Starting a Business with Nothing

I get 8-10 requests per week from people needing start-up money. And yes, capital is more difficult to get now than even 2 years ago. So, does that mean it’s impossible to launch a great idea? Absolutely not!!

According to the most recent Bureau of Census data, these are the figures for money needed for new businesses:

1% needed $1,000,000 or more
14% needed $25,000 -- $999,999
10% needed $10,000 -- $24,999
9% needed $5,000 -- $9,999
34% needed less than $5,000
26% did not require any money at all!

This shows us that 69% of all new businesses need less than $10,000 to get started. 70% of the people on the street say they would like to start their own business. Why don’t they?

I once worked with a gentleman who wanted to have his own antique business but had no money. We were able to get an option on a lease for a warehouse with no money in advance. He then divided the space into 74 spaces which he leased to vendors, collecting first and last month’s rent. With that money in hand, he finalized the lease, did $20,000 in improvements, kept 3 spaces for his own merchandise, collected 10% commission on everyone’s sales and launched himself into a very positive cash flow from day one.

Another guy bought an orange grove, using the existing oranges on the trees as his down payment. Another purchased an old estate house, contracting to sell the antique furniture as his down payment. Several years ago I bought a house on a Saturday morning, gave the owner $3000, took over the loan, did some cosmetic improvements, put it back on the market and sold it within 48 hours for a $21,000 profit.