Got money? That’s a question all entrepreneurs need to answer when they start their business. Duh, that’s obvious. But where to get that money? Sources of startup capital are everywhere. The trick is getting in. Forget the venture capitalists and angel investors. What about a business that requires about $200-1000? Where can and should you find money for this amount of startup capital?
Sell Your Junk
Yes, the first thing should be to sell whatever you can. Anything that you don’t use anymore is fair game. Old electronics that will depreciate every year you keep should be going. Video games that aren’t being played anymore should also go. Yes you can still make money on eBay. Older phones can still fetch a decent price for people who don’t want to pay premium. Toys that are decades old, you never know. Anything that is heavy or bulky will probably fetch you more money on Craigslist as opposed to eBay because of the shipping and fees. Toys seem to sell better on eBay.
Help Sell Your Parents Stuff For Commission
Now that you know how to sell stuff online, how about helping your parents and sell their stuff? This makes sense if you are more computer savvy than they are. And in many cases, that is true. Help sell their antiques, or their really old stamps collection, or something like a lawn-mower. Not only are you helping to gain startup capital for your business, you are also gaining sales skills. You are negotiating with them about what comission you will take for selling their stuff. You are also creating an opportunity that didn’t exist prior. Had you not mention to sell something of theirs, they wouldn’t have given it a second thought.
Make Some Money
This is contradictory but if you could make some fast cash on sites like Fiverr, why not. If you can review a website in under 20 minutes for $5 (you make 4), that’s $12 that you can profit. In one day, that’s 8-10 hours and $120. Do it a few weeks and you have part of the startup capital. Check out some other way to make quick money online here.
Finally, Ask
If this is the last option, do it. It will help with asking for funds from angels and venture capitalists later on because the difference between asking for $100 and $1 million is zero. You’re still selling your business. Make sure to tell them all you know about the business, from how much startup capital it takes, how you will market it, how many customers you expect to get within the first couple of months and anything else. Maybe, they’ll be so impressed with the presentation that they’ll give you some funds. Then repeat this with other family members. Who doesn’t like a future Bill Gates in their family?
Put Away Your Startup Capital
Most importantly of all is to put away anything you raised. Put them in a savings account until your goal is reached. This way, you can’t spend it on something unnecessary, like an Xbox.
How would you raise money? We went over how to raise money as a young entrepreneur in the past, but times may have changed. Any clever ideas?