Setting Up A Shoestring Business: You Won’t Believe How Easy It Is
When you read stories about venture capitalists pouring millions of dollars into setting up brands, you come away with the impression that starting a business is notoriously expensive. But that’s not how it has to go at all. Today, there are more opportunities to set up a business on a shoestring than ever before. And the benefits of actually striking out and doing it are profound – something that everyone should try at least once in their lives.
In this post, we take a look at some ideas that prove how easy it is to set up a business for little to no down payment. Let’s take a look.
Use The Skills You Already Have
The market for coaching and professional education is exploding right now. More than ever before, people want guidance. And, for entrepreneurs like you, that’s an opportunity. Almost certainly, you have knowledge that you can sell to others for a fee. What’s more, it’s so simple to set up. There are even coaching platforms that you can use that setup everything for you.
Resell Products
Here’s another idea: resell products. Again, this is a capital-lite enterprise that anyone can start. You don’t even need any particular skills.
The way it works is incredibly simple. All you have to do is find arbitrage opportunities.
What’s an arbitrage opportunity? It’s simple. Let’s say that you find a cheap vacuum cleaner on Aliexpress that is selling for less than on western sites, like Amazon. All you do is order some of these online and then sell them for a markup on other sites while undercutting the existing competition. This way, you can make a pure profit without actually doing any work yourself.
Use Dropshipping
Related to this concept is the idea of dropshipping – getting somebody else to make deliveries for you.
The benefits of dropshipping are tremendous. With it, you don’t have to build out your own fulfilment and delivery structure. Instead, you just pay a fee to a third party to do it for you, and they’ll get on with it. You’re then free to focus on your online branding and accounting, working out how much money you could make by expanding your enterprise.
Use Your Networks
Most people just tap into their existing networks when setting up a business, saving them marketing costs until they get bigger. If you already have a network, consider how you could serve those around you outside of your current job. Look for ways to add value in areas where the current market is not serving adequately.
Form Alliances
Similarly, you might want to try forming alliances with an influencer or YouTuber with a large audience. All you need to do is convince them of the quality of your services and show them how they benefit their audience. This way, you have a captive audience and can begin selling immediately, again without the need for expensive ads. You could also host a competition via an influencer to get their audience more interested in what you’re doing.
