There are copious myths out there about starting a business. And the idea that you need to have millions in the bank from angel investors and venture capitalists is one of them!
It’s true that starting a business requires determination, grit, and a little elbow grease. But you definitely don’t need a ton of money in the bank to get a business off the ground. In fact, some businesses don’t require any start up funds at all!
How to Start a Business Without Any Money
If you’ve always dreamed about starting a business but you don’t have much cashola, don’t fret. We’ve whipped up 10 tips to help you get your business idea off the ground without spending a dime!
1. Don’t Worry About a Business Plan (Yet)
Okay, we know this totally goes against most traditional business advice. But hear us out…
You might think you have a bullet-proof business plan, but until you talk to some potential customers, you really don’t know if your service or product is actually going to solve their problems. Failing to talk to some real life customers before making a business plan can have you tossing hours worth of work in the garbage. That’s because you might find out that the “perfect business idea” you conceived isn’t as viable as you once thought.
So instead of spending hours on end fiddling with a business plan, solicit feedback. Try floating your ideas to the people around you. Or chat with folks who fit the demographic of your target customers and ask them about their specific pain points. Coming up with creative solutions to their problems will ensure that you always have a customer base for your business.
2. Start With Sales
Have you ever thought about trying to make a sale before you even have your product? That might sound like putting the cart before the horse, but it’s actually a genius move!
When I was in a band in high school, we printed a ton of t-shirts with our logo on them. Guess what? We still have most of them today. We ordered way more t-shirts than there was demand for, and ended up a few hundred dollars out of pocket. Not smart.
Starting with sales can be a great idea for many new businesses because you’ll know whether or not there’s a market for your product before you sink thousands of dollars into creating it.
For example, if you want to create a digital guidebook with tons of knitting and sewing patterns, see if you can secure a couple of sales before you actually make it. If you want to sell graphic t-shirts, can you sell your shirts to a few people with only the design before you go through the trouble of printing hundreds of them? Consider making a Kickstarter, and if you reach your fundraising goal, you can send out your product to the people who helped to make it happen.
If you think this sounds insane, think again! These days, tons of products are available for “preorder”. Especially movies, music, and newly invented gizmos. I guarantee you’ve ordered something at least once in your life based on only seeing the design or model.
Sales can be the hardest part of starting a business. So why not tackle that part first. Then the rest is kind of downhill because you’ve got promised income to pay for your production.
3. Avoid Debt At All Costs
It can be tough to know when to cut your losses and give up on a business idea that is causing you endless stress. It’s even harder to pull the plug on things when you’ve taken out a $50,000 business loan that feels like an albatross around your neck.
You might think you’re meant to be a business owner, but you’ll never really know whether or not you enjoy being an entrepreneur until you give it a try it. Maybe you thought that owning an art studio would be your dream job, but found that mixing your passions with your work just isn’t for you. Maybe you’ve come up against a bunch of obstacles that will make your business idea a lot more complicated than you originally thought.
Whatever the reason may be, leave yourself with an escape plan that doesn’t involve you working a 9-5 to pay off a hefty business loan or credit card bill.
Our advice is to avoid any kind of debt if possible when launching your new endeavor. Debt only makes starting a business more expensive. It’s like jumping in the deep end of a pool, while also having weights strapped around your ankles.
Plus, starting without any cash on hand forces you to get creative, which is a good thing! Working those innovative muscles in your brain now will help to prime you for any challenges you face ahead. You’ll likely learn more by being scrappy than you would by just throwing money at whatever obstacles you face.
4. Sell Your Stuff
Okay, so maybe some businesses require a little bit of money to get started. For example, if you want to start a baking business, you’ll obviously need some cash on hand for sugar and flour. So how can you scrounge up the cash to get started without touching the savings you already have?
The answer lies in your home! Take a look in the back of your closets, in your wardrobe, and in your attic. Unless you’re a total minimalist, chances are your house is riddled with things you don’t use often, if at all.
Grab all of those things, snap a few pics, post them on Facebook Marketplace, and watch your clutter turn into cash. Then, use this newly acquired cash to cover any startup costs.
5. Take Advantage of (and ask for) Freebies!
Even if you need resources to get your business started, you might not need to spend your own cash to procure them. There are plenty of places you can turn to get some freebies along your business owner journey!
If you’re looking to learn some new skills, why not head to your local library? Many libraries offer free certification courses for things like CPR, babysitting, and computer software. You can also head to websites like Coursera and Udemy for free courses from real colleges, ranging from “Introduction to Generative AI” to “Game Theory.”
You could also look to places like your local “buy nothing groups” on Facebook for supplies you need to get your business off the ground.
Another option is asking other businesses for free things they probably don’t need. Like extra boxes or secondhand gear. As long as you can handle hearing the word “no” with grace, you can chat with other business owners and ask them for help.
You could also ask to borrow equipment/supplies instead of taking the easy but expensive route of buying stuff. For example, you could offer to intern at a bakery a few days a week and in exchange they allow you to use their mixing and baking machines after-hours when they’re not in use. That’s a creative money-saving solution right there!
There is free stuff everywhere. Often all you have to do is ASK.
6. Barter for What You Need
Speaking of interning in exchange for borrowing stuff, bartering with other professionals can be a great way to start a business wihout any money. Bartering is as old as humanity itself!
If you believe that your new business can provide value to others, why not try to leverage that value into getting some of the resources you need to get started? Consider reaching out to other business owners in your network and ask them if they’re open to trades.
Need someone to design a website for you? Help with marketing your new business? Equipment use? By thinking of ways to help others, they will be more likely to reciprocate and help you. Bartering is a massively underutilized tactic in the realm of business building.
7. Consider Starting a Service Industry Business
Service based businesses, like freelance writing, event planning, or fitness coaching, often have considerably lower startup costs because you don’t need to spend money on a tangible product to sell. YOU (and your incredible skills) are the product.
Many times service businesses also come with flexibility and lifestyle perks. Like the ability to work from your home and the opportunity to launch your business more quickly because you aren’t waiting on prototypes or designs for a product. So be sure to take these benefits into consideration when deciding what business you’re going to create.
One downside however, is that service industries typically have a ceiling for income potential. If your revenue is tied to how many hours you can work, you’ll eventually hit a limit. There are certainly ways to scale past your personal time constraints, but it’s important to keep that in mind when starting your businesses.
8. Take the Business to Your Customers
No space to operate your new business? No Problem!
Instead of opening up a location for your business, which can be pricey, ask yourself if you can instead take your business to your customers. Lots of service businesses can be conducted anywhere. And making yourself the most convenient option for your customers before you have a permanent location could be a great way to get more people interested in your business.
Businesses that provide services like tutoring, music lessons, cooking services, or fitness coaching are great options if you don’t have a space to work out of.
Not only do customers prefer having services/products delivered directly to their doorstep – these days they’ll often pay a premium for it!
9. Commit to Other People for Accountability
It’s a lot easier to let days pass by without making moves for your small business if the only person who knows about it is you. The best way to make some serious progress is to get an accountability buddy.
Whether it’s your first customers, those who preordered your product, your best friend, spouse, or a business partner, tell people about your plans to get your business off the ground. Having people around you who you’ve made promises to will help to make sure “rubber meets the road,” and your business ownership dreams don’t remain only aspirational.
10. Use Word Of Mouth Referrals
True story- everyone in my hometown uses the same seamstress. She’s great at what she does, has a quick turnaround, and is just about the nicest person you could meet. She doesn’t have to spend any money on marketing because everyone recommends her.
The best brands don’t have to advertise. Their customers take care of that for them. Costco, Trader Joe’s, Tesla, and Krispy Kreme all thrive while spending almost nothing on marketing.
If you don’t have a budget to market your new business, don’t underestimate the power of word of mouth referrals. Showing up at your business and giving your best 100% of the time is how you can make a great impression on your clients.
See if you can offer your first customers discounts for telling people about your new venture. You could also create some exclusive deals for first time customers to get more business. Asking for Yelp reviews, Google reviews, etc. is all a good way to keep that free marketing train rolling.
If you are personable and do a great job, people are likely to recommend you to friends and family.
10 Business Ideas You Can Start For Absolutely Free
While starting a business without any startup costs can be challenging, there are plenty of business ideas out there that require no upfront costs. Here are just a few of them!
1. Freelance Writing
If you aced 10th grade English, freelance writing might be the perfect business for you. If you have a computer, you already have everything you need to get started!
Tons of companies will pay you good money to write articles for their website. If you want to get started, consider whipping up a few blog posts about topics you’re interested in to create a portfolio of sample work. Then head to websites like Linkedin, UpWork, and Fiverr to look for contract work. Just remember that the latter two take a cut of your profits, so once you gain more experience, it could be a good idea to make your own website to get new clients directly.
2. Music or Art Lessons
If you’re creative and want to share your talents with others, teaching music or art lessons is a great way to start a business without any money. You can post videos online to promote your lessons for free. Leaving flyers in your local bars and coffee shops might get your first students too.
3. Write a Book
If you have a story to tell or a skill to teach, why not consider writing a traditional book or an ebook? Self publishing is easier than ever through Amazon. You could instead opt to sell pdf documents of your book through your website.
4. Start a Consulting Business
Do you have extensive experience in a certain field? Consider sharing what you know with other less experienced professionals. They get to learn from someone inside the industry they’re trying to break into, and you get paid. Cha-ching!
5. Babysitting/Pet Sitting/House Sitting
If you love working with kids or animals, why not start a childcare or pet sitting business? This is one of those businesses you can sustain with just a few clients, and could eventually scale by hiring more employees once your schedule fills up.
6. Travel Planning
If you have a bad case of wanderlust, you could start a travel company to help people book their dream vacations. You could even create and sell stock travel itineraries catered to people with specific interests! Or, create an ebook teaching people the art of traveling on the cheap. Everyone loves travel tips.
7. Gardening & Landscaping
For those with a green thumb, gardening and landscaping can be a great business venture to embark on. Word of mouth referrals are strong in this field. So make sure to ask your first clients to help promote you by putting a sign in their yard. And ask if they can tell their friends and family about your awesome work. This is also a great side hustle for couples, because you can play on each other’s strengths to divide and conquer.
8. Blogging/YouTube
While having a blog with significant traffic or getting a million subscribers on YouTube takes time and consistent effort, this is one of the easiest routes to take because it’s inexpensive and you can get started immediately. You could begin by dedicating a few hours a week outside of your current job. Then, continue to scale it until you build a viable audience.
9. Social Media Management
If you’re tech savvy, there are tons of small businesses out there who need someone to manage their social media part time. All you need is a phone and the ability to stay on top of the latest trends to get this business off the ground.
10. Host Walking Tours
If you know everything there is to know about your city, why not share that knowledge with travelers. You can map out a few different tour options, like food or historic tours of your city. If your business pops off, you can eventually hire more tour guides. AirBnB Experiences is a great place to launch your business to millions of potential customers or you could promote yourself independently.
The Bottom Line:
If you’ve always wanted to be your own boss, don’t let a lack of startup funds stop you from following your dreams. You can start a business without any money, it’s totally doable with a creative mindset! The business world is all about finding creative solutions to life’s everyday problems. Go get it!
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