Toll Free: 1-877-695-7388

GTA: (647) 699-2838

Search Engine People
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • CRO
  • Display
  • Blog
  • Why Us
  • Contact
  • Join Our Team
  • Get A Quote

Toll Free: 1-877-695-7388

GTA: (647) 699-2838

Creating Your Company Using $0

Stephen Moyers | September 30th, 2016
Tweet38
Share29
Share
Pin
67 Shares

zero-dollar-startup

If someone told you that your startup could cost you nothing to get off the ground, you would think it was a joke. It may sound impossible, but it truly isn’t with careful planning, a pinch of talent, and a lot of hard work.

Many entrepreneurs launch startups without spending a dime on the foundation of their business, using a little insider knowledge and elbow grease.

You can join the league of business owners who built their companies starting from scratch by following these four tips.

Believe In A Zero-dollar Investment

Just because you have no money to invest in your company doesn’t mean it’s a lost cause.

When you believe in your idea, you can make it work with a zero-dollar investment if you have the confidence and willpower to put in all the work it will need. There are many free tools for the eager entrepreneur if you know where to look, and that includes the tools to build your website and market your product.

Start by building a website. No matter what product or service you offer, you’ll need a website. You can build one at no cost, at least initially, and spend money improving it once you’ve already made a profit. There are step-by-step guides for beginners available online if you don’t know where to start, or you can jump right in and figure it out as you go along.

Today’s websites have state-of-the-art design techniques such as responsive layouts and video content, but you can start small with a basic design. The main point is to have a place where your consumers can learn about your product or service, place an order, and contact your company. Once you’ve established your company and made some cash, you can redesign and improve your website for better optimization.

Another zero-dollar investment opportunity comes in the form of using a service-based business to fund a product-based business. If you have a talent or skill that you can use to trade business opportunities, capitalize on it. For example, if you know someone with an empty office space, trade your computer troubleshooting skills for a month’s rent. If your company can provide a service initially, use it to build up to the product you’d like to sell.

Capitalize On Your Online Opportunities

Besides creating a free website, you can capitalize on other online opportunities, as well. Building your brand doesn’t have to come from expensive marketing strategies. While big data and analytics are helpful to a business in the long run, you can build your brand using your own social media know-how at the start.

Begin by identifying your target audience. Ask yourself what type of person would be most likely to buy your product or service. Look at your audience’s age range, demographics, location-specific targeting, and income target. If your company offers high-end web design services, for instance, your target audience will lean more toward the mid- to high-income range than the low-income range.

Facebook_DemographicsSource: The Demographics of Social Media Users[/caption

According to Pew Research’s demographic charts, if your target audience trends toward women 18 to 29 years old, Facebook would be a good choice. Consider Instagram or Snapchat as well for a younger audience, or LinkedIn if you’re targeting an older demographic. Understanding which social media platforms your target audience uses can help you establish your brand without spending anything in marketing. Simply create a profile with your brand’s name and logo, and start introducing people to your company.

Keep your personal and business social media accounts separate. Otherwise, you risk looking unprofessional, and consumers may not take you seriously. Social media marketing is not the place to push your products blatantly. Consumers on social media sites want to see the personal side of your brand, not the sales side. Let your brand’s personality shine by posting photos of yourself and your product, offering something of value to consumers with your posts. Social media matters to startups, and you can begin marketing on every major platform without paying a penny.

If you don’t know what you’re doing on social media, however, it may be wise to skip this step until you can afford to hire someone who does know what they’re doing. Fumbling around social media sites will hurt you, not help you. Social media marketing is a complex science, and if you don’t possess the natural talent for it, you may be better off sticking with traditional marketing. Print ads still have the power to reach your audience, as do email marketing campaigns.

Try Public Funding Outlets

Thanks to the rise of major crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter, entrepreneurs have the opportunity to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars without putting in a cent of their own money. Crowdfunding doesn’t guarantee a response, but great ideas are bound to see success eventually. If you believe your idea is truly great, entering it on a crowdfunding site may have a big payoff.

Differentiate your idea from competitors by showing the value of your intellectual property. A successful startup gives the public something they’re missing, a solution to a current problem, or fills a gap in the niche market. Uber made the taxi more comfortable and convenient. Airbnb made traveling much cheaper. Your product or service should fill a need. Capitalize on this fact by making your idea the strongpoint of your pitch to investors.

If you’re confident that your product or service is one that people will want, investors will listen. It may take time and hard work, but if you believe in your company, then others will, too. You can consider a business incubator program, sponsored by local organizations, or an accelerator that provides funding. Accelerators expect a rapid return on investment, however, so be prepared to deliver.

Nail The Investment Pitch

Pitching your idea to investors can be grueling work, and often quite a blow to your self-esteem. You’ve worked hard to get your startup off the ground, and hearing that someone doesn’t believe in it enough to put money into it can be difficult. You have to remain optimistic, however, and remember that a “no” isn’t personal – it’s business. These are some of the best tips to help you pitch your idea:

  • Tell a compelling story to engage your investors.
  • Share what makes your product or service unique (i.e., the problem your product or service solves).
  • Build credibility by listing your previous successes. Talk about a social media platform that’s generated a lot of buzz about your brand, your successful prototype, and other accomplishments.
  • Narrow your target audience. Pitching an idea that the whole world will want is too broad, and will turn investors away.
  • Explain how you plan to reach your customers. This plan should include the costs of marketing efforts.
  • Touch on your competition and explain why your product or service is more valuable.
  • Present a solid financial projection. Your projection should extend three to five years into the future and include supporting statistics.

If you nail your presentation in front of the right people, you could acquire partial or even total funding for your startup – and all you invested was your time and effort into building the perfect business pitch.

Hand-Picked Related Articles:

  • Ways to Gather Start-Up Analytics (And Use Them)
  • 5 Growth Hacking Traffic Ideas and Examples
  • Growth Marketing & Traditional Marketing: What’s The Difference

* Adapted lead image: Public Domain Dedication (CC0) Public Domain, pixabay.com via getstencil.com

Tweet38
Share29
Share
Pin
67 Shares
Posted in Marketing, Web Design

About the Author: Stephen Moyers

Stephen Moyers is an out of the heart writer voicing out his take on various topics of social media, web design, mobile apps, online marketing, entrepreneurship, startups and much more in the cutting edge digital world. He is associated with SPINX Digital a Los Angeles web design company & digital marketing agency. When he is not writing, he can be found traveling outdoors with his camera. You can follow Stephen on Twitter @StephenMoyers

SPINX Digital

2 thoughts on “Creating Your Company Using $0”

  1. Omar Saady says:
    October 3, 2016 at 2:31 pm

    Hello Stephen

    Thanks for sharing this well-organized post
    I recently received a question from one of my subscribers asking me if there’s a way to start a business on the internet without having to invest any money.

    The answer is yes after reading your valuable post. and really you could perfectly break down exactly how any one can create his successful online business without spending a penny. (I will share your post with my subscriber)

    All my best,
    Omar

  2. Bahtiyar says:
    October 11, 2016 at 2:20 am

    Hello, Stephen. Thank you for an amazing post.I agree with you that it is absolutely possible to make money online from zero. To be honest, I made my first online money without any financial investments. I published my books on Amazon, and thus, I started making money online. Today, I have diverse types of online enterprises. However, I made my first money without any fin. investments. The only thing I invested was my knowledge. Unfortunately, there are millions of people who do not even believe that it is possible to make money online.
    Thanks for a useful article, Stephen. I hope it will help thousands of people worldwide who do not believe in making money with no investments!

Comments are closed.

Recent Posts

  • Maximizing Your E-Commerce Sales:
    A CRO Audit Guide
  • Movin’ On Up! Why Migrating to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) Should be a Priority
  • A Year in Review: The Digital Marketing Trends That Defined 2021
  • The Basics of Video Marketing
  • Just How Much Do Google Reviews Impact Your SEO Ranking?

Categories

  • Analytics & ROI Analysis
  • Company News
  • Content
  • Conversion Optimization
  • CRO
  • Display Advertising/RTB
  • Email Marketing
  • En Español
  • En Français
  • Inbound Marketing
  • Lead Nurture & Marketing Automation
  • Local Search
  • Marketing
  • Mobile
  • Partnership Marketing
  • PPC
  • PR
  • SEO
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Web Design

Additional Posts

13 WordPress Conversion Testing Plugins

September 28th, 2016 | by Courtney Danyel

Funny: Humor Can Work In PPC Ads

September 27th, 2016 | by Hazel Mae Pan

How To Easily Optimize Internal Linking With A1 Website Analyzer

September 26th, 2016 | by Ruud Hein

LET'S TALK

Need more information or want to get in touch?

Get in touch!
  • SEO
  • SEM
  • Display
  • Blog
  • Why Us
  • Join Our Team
  • Contact Us
  • Local SEO
  • Small Business SEO
  • Enterprise SEO
  • International SEO

LOCATION

1305 Pickering Parkway,
5th Floor Pickering, L1V 3P2

PHONE

Toll Free: 1-877-695-7388
Greater Toronto Area: (647) 699-2838

Social

© Search Engine People Inc. 2023 – Canada’s Top Digital Agency
© SEP 2023 – A Search Engine People Company | Privacy Policy

Search Engine People