There’s a lot of different ways you can get into running a small business even if you aren’t loaded with cash. Eventually, if you succeed in getting your business running, you’ll probably want to apply for a small business loan so you can make way for some serious growth and acquire key assets for it. But before you reach that point, you can build your business even with very limited cash. Here are four ideas to consider if you haven’t come up with your own ideas yet.
1. Run A Business Performing Services
There are usually many markets for different services such as landscaping, house cleaning, car mechanic, photographer, or even more technical skills such as computer programming, website coding or support specialist. The main startup costs for running a service-based business are your equipment and in some cases transportation. But there’s many ways you can get started with nearly nothing, especially if you’ll be doing a lot of online-based work. If you have skills, equipment and are willing to market yourself, why not then work for yourself?
2. Run An E-commerce Business Using A Third Party Supplier And Shipper
There are ways you can sell products whether they’re apparel, arts and crafts supplies, handyman tools or even electronics without having to order them to your address, and then ship them out again to customers. You basically sell them through your own e-commerce store, and then when the customer orders them the supplier ships them directly to them. Usually this is pretty low cost compared to opening up a retail store, but sometimes suppliers may require you to signup for premium accounts with them if you’re going to be generating a lot of orders. You generally will want to buy your own website and domain, and you should be prepared for online marketing costs to drive traffic to your e-commerce store.
3. Create Your Own Products
If you like creating things such as decorative plates or coffee mugs, postcards or greeting cards, inexpensive homemade jewelry, picture frames or other things you can craft on your own you could make money selling them. Some people even sell baked goods and foods from home or online, but beware that doing so is usually subject to both provincial and Canadian federal regulations for safety reasons. If you know how to create digital products such as website templates, smartphone apps, or even digital entertainment you think people might enjoy you could start a small business from that. You may find more information at Thinking Capital if you need additional resources.
4. Write And Publish Books
This is certainly one of the harder businesses to get into because it takes time and patience to both write books and sell them. But with the emergence of e-books and many new platforms where you can find them, this has opened the door for many new and unheard of authors to start selling books without having to go through a major publishing company. You don’t have to just write novels; if you’re knowledgeable on certain topics and can offer advice based on your personal experiences, you could write an inspiring book based on that.
The bottom line is if you start small and allow your business idea to grow into a fully functional business, you’ll have more opportunities later to build onto it and grow your business. Also, before you apply for a small business loan, you should make sure you have financial documents prepared and have had accounting done for your business. The main thing lenders want to see is that your small business ideas have turned into a working and sustainable model that can repay a loan.
