Why you don’t actually need money to start a business

Every day, people are figuring out how to start a business with no money. It’s not impossible. It’s not even close to impossible. In fact, for every person taking action to start a business with no money, there are millions of people complaining that they can’t start a business with no money in their pocket.

It’s the truth.

I work with a lot of budding entrepreneurs. I coach some, I interact with thousands here at the blog, and I connect with many of you on our Millo Mastermind group.

And I hear lots of reasons why you have decided now is not the right time to start a business.

But one of the most common reasons for not starting a business is because you don’t believe you can start a business with no money in-pocket.

Call it capital, call it funding, call it a safety net, but at the end of the day, it’s all the same excuse: it’s “impossible” to start a business with no money.

How you actually can start a business with no money

Here’s the deal: starting a business with no money isn’t at all what it used to be.

I’ve spoken with friends and family older than me who I know are entrepreneurs deep down inside themselves but have chosen to follow a corporate path.

When I asked them why they never started their business, do you know what they said?

Most of them said something like, “I was never able to figure out how to start a business with no money.”

And maybe thirty years ago that’s how business worked. You came up with an idea, you pitched it to a venture capitalist or a bank loan officer, you got rejected, and then you pitch it to fifty more people before someone (a bank, a VC, your grandma) would loan you the money to start your business.

But that’s not how it has to work today.

Today, you can start a business today for less than $100. You might even be able to start a business with no money.

Don’t believe me? Read one of my favorite books on the subject, The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau.

Every day, people are starting successful businesses for less than $1,000.

In his book, Chris shares real-life stories from real-life entrepreneurs who started businesses with no money or with very little startup capital and have turned their business into high-five-and-six figure businesses.

These people are real.

And you’re just as real and as smart as they are.

You, too, can start a business with no money.

The real reason you’re not starting a business isn’t about money

If you start a business with practically no money as The $100 Startup suggests you can, with a little ingenuity, innovation, and whole lot of butt-kicking hard work, you can eventually fund yourself.

The real reason you haven’t started yet is maybe that you’re starting too big. You’ve set your sites on a fully staffed, top-of-the-line technology-stuffed, penthouse-style company that only works with fortune 500 clients.

Lofty.

I’m not saying you won’t make it there one day, but take a step back and figure out what the rungs are on your ladder to success.

What’s the smallest, easiest rung you can step on to move you toward your dream, but that isn’t made impossible by startup costs?

Take that step now.

Chances are, it costs less than $100. At most, it’s $1,000.

That’s all the startup funding you need.

And you can do that in the next 30 days.

Becoming your own VC

Once you’ve turned your $100 into $1,000 and your $1,000 into $10,000, you can ultimately fund any dream you want.

But stop waiting around for someone to hand you $100,000 to start your dream. Work for it, plan for it, and make it happen.

I know you can do it.

(PS: you'll probably also enjoy this: 4 Lies startup culture teaches you about running a business)