Often times, while working with small businesses, it seems almost impossible to start a business without looking to investors or banks for support. In this post, I will attempt to show you ways of starting a business with your own savings.
Now, don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with getting the RIGHT kind of funding while starting off, but you need to pay really good attention to avoid entering into a deep debt cycle.
To start off, bear in mind that I am making an assumption that you have a little savings to start-off. It is most advisable to start with your own funds. This shows your commitment to your business and how serious you take it.
So let's get right straight into it. How do you start and launch your business without looking for funding:
Open a website and sell people's goods and services. I will soon publish a step by step process of doing this without any hassles. Just subscribe below to receive notifications from me once ready.
Start off online business with your skill set - Some DIY, home tutoring, consulting, etc. I will soon publish a post on how to start 20 online businesses. Please subscribe to receive notifications once or is released
Become a freelancer. Check out my post on this - https://ezinnenwokafor.wixsite.com/ezinnenwokafor/post/starting-a-busines-freelancing
Look for Co-working or shared spaces instead of purchasing a property or renting. This will go a long way in reducing your startup operating costs and give you the right leverage to start lean
Share or rent equipment. Depending on the product or service you are offering, you can consider sharing or renting equipment on a case by case until you build the capital you require.
Outsource certain job roles. Now if a role is not significant to the production, creation or distributing of your product or service, then outsource. There are so many freelancing professionals that you pay as they render a service. This will significantly reduce overhead cost.
Consider partnering with a Co-Founder when launching. This is especially true when you do not have the skill sets required to take the business to a certain level. Do not be scared of entering a partnership, just ensure all the legal checks are in place and then just dig in.
Apply to the numerous Grant opportunities. This is another great area to fund your startup business. There are lots of Grants available to businesses. Some are gender, sector, experience, location specific whilst others are generic. I will make a post soon on how to successfully apply for a grant.
Trade by barter - Yes, I know you will be sceptical about this, but this is a really good strategy. For instance, if you want to sell your product or service online, you can consider looking for an Influencer or just people with say 5,000 followers to hype your product or service in exchange for you offering it to them for free. Look out for other of such opportunities. It really pays.
Consider partnering with contractors to build your solution with a sign-off on percentage compensation for a period years. This is especially relevant to Tech solutions.
Family and Friends - Now these are our "ride or die" crew. Although I need to add that it is sometimes tough to get this set of people to believe in your idea but they provide a reliable source for financial support. Consider ways for them to assist, from sharing contents, hyping on social media pages, financial support, access to market, connections, etc
Do you have more creative ways, then drop it on the comment section, let's engage it.
Do you want to start-off your own business or perhaps bounce off ideas, well reach out to me directly on instagram @ezinnenwokafor or send me a direct email - ezinne.nwokafor@gmail.com and we will take it from there. See you at the top. Don't forget to subscribe to receive notifications of more posts from me.