How to Start a Business with No Money – Top 10 Tips

Just a few years ago, asking how to start a business with no money would have been unthinkable. But now, technology means that startup costs and barriers have crashed. For many business types it is now possible to get off the ground with very little cash.

Access to funding can still be a problem. The banks are reluctant to lend to start ups, a tough economic climate makes it hard to borrow from friends and family, and funding it on your credit card comes with big risks.

If you do need some cash, government-backed Start-up loans are for people who’ve been turned down by banks. But funding isn’t always necessary. The good news is that providing you follow a few basic rules, starting a business with almost no money is entirely possible. Here’s how to do it:

1. Use the resources at your fingertips

Work from home or a local café or library which offers free wifi. Have a car? You could offer a local delivery service. Have a kitchen? You could start making cakes or providing catering for parties.

2. Build a business round the skills you already possess

What can you do that someone else might be prepared to pay for? Can you make clothes, paint and decorate, programme a computer, speak Italian? Do you have a hobby you could turn into a business? If you possess a skill that other people don’t, or would need to invest time and money learning for themselves, that immediately puts you at a big advantage.

3. Sell a product or service which people need rather than want

It also needs to be something that they instantly understand, and which they feel comfortable buying without having to consult anyone else first. Umbrellas at £10 each are a better bet than hot tubs at £10,000 each.

4. Get customers to pay you upfront

– or at worse, half upfront, half later, so that your costs are always covered. Late payments are one of the biggest causes of business failure, so make sure you have a plan for getting cash in quickly from the start.

5. Tap into free advice on how to start a business with no money

The British Chambers of Commerce runs free events for start-ups; Startup Britain has an enterprise calendar on its website listing events for entrepreneurs around the country, many of them free. The Business and IP centre at the British Library has a wealth of resources for start-ups.

6. Source any equipment you need for free

Checkout Freecycle, a community website where people can recycle unwanted items, or the freebie section of listings sites such as Gumtree and Craigslist.

7. Do virtually all the work yourself

Plough virtually all income straight back into the business. Thankless and austere, yes, but also the only way you will be able to build up enough cash reserves to invest in new equipment or premises, and so grow the business.

8. If you have a job, hold onto it

A surefire solution to the question of how to start a business with no money is to start your business in your spare time and only give up your day job once your venture is able to pay you a wage. If the venture doesn’t work out, you still have your job. If it does, the transition to being your own boss will be a lot less risky.

9. Replace fixed costs with variable ones by linking your costs to your sales

Hire meeting rooms by the hour, staff by the day and services as you need them. Platforms like peopleperhour make hiring freelancers easier than ever.

10. Make the most of free technology to promote your business

Build a website for nothing using an online website builder such as moonfruit.com, wix.com or basekit.com. Then get social networking. It’s free, it’s easy, and it’s an amazing way of promoting your business without spending any money. Sign up to Twitter, create a Facebook page, and join Linkedin.

source: www.prowess.org.uk