Do you have a passion you want to share with the world, or a unique concept you believe will satisfy a market need? If you’ve done your research and created the blueprint for your business venture, the next step is to transform your idea into a reality and start your business. But how do you get started when your resources are limited?
As a new business owner, getting things off the ground can be tricky. With limited money and resources, you can easily feel stuck in a rut and inferior compared to your competitors. Until you are well established, you may not be generating a revenue, and enhancing your product may not seem like a reality. The thing to remember is that all businesses start somewhere, and until you begin - you can’t take your business farther. Here are ways that you can still successfully start a business, even with limited resources at your disposal.
1) Commit To Your Success
The beginning stage of starting your business will be hard, so you are going to need to be fully committed if you want to see it to fruition. Your business may require pulling late nights and early mornings, but consistent effort will be what launches your business and keeps it successfully moving. When you hit a bump in the road, you can’t let it derail your progress. Stay rooted in your vision for your company, commit to your success in the beginning and work to get your business off the ground.
2) Manage Your Time Efficiently
While you might find yourself working in to the wee hours of the night, managing your time well is still imperative. Managing your time efficiently will enable you to recognize areas of your business you need to grow and will create a well-functioning system. Initially, you might be the full operation and will need to balance multiple duties until you reach a point where you can hire staff. As you seek to grow your business, you should also honor deadlines and meetings you schedule, no matter how small. While pushing deadlines back can be tempting when you don’t have customers waiting, producing your product later than intended is a bad habit to create.
3) Learn As Much As Possible
Nobody expects you to know all the ins and outs of business especially at the start, but you should set the precedent for yourself to absorb as much knowledge as possible. No matter your business idea, chances are someone has done something similar before. Don’t be afraid to ask your peers for their insight! It’s important to have a general understanding of each facet of your business, especially if you are the only staff member at the start. Connect with people who already have the knowledge you seek, and continue researching to strengthen your business skills.
4) Utilize Free Tools
These days there are tons of cheap, if not free, resources available to help grow your business. From marketing to budgeting, you can efficiently build your business from the ground up before you’ve even started generating revenue. Most social media platforms are free and nearly a necessity in the digital age. Take advantage of social media to garner support for your business and spread the word.
5) Work Hard
At the end of the day, your dream won’t matter as much to others as it does to you. You are the only one who can bring your vision to life! You have to be willing to put in the work to achieve success and remember it won’t happen overnight. While you may have limited resources initially, that shouldn’t limit your belief of what you can achieve. Even Brian Scudamore founded his junk removal company, 1-800-GOT-JUNK?, while still attending college. In addition to that, the beauty of starting your own business means there's no prior knowledge required. If you want to drastically change career paths, this is a way to do it - take Brian Scudamore's franchise partner, Eric Blum, for example. Eric worked in IT for eight years before launching his junk removal business. No excuse is as valid as any dream, so start making yours a reality.
