How To Start A Business For Less Than $10,000

How To Start A Business For Less Than $10,000

During the 2012 campaign one of the presidential hopefuls advised young people to ?borrow money from your parents? in order to start a business. The advice was well meant in that he was trying to get people with ideas and entrepreneurial drive to explore different ways of raising money. However, the truth is that few of us have parents with the means to lend money in the sums needed to start a company. And though the venture capitalists are these days awash with cash and looking to fund business startups, you may still find it hard to get your business idea financed.

Not having a large sum of cash need not be a barrier to starting a business. There has never been a time when aspiring entrepreneurs had so many paths to doing so. A recent article in Inc. magazine tells the stories of entrepreneurs who founded successful companies with little money.The article also offers tips on what you can do to launch your company on the cheap:

• Do give away samples
• Do outsourcing
• Do be creative

And includes a list of don?ts as well:

• Don?t buy software until you really need it
• Don?t hire a lawyer until you really need one

The full article can be read here. I can personally vouch for the soundness of the tips listed above?especially the don?ts. When you are starting a business, everyone in the world will want to give you advice; and not a few people will want to sell you stuff. You should resist the temptation to buy software or any other IT product just because it?s become fashionable to have it. If you are trying to start a business without seed capital, you need to focus on the essentials.

The same thing goes for hiring a lawyer. You should hire one only when you?ve developed the business to the point at which the complexity of legal issues has become too great. You may be surprised at how much you will be able to do on your own. There are a number of websites dedicated to helping entrepreneurs through the process of ?establishing and developing a business.

The bottom line: starting a business is about concentration, good judgment, and unflappable determination.