You’re ready to start an online business, but you have a limited fund of $500. So the question is, is it possible to start an online business with just $500? Yes, it absolutely is possible. If you happen to have entrepreneurial aspirations and a tight budget, then keep on reading below to find out how you can start your online business today.
Live Somewhere More Affordable
This particular tip won’t apply to everyone but will apply best to those who currently aren’t tied down to their current place of living. If you’re someone who isn’t employed full-time and you have the ability to up and move, then I would actually recommend it.
I have a friend who was living in New York City, and he wanted to start an online business but only had a budget of just around $500 to start off with. He realized that to start his business and make ends meet, he wouldn’t be able to continue living in the Big Apple. That friend of mine actually made the decision to move overseas for a few months and into a country that cost him substantially less to live in than New York.
Living in an affordable country allowed him to launch his business while also being able to provide himself with a comfortable space.
Make Your Skills A Service
Before starting your business, you should really consider what you’re passionate about and how you could use that to bring value to both your clients and to yourself. For example, if you’re great at teaching or coaching about a specific topic, then you could create online courses to sell to students in all corners of the globe.
My friend, in particular, has a background in PR and Marketing and that was something he was really good at and very passionate about. So while he was living overseas, he launched his very own marketing agency. He used both his skills and passion to help companies improve their own internal marketing efforts, and that is how he currently makes his living. When he started, he needed very limited resources besides his laptop and his knowledge in marketing.
Invest In A Website
You can start your online business with just a website. Using my friend as an example again, when he started his own business he invested money (out of his budget) into a WordPress website with a customized theme and then also made business cards.
In addition to his marketing agency, he ended up opening a second business which was an e-commerce dropshipping company. With a bit of money and within a very short amount of time, he opened up a Shopify store, set-up the payment system, found the products he wanted to offer on his website, created the content and got his business up and going.
If you’re low on money then really consider investing your budget into opening an online store or investing in another website for your business.
Networking Is Key
Networking is probably something you’ve been told to do hundreds of times, but that’s because it is still one of the most effective ways to get your business going. Invest some money into networking with people who are in the same industry. Go in and ask lots of questions, figure out what the major problems in your industry are and then you can invest part of your budget into developing a solution for those problems.
You should also use networking as a marketing technique to bring in new clients, as it really is one of the most low-cost ways to drive your business in the early stages. Be resourceful and use your initial funds to connect with people who are in the same or a similar industry that you’re interested in.