If you have always wanted to own your own business, you might assume you need tons of money in the bank. While this may be the case if you need to rent a large office space and/or require a lot of expensive equipment, there are actually quite a few types of businesses that you can launch without much capital.
As for examples of inexpensive businesses for enterprising entrepreneurs, please consider the following:
Get Into Direct Sales
One of the greatest advantages of working for a direct sales company is that they have already put in the time, effort and expense to launch their business and brand—and you can now take full advantage of their solid reputation. For example, you could start working for Amway and sell the company’s line of products to other people while also setting up your own hours, all for no money up front. If you are hesitant to work for the company because you once heard some scuttlebutt that Amway is a scam, you will be happy to know that this belief is just that—a rumor. The company uses a legitimate business model that doesn’t monetarily incentivize recruiting and instead provides learning opportunities and an entrepreneurial support system.
Consider Blogging
If you enjoy writing and are good at it, you could launch your own blog and earn money through promotions and ads. For instance, you can get started by using a free service such as WordPress to create a website and then start creating content that others will want to read. You can either blog about a number of topics or choose a theme that is likely to resonate with your readers; for instance, parenthood, pet ownership, traveling and money saving tips are all interesting topics that people typically want to read about. Then, once your blog is up and running, you can promote your website through programs like ClickBank and earn revenue.
Teach Others as a Tutor
Another great way to become a business owner without having to take out a huge loan is to tutor others in subjects you know quite well. There are a number of sites that can help you to get the word out about your tutoring services; for instance, if you are great at math and reading and would like to tutor younger kids after school and on weekends, Tutor.com can help you get started. For other subjects like piano, cooking or singing, you can sign up with Wysant.com. Although these sites do take a cut of what you charge, they are a great way to get your tutoring business off the ground. As a bonus, tutors often charge about $50 an hour for their solid expertise, so once you have a number of regular clients, you should be able to make a pretty significant income.
You Don’t Always Need Money to Make Money
As it turns out, you don’t have to shell out big bucks to become a business owner. You can definitely launch your own company without a lot of capital—in the above examples, you really don’t need any money at all to get started. As your business grows you may want to invest in equipment like a new computer and other supplies, but you can definitely fulfill your need to be an entrepreneur for a very small upfront cost.
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