When I look at the expenses for my technology company, it reminds me of the fact that it takes money to make money. We spend six figures EVERY MONTH on our employees, equipment, products, and getting sales. But you don't need hundreds of thousands of dollars to start a business. Here's how to start your business without spending a fortune.
It Doesn't Take a Lot of Money to Start a Business
I'm taking another marketing class at the moment because I'm always looking for ways to add value to my business clients and my own business. One of the things that the guy running the class pointed out is that he spent less than $2 a day on his first ads.
By the end of the second month, he scaled up to spending thousands of dollars every day on ads through his credit card because he was making $4 for every $1 he spent. He's still running the same ad but now on a massive scale, which is what led me to purchase his course.
If you could give someone $1 and earn $4 every time, wouldn't you do that all day? That's how you start a business without spending a fortune.
It's Not As Easy as Throwing Tons of Money at Ads
Before you think I'm telling you to go spend a bazillion dollars on ads, let me warn you from personal experience that it's not that easy. What is easy is giving all your money to the big companies for advertising.
But the Concept is Good
The concept he teaches is the core of any business venture, though. You get people to buy your stuff, make them happy customers, get them to buy more, then repeat that process with other people. To do that, you have expenses like websites, ads, people, material, and time.
The trick is keeping your expenses lower than your revenue.
It costs money to scale up, but you can use the proceeds from your early sales to reinvest into the business. Once you get some momentum, then you can start spending money on things like creating an LLC to protect your assets. In other words, you can use other people's money (aka customers) to make more money and pay your bills.
Try a Few Things
Don't go maxing out your credit card (that's a great way to make the banks rich and you poor), but try a few things if you want to start or grow a business. If you make more than you invest, do more of that.
If you're not sure what business to start, grab our report on businesses that work. But try a few things.
If you lose money for more than three or four months, try something different. Once you've proven the concept, then you can borrow some cash to scale up. Repeat until successful.
Keep What Works
Collins mentioned that successful companies, “Experiment a lot and keep what works” in his book, “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies,” which was featured as one of our books of the month. I've found that secret for success to be true in my own businesses.
Photo by Daniel Öberg on Unsplash
Creating a business is like growing a garden. Plant a bunch of stuff. Water and fertilize it, and pull the weeds.
Not every seed you plant is going to grow. Neither will every business idea grow into a thriving business. You've got to be patient and water and fertilize it until it's either obvious that it's not going to sprout or starts bearing fruit.
To create a successful business, plant some seeds.
Water them and pull the weeds.
Keep what works.
Repeat.
You Don't Have to Spend a Lot of Your Own Money to Make Money
You don't have to spend a lot of your own money to make money. Most people borrow other people's money to pay for college, which can lead to a higher-paying job. It is a significant investment, but one that most pay for out of the proceeds of their higher earnings.
It's the same with a business. You can borrow money to get started, or better yet, sell products and services to your customers and use those proceeds to get more customers.
Plant Some Seeds Today to Start Your Business
It doesn't have to cost a fortune to start a business. I'd recommend not spending a lot of money on your first venture because it makes it harder to try new things if your first idea fails. The key is to start planting some seeds today and water them regularly.
