5 Best Ways to Start a New Business on a Shoestring Budget

Just over 32 percent of new business owners needed less than $5,000 to start or acquire their business. Amazingly enough, 25 percent of business owners needed no dollar amount to start up. The following is just a small list of some ways to start your new business with little or no money.

1. Work from home – Starting a home business is easier and much less expensive than renting commercial space. Most small business does not require a special location. Benefits to home businesses include flexibility in hours, less travel expense, no rent, great in-home tax advantages, and being able to comfortably work in your PJ’s. If you can start your new business from home, do it; there will be enough expenses without the added cost of commercial rental space.

2. Online business – The newest explosion in the business world is on the internet. Online sales will excel beyond person-to-person sales of nearly all types by 2020. There is very little you can’t purchase on the World Wide Web. Websites can be created for free with the most basic computer skills and “voila” you’re in business. Research what type of business you want and search the internet for related websites to get ideas.

3. Start small – No business starts “BIG;” they all start small and grow successful over time. A prosperous business has a sound foundation and has grown and expanded from one seed to its full potential. The founder of Dell Computers was a college dropout. Starting out of his garage, he managed to excel above all of the world’s top computer manufacturers. One in three computers sold today is a Dell.

4. Drop shipment - Retail sales generally require a storefront, but with a drop shipment retail business there is no inventory to pre-purchase, stock and store, and no shipping expense. Many wholesalers are more than willing to drop ship directly to the retailers’ end user. Your job is to simply locate the buyer, confirm availability of the item, accept payment, and place the order with the wholesaler. The wholesaler will ship the order directly to your customer and send the billing to you. Now you just need to decide what items you want to sell!

5. Offer a lease option – It’s not always easy to sell an established business, and owners can become frustrated with the effort. Many don’t immediately see other options to get out and often times they just liquidate and close down their business out of pure impatience. Sellers may become receptive to the idea of a lease option sale when they reach this crushing state. Many may not have previously considered or even be aware of this option to them. Basically, you walk in with little or no down payment, take over and continue operations as usual, and for a pre-determined length of time, the seller receives a monthly “lease fee” from your new business. Once the set time frame has elapsed, you automatically own the business. There are potential risks taken by both partners, but with an air-tight lease contract, and a good understanding of each others position, these type of business purchases can benefit all involved and get a new owner into his desired business with less stress and without as great a financial burden.

69 percent of new businesses were started or acquired without any need to borrow money. Being one those who didn’t borrow money could mean the difference between a successful business and just another failed statistic.