By Guest Author Sharon Wagner
When it comes to starting a business, securing funding is one of the major challenges entrepreneurs face. While there are a host of avenues, such as venture capitalists and banks, which one can turn to, each of these entail an element of risk and can also have an influence on decisions you can make for your business. But not all businesses require large investments, and in this article by Coyote Worx, we’ll explore the best business ideas to pursue with little to no capital and how to turn them into success.
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Low-capital Business Ideas
Here are three of the best low-cost business ideas to consider for new entrepreneurs:
Dropshipping/E-commerce Store: With a dropshipping business model, you will act as an intermediary between suppliers and customers. Your responsibility will be to create and manage an e-commerce store, promote products and make sales. Product manufacturing and fulfillment will be managed by your partners, who will charge a commission. However, this is one of the easiest, low-risk, low-capital businesses to consider.
Service-based Freelancing: According to research, around 90 million people in the US are expected to work as freelancers by 2028, and with more and more businesses pivoting to a digital-first approach, the demand for specialized services such as blog writing, graphic design, website design is increasing as well. Established freelance platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr are the best places to land gigs.
Online Consulting: For those with years of expertise under their belt in a particular field or profession, starting a consulting business is a great option. You can pick your clients, choose your hours and work across industries to help fellow entrepreneurs grow their businesses.
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Use Low-Cost Marketing Strategies
To help you maintain your commitment towards a low-cost approach, here are the best marketing strategies to promote your business:
Utilize Social Media Marketing: Organic promotion on social media sites such as Instagram, TikTok, etc., is absolutely free! Additionally, well-designed targeted promotions for as low as $50 can drive significant traffic to your website/online store.
Push Referrals: When it comes to growing your customer base organically, referrals are the way to go. Sometimes you’ll need to incentivize customers to refer, and according to SCORE, gift cards and bill credits are two of the popular ways to do so.
Create an Informative Blog: 81% of shoppers conduct online research before purchasing products. Creating an informative blog is a great way to organically pull customers to your business, establish yourself as a trusted resource and develop brand awareness and loyalty.
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Utilize a Content Management System (CMS)
Regardless of the business idea you choose to pursue, using a CMS will help to streamline your digital presence, easily manage your business website and store customer data.
Ease of Content Creation: A CMS enables non-technical team members to create and edit website pages, blog posts, and other digital content effortlessly. Additionally, you can integrate socials with the CMS for automatic promotions of content across all channels.
Cost-effectiveness: While most CMS charges a subscription fee, it also helps to eliminate numerous middlemen, helping to reduce costs in the long run. You can also download plugins or themes to manage, export, and clean data, along with updating your website’s design and functionality.
Here is one of the best CMS options to choose from.
Starting a business with minimal capital is challenging but feasible. The first step is to opt for low-investment ideas like dropshipping, freelancing, or selling digital products. Additionally, utilize cost-effective marketing channels such as social media, blogs, and referrals to reach your audience. Lastly, remember to implement a CMS that streamlines content creation and collaboration and cuts costs.