Starting a business without any money may seem impossible. Most businesses will need at least a small amount of money behind them to get started, especially to buy stock and rent a retail or office space. If you want to start a business with no money, it is not a lost cause though. Here are some of the most common questions that people ask about starting a business with little funding.
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How can I reduce costs?
If the sight of your business budget is making you panic, there are ways to reduce the costs of your business.
- Start up your business from home. This saves you the large cost of renting out an office or even sharing office space. Not only is this a less stressful environment, but you will also be able to work around your own schedule and have all the resources that you need around you.
- Find a good energy supplier. To get the best rates on energy for your office or shop, seek out the best corporate energy suppliers. Comparison websites are available that allow you to compare energy prices across a range of providers to find the cheapest option. Utility Bidder helps you to find cheap business electricity suppliers with immediate results.
- Even if you have no money to start a business, you should not take on additional debt, and you should evaluate your insurance policies. This will help you to limit the amount of money that your business is spending each month.
Should I give up my day job?
Even if you have a great business idea, you should not give up your day job. This will help you to get a stable income that you will then be able to reinvest in your business and support yourself with.
- To run a business alongside your day job, turn your hobby into a money-making scheme. For instance, you can sell crafts and baking goods online through social media or third party sellers in your free time.
- Offering services and skills is another way of working alongside a job. You should also be able to interact with clients online as this means that you can communicate with them and grow your business from any location.
- Running an e-commerce store is another way to both work and have a business as this can be open 24/7 without your constant supervision.
How can I get funding?
- The government offers loans and grants to small businesses in order to help them grow, especially if you have been going for over a year.
- You can also get awarded grants and competitive awards from large companies and organizations which run funding award schemes for innovative businesses that they wish to support.
- You could also find an investor or mentor through going to networking events, as this will give you the chance to meet people in your business industry who are looking to invest.
How can I promote my business for free?
- Social media is the best option for free promotion. It is free to set up a business page and reactively simple to encourage people to share this broadly. Try humorous or trendy posts or running competitions to get the most shares.
- Creating a blog is also free on website builders such as WordPress. This content promotes your business by giving you content to share on social media. This also boosts how high your website will be shown on Google search pages.