“I want to start a business, but I have no capital.” is a statement commonly heard from most ambitious entrepreneurs. Many nurture ideas, intentions and long-term business plans, but what they need is a certain amount of capital to begin.
If you are passionate about an industry or field, there is always a way to turn your dreams into reality with limited resources. Below are 5 tips successful entrepreneurs have applied to achieve career success.
1. Build a Team of Free Advisers
Nicole DeBoom was a professional triathlete for 11 years. She knew women’s sportswear very well but had almost no knowledge of the garment industry. Her solution was to find a group of advisers who could teach her what she lacked and introduce her to other contacts.
Nicole explains: “When we first started, we went out for coffee together ten times a week.”. The final result: Nicole found the resources she needed, launched her own company, and has now sold over 25 million USD in running skirts. Advisers were crucial to her success.
2. Seek benefactors
One purpose of building a team of expert advisers is to find potential partners who want to join your company. Jeff Wester is an excellent example. Jeff wanted to build a blacksmith's workshop in Sisters, Oregon. He found his own benefactor, someone who had previously built a workshop of his own.
This benefactor invested in a piece of land for Jeff and gave him control of his blacksmith's workshop in exchange for nothing more than a note promising repayment whenever Jeff could manage it.
3. Start with used or borrowed equipment
Justin Gold created the best peanut butter on the planet using a food processor already in his kitchen and sold his creations at farmers' markets. When he was ready to expand the company, he spoke with several major peanut butter manufacturers.
However, they told him they could not add honey, maple syrup, or other ingredients because doing so would significantly affect their million-dollar industry. Justin wondered why he could not do it in his own kitchen. So when he saw some used industrial food-processing equipment, he immediately thought of repurposing it. He has just sold his business to Hormel for 286 million USD. Watch the video below to hear Justin Gold's insights.
4. Find something commercially viable before jumping into the main game
Allen Lim spent his early career in the cycling industry. He created several all-natural hydration drinks loved by some of the nation's top cyclists. He wanted to turn his interest and passion into a business opportunity but lacked the money. He then found a funnel-cake cart and converted it into a burrito kitchen.
He sold burritos at running and cycling races across the country to fund marketing for his new product. Burrito sales earned him USD 800, enough to cover the total cost of launching the new product nationwide. Today, Skratch Labs is a major supplier of healthy products for both professional and amateur athletes.
5. Sell your product before you create it
The core value of a business model requires customers to buy your product. In many cases, you can sell products even before making them. I sold half a million dollars' worth of frozen desserts before creating the new brand.
David Cann sold a million dollars' worth of his “Double Robot” before actually making them. And the founders of Power Pratical raised 1.5 million USD for their power generation products on Kickstarter before they had made the product.
Using fundraising channels is a great way to test market interest in a product before committing substantial time and money to your business.
In short, there is always a way to turn dreams and ambitions into reality, even with limited resources. Find a group of mentors who will advise you for free, get to know potential investors, start with used equipment, find something you can sell to raise capital, and sell your product before you create it. Most importantly: act RIGHT NOW. Do not let a lack of capital keep you from your dreams.
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