Starting a New Business Even Without Start up Business Loans — There are many entrepreneurs who have great start up business ideas but lack the financial assistance to launch their business. Though, there are failed companies because of insufficient capital to sustain the business, there are also businesses that started with limited budget but eventually survived and succeeded by simply learning to do more with less.
Instead of asking yourself how and where to get the money to finance your business, ask yourself how you could maximize the business capital that you now have, and find ways to obtain resources that would help support your start up business plan.
In starting your own business even with low capital investment, here are six ways you can do:
1. Choose a business that has ready market.
If you have a good business idea about differentiating and existing product and service, you can immediately launch it without spending so much on market researh and promotion. You can infact copy the business model of your competitor to avoid having to familiarize your target market with your product. Focus on customer management to build customer retention as early as the launch of the business – they will be your source of customer referrals in the future. As you build the foundation of the business, always keep a low profile to avoid being noticed by your competitors.
2. Focus on positive cash flow.
Negotiate for longer payment terms with your suppliers and encourage timely payment from your costumers to create positive cash flow. Monitor your expenses carefully and always ask your staff if you could postpone specific expenses without affecting your operations. A profitable business ensures that you generate positive cash income.
3. Spend wisely. Identify which expenses are necessary for the business and which expenses are avoidable.
There are expenses that are necessary to make your business more efficient. For example, you can invest in new small business accounting software that can help you computerize your accounting system with low-cost but best accounting software system. You can be tight on certain expenses but not on items that matter to your business growth and survival.
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4. Leverage you intangible assets.
If you have a product or service that has certain technology or brand appeal, you can leverage this by licensing or franchising it to potential partners. You can charge an upfront fee and royalty fee for using your intangible assets, which will help you finance your business development projects. You can also look for business partners to a joint venture who can provide new capital investment to help you expand using your unique technology or brand name.
5. Go to ex-deals.
You can save cash from paying suppliers by simply offering your product or services as payment. For example, you can strike an ex-deal arrangement with a newspaper or magazine publisher with you bartering your products or services as payment for advertisement. Another form of ex-deal is to provide business gift certificates to you suppliers in exchange for discounts to lower your cash payout.
6. Share your costs with others.
Look for people who have extra resources that you could utilize for your business at a good rate. For example, you can sublease a small office space in the premises of a large company, giving you access to their conference room, computer printer and fax machine. You also get to enjoy a prestigious business address if they happen to be located in a business district, helping your image along as a startup company.
These are some of the things that you could apply in starting your own business when you don’t have enough capital to start up a great business idea. Though, the real challenge is not in finding financial help for your business but in being creative to find solutions for your business without spending too much.
Source: Henry C. Ong and Entrepreneur Magazine