It has always been a belief that before you start a business you must have a budget or certain amount of money, or before venture into any kind of business there must be a fixed amount of capital that is required. But let me break it to you that this belief only limit the mind and strength to acting on even starting your dreams. I have read so many blog posts that advise one to save from salary and then use their savings on investment or spend all on starting their “dream” business. It’s very true to have a planned budget to get a business alive, but not meeting up with such budget doesn’t mean you don’t have any options. There is always an alternative to everything if only we look at it from a different angle.

Having a mindset of needing money as your only hope to venturing into a business can be a limitation to not starting at all. The most important thing in building a business is the mindset. When the mind is positioned in a direction of success without limitations, there will always be alternatives to getting things done and achieving desired results. Therefore, you need to constantly feed your mind with the right materials, words and follow the right people.

In some sense, maybe you already have the needed capital in the form of human resources, equity, assets, gadgets, ideas, the family and friends around you. But you’re just lighting them on fire by not using them. You’re wasting resources by not giving attention to details and utilizing the available options. Instead of using the capital you do have, you’re waiting for paper money to come rescue you from inaction. Sorry to break it to you that the only action you’ll take once receiving the paper money you are waiting for, is to light it on fire.

“You don’t need money to start, you need a new strategy”- Dan Lok

When I wanted to start Creative DOHL Design in 2015, I knew there were need for getting the right training, materials or gadgets to start as a designer. But I positioned my mind to the state of no excuses and looking out for alternatives to the resources I needed. For example; I had no laptop, but I sketched the whole Adobe Photoshop interface on a piece of paper, and that was what I used in training myself for the practical aspect of designing with the software. I also utilized my broken-screen phone to learn all the basics about personal and product branding and connect with mentors and expert in my niche via social media.

Here are 10 Things You Should Know Before Starting a Business Without Money
1. BE SKILLFUL IN YOUR PASSION

It is possible to start a business with very little or no money, if you are hard working in getting skillful in whatever you love doing. When you have the right combination of skills, work ethic and marketing know-how, you become reliable for value. Constantly build on your passions and garner as much experiences as you can. Instead of trying to start a business in a niche outside of your comfort zone or do a business because everyone is going into it, stick to something you are good at, something you naturally do for the fun of it. When you do things you love naturally or have passion for, your bottom line won’t lead to regrets of not making money at the early start of your business. Your bottom line will be adding value to lives and solving problems and at the same time being happy doing your passion and skillful in it.
According to Chris Guillebeau, author of the $100 Startup, “To succeed in a business project, especially one you’re excited about, it helps to think carefully about all the skills you have that could be helpful to others and particularly about the combination of those skills.”

2. ELIMINATE YOUR EXCUSES (EYE)

The majority of people who speak with me about starting a new business or organization always talk about needing capital to start, and as a result of this, they can’t start that business now. People always look for excuses why, what they have not even started, will not work. They always substitute their fears for excuses. They give excuses like; “if I have X amount, I will start”, “I am scared of losing or making mistakes”, “what will people say”, “I don’t have the necessary tools or gadgets to start”, “I like to serve or be someone underling than taking the risk”, “I don’t think this the right time”. There’re always new excuses to new moves. Excuses used to accompany their plans.

The one thing I always tell myself is “No Excuse is Good Enough”. Reason being that there is always another option to everything you use as excuses, because the more you give excuses the more you lose money. There’s always a way if only you try harder and look at it from a different angle. There is always an alternative and human or capital resources you can start with. Just burn your excuses and start acting.

A friend of mine once told me; “I had to burn my excuses and eat my guts, write my first proposal, send to various companies, show up several times for failures, and within 8 months, I became a millionaire”.

3. KNOWLEDGE IS THE MONEY YOU NEED

The mindset towards having money before being successful in business is irrelevant, especially early on in the game. Money won’t solve your problems, but knowledge will. No matter how rich you are to start a business, if you don’t have a standard knowledge of what to do, you will lose your riches to your competitors, costs and to someone with knowledge. This is because the lack of knowledge in execution will have you putting your money towards the wrong things.
When I had ideas of what exactly I wanted to do with my life, I diligently worked towards getting standard knowledge of my niche. I had to spend every dime on investing on myself with trainings, seminars, courses, and feeding my mind with books. I had to do intensive study of my industry. I had to connect with the right people and expert. I worked towards unlearning, learning and relearning before earnings.

4. TIME IS TRULY MONEY

This is a cliché but the truth should be emphasized. Always make sure you’re not lighting your time on fire. Every second counts. Every word and action you put in every moment matters. Make sure every moment is accounted for, because in it lies the funds to your future, and the life that comes with it. The same saying that goes for “spend your money wisely” is the same as “spend your time wisely”. Therefore, time is money. This is reason why I always recommend one to have a Time Management skill.

5. GET A MENTOR

Being mentored by someone save you costs and time in getting things done. A mentor is someone who has gone through the course of what you are about to step into. It’s not necessarily someone older than you, but someone with enough experience in doing what you have not started yet or about to venture in. I have mentors for everything I want to go into. I have people who are experienced in various sectors I find interest in. These persons give me every little details of what I need to know and avoid. This is a short cut to succeeding in whatever niche you to do.

6. DON’T RESIGN YET

It’s very difficult to still be in the 9-5 job and run your own business. But this is the time for you to stretch your capacity and go extra mile. Starting a business from the level zero can be very risky. Starting a business with no little funds to pay bills can be riskier.
When I was starting my business, I needed an upgrade in my skills, I needed to keep up with the trend of how my niche works. But most importantly, I needed a “platform” that will support my bills and give me experience. This made me work harder and restlessly growing my business, as the 9-5 job pay the bills. Immediately my business started to generate revenue, I started thinking about transitioning out of the job.

7. DO IT YOURSELF (DIY)
Many start-up businesses make the mistakes of drawing plans for the number of employees to have before launching the business. Before thinking of getting staff or assistance, you really need to do all the work yourself. You really need to be 100 percent totally involved in that which you started.
“Starting a business with no money” really means that you have to learn to do things that you would normally delegate to an employee. Do everything yourself before outsourcing or getting help for a fee.
You can design a logo for yourself with the help of online tools like Canva, rather than paying a graphic designer to get it done for you. You can manage your social media handles yourself and respond to clientèle rather than getting a virtual assistant or social media expert.
I agree that it’s very exhausting trying to do all the work yourself, but it will save you some bucks and put money back into your business.

8. OFFER A SERVICE.
If it takes 10000 naira to get a product for resell, it may take 1000 naira to offer a service for a fee. You can start several businesses offering valuable in form of services with zero amount. A good example is to leverage on freelance platforms such as Fiverr, Upwork, Freelancer, Guru etc. You really don’t need a dime to start, except for phone and a good Internet connection. Even when you plan selling products in the future, offering services can be a good start to rake in money into your business with almost no cost. Offering service can also make you a top notch in your field and finance any other business you planning doing.

9. THERE ARE ANSWERS IN QUESTIONS
When you start asking the right questions to the right people and to yourself, the right answers start coming out. Ask empowering questions that will give you a motivating push to meet and connect with the right people for better results.
Empowering questions like;

What exactly do I need to offer for zero cost?
What problem can I solve for a fee?
What are the alternatives to getting my ideas come to fruition?
Who can I connect with that will fund my business?
What exactly do I find myself doing for fun?
Where do I see my business to be in the next 5-10 years?
When I had no laptop which of course I really needed one, I asked myself “what alternatives can I utilize for getting a laptop?” This question birthed my realization to using a pen and book to learn graphic design and utilizing my phone to study about branding and businesses.
There are answers in asking questions. Just start asking empowering questions.

10. LEVERAGE ON THE INTERNET

Our current generation is so much blessed with the Internet. Most things online are free. You can learn and know anything you really want to by making Google your friend. You can apply for free online courses on platforms like Alison, Udemy, Push CV academy, Lynda, Shaw Academy, edx, Teachable, Hubspot and so many.
You can use the social media to follow and connect with expert in your niche. You can read blog posts of what exactly you want to do or venture into. You can set-up a blog and share valuable content and advertise your brand. You can watch videos on YouTube.
http://creativedohl.com/why-you-dont-need-money-to-start-a-business/

Damilare H. Oyekanmi (Creative designer, Content writer and Branding consultant @ [url]creativedohl.com[/url]

Good one.

You will still need money to start.
No money, no business...

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