply answers the question of your business focus. What kind of retail business do you want to start? This is important and is considered the first step because it determines every other activity. Don’t just start a business because you heard or think it is profitable; you will have to test the idea too. Be sure it is worth the time, energy, and money you will eventually invest in it.
If you have issues with identifying a perfect niche, you can do that with the following steps;
- Find out what interests you. It can also be something you do effortlessly. This was exactly what birthed the renowned KFC Chicken.
- Estimate the cost and profitability.
- Run background research on your competitors.
- Find out who your customers are, what they like, and how to possibly meet them
#2. Choose a Business Name
This is your unique identity. Every business is supposed to have a name because every individual does. If your name is Clark and you keep hearing Mark when walking past a mall, you wouldn’t stop or look around. But if you hear Clark, you will instantly turn in the direction of the voice. It is the same thing with your business. If customers or clients will identify you, then you need a name.
#3. Choose a Business Structure & Register Your Business
What kind of business do you want to run? Every recognized business is registered in one form of business or the other. You need to decide if you want your business to be a sole proprietorship, a limited liability company, or even a joint partnership company. Then you need to register your business. Since you want to start your retail business with no money, you can do the registration as soon as your first dollars start rolling in.
#4. Get the Relevant Licences & Permit
Depending on the type of retail business you want to start with no money, you need to get the relevant documents, licenses, and business permits. You can check with your state clerk for the necessary documentation you need to start your retail business with no money. Chances are you will be paying for these, taking tests, or it may warrant them coming over to inspect your environment.
#5. Establish a Physical Presence
Getting a physical depends on the kind of business you want to start. Someone who wants to start a coffee shop can’t do it without money. because you need to get a location for your business, buy coffee equipment, furnish the stores, and so on. However, someone who sells a handcraft can use his home as a physical location.
#6. Set an Online Presence
Although you can run a retail business with your social account, there is a need for a more professional touch. So you will need to create an account with Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, Amazon, eBay, or even Etsy. Running an online store gives your business greater exposure than you can achieve with a physical location.
| ONLINE RETAIL STORES | SHOPIFY | AMAZON| eBAY| ESTY | SQUARESPACE| WIX |
| DIFFERENCE | Shopify allows retailers to customize their store just the way they want it. Also, they get to manage it and have a close relationship with their customers without restriction. | When you opt to run your retail business with any of these, you will have access to the various built-in and seller tools. Unfortunately, you will not have control over your brand, build a personal relationship with your customers or customize things the way you want. | Using any of the above for your retail business is very easy. This is because you will be able to manage your business just the way you want it. |
#7. Look Out for Suppliers
Looking out for vendors or suppliers also depends on the kind of business niche you decide to run. If you want to run a bakery store, you need to get in touch with people who will supply you with the necessary items. Unfortunately, this, like the coffee shop, is also not a business that someone can start with no money.
#8. Strategically Market Your Product
Customers would come to you because you started a new business. Of course, family and friends can, but not others. This only means that you will have to reach out to them through strategic marketing.
What is the easiest business to start?
The sole proprietorship is the easiest type of company entity to start and end. A sole proprietorship is a personal venture or business that is run and owned by a single person.
What business make money fast?
Start freelancing or consulting as it is the #1 fastest option to generate income right away. This merely indicates that you are selling a service rather than a commodity, regardless of what you choose to name it—a one-person company or a fledgling agency, for example. Both startup and overhead expenditures are absent.
Can I start a business from zero?
Writing a business plan would be the best place to start if you have a wonderful idea for a business but lack the funding to make it happen. With so many private equity firms and angel investors ready to fund the next big idea, it is now easier than ever to launch a business without having any money.
What to do when you’re broke?
Important Things to Do When You’re Poor:
- Remain calm. Don’t worry, first things foremost.
- Set up a plan. Consider that you are the football coach of a struggling squad.
- Reduce spending.
- Generating additional revenue.
- Utilize government support.
- Request assistance.
- Contact your creditors.
- Find cheap amusement options.
Can I get emergency money?
What lenders offer emergency loans? Alternative lenders like Moneyboat typically offer emergency loans online. You might not be able to receive the money you need quickly from banks and other traditional lenders because of their propensity for having lengthy, difficult application procedures.
Why do people go broke?
Most often unforeseen financial losses, people are typically propelled into bankruptcy by a combination of them. Medical costs and unaffordable mortgages are also high on the list, with job loss being one of the main causes.
Conclusion
The best business you can start without money is a service-based or handmade craft. However, if your ideal niche seems far from the above, you can still successfully start your business and earn from it as time goes on.
How To Start A Business Without Money FAQs
What is the easiest business to start?
Sell your courses online, affiliate marketing, yoga instruction, tour guide, tutor, dropshipping, painting, social influencer, and so on.
What are the most in-demand services in the United States?
Copywriting, IT and cybersecurity consulting, box subscription, teletherapy, and so on. There are several high-in-demand services in the United States, but according to the U.S Chamber of Commerce, ICT, copywriting, cyber security, box subscription, and Teletherapy is the most high-in-demand services.
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