It is never too early or too late!
While the words entrepreneur, freelancing and passive income have become more popular buzzwords today, there is still a majority of people who are convinced that you need some sort of capital to begin with in order to start a successful business of any kind.
This cannot be further away from the truth! In this dynamic time we live in, with the revolution in the Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), technology and the digital arena, there are many opportunities and ways to start a successful business without money.
With the rise of gig-based economy, more people than ever before are able to connect with one another to provide services and products to meet market demands. As such, this has allowed people who were not able to be economically empowered before have the chance to do so.
This group include women, who are more likely to stay at home due to family commitments or cultural implications and who now have a chance to work from home, thanks to the internet and the business platforms available.
Let’s create change!
Historically, women have been earning less than men, and while in this day and age the income gap may be smaller, there are still many women out there who do not have access to funds in order to have the opportunity to start their own business.
In fact, there’s a saying that a famous 21 year old entrepreneur by the name of Shilpa Yarlagadda made recently. She said that women are less likely to have their own business only because they are not given enough support when they have failed.
While she and many other like-minded entrepreneurs are paving the way to support more women starting their own business, many of these fears stem from the fact that women do not have capital or money and therefore, we do not feel safe to even try.
I am here to tell you that it is possible to achieve your dreams of having your own business, even if you do not have funding.
You should be empowered, and not be afraid to take the risk in starting your own business. The more you sit around and worry, the faster the dream is going to slip out of your hands! Now is the time!
Let’s cover the top 5 ways you can start your own successful business in 2020, so that you can be personally, emotionally and financially empowered.
#1 Research
Simply go on your preferred search engine. Start searching online for trends of successful businesses.
Create a spreadsheet of business ideas that come to you. It can be anything! Anything of your interest – jewellery-making, make-up, Instagram, coding, social media marketing, web design, voiceover, dropshipping, freelancing, saving the planet, food, cooking videos, travel, electronics or art!
Start researching what is available locally, and if there is a niche that you can cater to. See how many people are present that can cater to the same niche and understanding how their business functions to get an idea on how yours would. Performing this initial research and market analyses should complement your soul search into what business you would like to start with.
This can all be done for free!
#2 Start with What You Already Have
If you are not sure where to begin with but still want to have a business to make money in order to gain some savings/investment capital or for financial empowerment, then look at what you have.
If you have a spare room in your apartment, you can start an AirBnB business. Simply head to the AirBnB website and put a listing there for free. AirBnB handles the marketing. Or if you have a car, you can rent it out. If you have some shoes/clothes that you don’t wear anymore or a furniture that is still in good condition but you don’t want it around anymore, then why not sell it on FaceBook marketplace or eBay?
If you are familiar with your city and feel safe bringing people around, then why not be a tour guide and get paid for it? AirBnB has started a whole new section of services called ‘Experience’, which allows locals to provide a tour guide-like experience for others. You can also try showaround.com.
All this can be done for free and you will be a business owner of your own.
#3 Upskill
With the growth of the digital world, there is a huge demand for online business services. You can start upskilling by understanding how to manage social media accounts, how to manage a WordPress website, how to become an SEO content writer or even how to code!
Through these skills, you can start you own business on freelancing platforms like Upwork, Fiverr or Freelancer.com. The business models of these platforms is structured in a way that it takes a cut of your business earnings, but only so it can do the marketing and website maintenance for you.
Since it is a service-based business, you can start doing this with absolutely zero dollars!
#4 Blog
Blogging is a great way to start earning money and become an independent business owner. If you have a favourite topic, start writing about it! Blogging services like Blogger (www.blogger.com) allow you to start blogging for absolutely free!
Be creative with what you blog about – you can include photos, links and videos and who knows – you might even start vlogging, which can be another lucrative business.
Once you start a blog, companies can pay you to either write for them, or feature a product or service of theirs if you have significant amount of web traffic.
#5 Growing your Ideas
Remember the research mentioned as the first point? If you have successfully thought of a business idea, and want to wholeheartedly commit to it, then welcome to the entrepreneur life! What you can start doing is drafting up a business plan. Start understanding how to market your business, who your target market is, and how can you help add value in their lives.
Once you have that all sorted and written out, it is safe to say that you have some sort of a grounding for a sales pitch. From this point on, if you need funding, it is entirely possible. There are many grants and funds available in many economies for first-time business owners. Once again, conduct some research.
Another strategy you can employ is to reach out to local Angel investors and impress them with your idea. You’d be surprised how supportive they can be! Many Angel investors are women who want to empower other women with the ability to run their own business.
We are now living in an amazing time with the growth of technology. This has presented to us bountiful number of opportunities. This is something to be truly grateful and appreciative of, as we can capitalise on these opportunities to start our business out of thin air.
Take the time to understand what services or products your business can offer, and understand the market trends.
I can guarantee you that with these tips, you can start 2020 with a change to your perspective on starting a business.
Let the energy of this powerful new year inspire you to start your new beginnings!
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