September 3, 2012

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With little help from a seemingly stagnant unemployment rate and recent graduates flooding an already meek job market, more people are turning to entrepreneurship to gain control of their financial future.

Starting a new business comes with various challenges, amongst them being access to capital. Seeking a sufficient amount of financing to launch an early-stage startup and support your business goals is essential to long-term success. But, if you have limited access to funds — where can you start?

Here are five ways to start a business with little to no money in the bank:

1. Partner Up

Determine your business’s niche or specialty and develop a partnership with an already existing company that your business can compliment. For example, a graphic/web designer can align itself with a marketing company to enhance packages for potential marketing clients. This gives you the ability to leverage a pre-existing infrastructure and to add value to another company as you grow your own.

2. Outsource

If you’re working with tangible products, a startup can eliminate the need for capital by outsourcing products on a per-use basis. A company can wait until their product is purchased and then use that money to then manufacture the product.

If you decide to go this route, ensure that you have a plan in place to manage the balancing act associated with sales, inventory management and receivables.

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