10 Things To Do If Your Startup Capital Is Not Enough.

Raising startup capital for a new business can be a major headache. Few financially strong individuals believe in your idea, but the indecisive rest wait on the sidelines to see what would come of it. The lack of real startup capital can be demoralizing and in some cases, kill the idea before the business even takes off. If you fall into these shoes, here are ten things you can do if you don’t have enough cash to run your business:

See Also: How To Get Seed Funding For Your Small Business In Africa


1).Dream big, but start small:

Every great business, event, or person started small. Trying to get ahead of yourself would keep you heading nowhere. At beginnings, you might not have much funding for your business or a complete team to run it, but you’d always have yourself, your idea, a plan, and a little cash to take off. Use what you have, but most importantly, start where you are. As you progress, you’d learn some perks of running your business. What works and what doesn’t. Armed with this information and a little experience so far, you’d sound a lot more reasonable when you’re talking to potential investors. Remember, “direction is more important than speed”.


2).Take Advantage Of Social Media & Word Of Mouth Advertising:

Social media has more than shown itself as a reliable tool to promote your business. Today, many fashion boutiques sell their items through Instagram. Some through Facebook. Depending on what you’re offering, there’s always a social media platform with your target audience. If you have 1000 followers on twitter, start with that. By promoting to a potential market via your social media account, you wouldn’t be spending a dime. Never forget that social media and word of mouth advertisement is effective and free!

See Also: 6 Ways Social Media Will Help Your Business


3). Have a side income:

It can get really frustrating running your business and having no returns for a long time. Sometimes it takes even years before you can turn a profit. But the major problem is even if you can’t turn a profit soon, you’d need more funds to put into the business so that it would be well balanced to approach scalability. One thing you can do is to have a side hustle. It could be a skill you can offer as a service to those who need it. E.g if you’re great at building websites and mobile apps, instead of waiting endlessly for investors to pour in their money into your startup, you could market your skills to people who need your service, make some money from them, and put a large part of it back into your business. A side hustle is a great way to stay afloat while you’re still sourcing funding for your startup.


4). Reduce your expenses:

With little to no real startup capital, you cannot afford to have expenses eating into the minute revenues you’re generating. Check every way cash might leave your business and try to block it out. The more loop holes you cover, the greater your chances of staying afloat till you acquire considerable investment.

See Also: 7 Sure Ways To Cut Your Small Business Expenses And Increase Your Profit


5). Talk to family & friends:

These are the closest people in your life, and they’re the only ones that can give you some cash with just a simple motivational speech. Family and friends usually don’t require that you show them a business plan because, their loan or investment in your startup is primarily because they believe in you and not the idea or skills you have. Talk to the closest people in your life. If you understand what makes them tick, push those buttons and you might have some cash coming your way from their pockets.

See Also: 7 ways to immediately increase your business revenues


6). Apply for a bank loan:

Banks are always available to assist SME’s (Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises). The problems they pose are usually confined to their excessively strict requirements. But if you can meet the requirements, you’d get a loan from the bank in a short time.


7). Participate in startup competitions:

Startup or business competitions usually come with cash prizes. What’s most beneficial about these competitions is the access to mentors you’d gain after winning or coming in to a close second. Take part in these competitions. If you win, you’d get some startup capital to fund your business. But if you lose, you not only get exposure, but you also gain access to mentors and potential investors.

See Also: How To Start A Company Without Any Business Skills


8). Take advantage of grants:

Grants are sums given to businesses without any form of equity taken from your company. They are pretty much startup capital or investments where you don’t part with any of your company’s share. There are a lot of organizations offering grants to startups addressing issues in certain categories. If you fit in, apply and you just might get lucky.


9). Use Creditors Money:

When people pay ahead for a good or service you’re yet to deliver, that’s already money in your hands. You could either keep the sums and wait till you’ve delivered to the customer, or you could invest the amount gotten while you deliver the service or product paid for. The only disadvantage of this is if the customer wants a refund and you haven’t gotten any returns from where you put the money into, you’d be stranded. This could destroy trust and permanently damage your relationship with that customer and several potential customers that could have come through that one customer.

See Also: How To Access And Get Agric Loans In Nigeria


10). Find A Reputable Mentor:

They say if you ask for money, you only get advice. But if you ask for advice, you get money twice. Getting a great mentor could be a fast track for you to getting investment into your business. These people usually know important people, and would be happy to talk about your business with potential investors if they see that you’re gaining traction. A smart mentor could even be the first to invest in the business before others start to get involved. Find a good mentor, and cherish every advice he or she gives. It would all be worth it!



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What are your thoughts on these 10 things to do if your startup capital is not enough? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

Source: Start Up Tips Daily