Myth About Business
Entrepreneur! It seems like the life of an entrepreneur is so interesting. Indeed it is filled with never ending excitement. Just like anyone, the life of an entrepreneur has its ups and downs. But then who is to say what is ups and what is downs. Most entrepreneurs see the downs as ups. It is just a matter of perspective. Entrepreneurs are able to see the downs as an opportunity or a learning experience, thus, the downs become the ups.
Being an entrepreneur for 5 years, not a long time though; I may be able to share my experiences with you. I believe I earn the right to crash some of the myth about business. There are too many "fact" about business that are taught by non-business people. Some of these "fact" are simply not true.
Myth - You need capital to start a business
Total crap. I want to tell you, you don't need capital to start a business. You do need creative juices to start a business. Think about all the successful entrepreneur you can think of, how many of them start their business with a lot of money?
I started my business with only $20. I didn't even pay for the registration of the business. I also imported products from China without coming up with any upfront fee. This makes me believe strongly that you do not need any money to start a business. Whenever someone told me he can't start his business because he didn't have enough money, I always asked, "why do you need money to start a business?" In my belief system, start a business with money doesn't make sense to me anymore.
Not only me, many of my friends are able to start their business with very little money - as little as $100. Why are my friends and me are able to start our business with so little money?
Very simple, we do exactly opposite what the professors are teaching. What most business books teach is to buy then sell. We did the opposite, we sell then buy. When I decide to sell a new product, I will not but first. I will go around selling it first, taking order from prospective customers. Once I got all the orders, then I will buy the products. This way I minimize my risk and I do not need any upfront cash to buy the products. I collect the money first upon order, then use the money to buy the product.
When a person says he needs money to start his business, actually the big chuck of money is not used in buying products. Most of the money is used in renting office space, buying fixed assets like computers, printers, furniture etc. After renting the office, they spend huge amount to renovate the office, wanting to make it look like a big company. In their mind they are thinking, "the company must looks good, should have the necessary equipment before you can start a business." Did they get this mindset from school?
I started my business without an office, still I am able to close deal with my corporate clients. A friend rented an office without paying rental and he got all his furniture for free. You bet he saved a huge chuck of cash. I met a gentleman last month, he just couldn't believe that I can start a business with only $20. He kept saying he need to rent an office, buy this equipment and that furniture. He figured he needs about $30,000 to start his business.
I ever rented a booth for free to sell my product. In fact before I started selling my products, I already make money. It's all about thinking and doing differently. I must clarify, everything that I did was legal, ethical and moral.
Another of my friend started selling her service before she registered the business, get an office and open a bank account. Her clients issued cheques to her before she opened the corporate bank account. Then she took the money to rent office, buy furniture etc. She started with basically $0.
But I must emphasize this - deliver what you promise. When you take other people's money, you must deliver the product or service to them. Integrity is so important in building a successful business. You would want to deliver what you promise so that your clients will come back to you.
The point is you do not need money to start a business, instead you need creativity to start a business. As a matter of fact, I believe everyone can do what I did. It's just that you may be so into their pre-fixed perception of needing lots of money to start a business, therefore, you are stuck in your current situation. As long as you are willing to break away from the old mindset, you will be on your way to starting a successful business.
Being an entrepreneur for 5 years, not a long time though; I may be able to share my experiences with you. I believe I earn the right to crash some of the myth about business. There are too many "fact" about business that are taught by non-business people. Some of these "fact" are simply not true.
Myth - You need capital to start a business
Total crap. I want to tell you, you don't need capital to start a business. You do need creative juices to start a business. Think about all the successful entrepreneur you can think of, how many of them start their business with a lot of money?
I started my business with only $20. I didn't even pay for the registration of the business. I also imported products from China without coming up with any upfront fee. This makes me believe strongly that you do not need any money to start a business. Whenever someone told me he can't start his business because he didn't have enough money, I always asked, "why do you need money to start a business?" In my belief system, start a business with money doesn't make sense to me anymore.
Not only me, many of my friends are able to start their business with very little money - as little as $100. Why are my friends and me are able to start our business with so little money?
Very simple, we do exactly opposite what the professors are teaching. What most business books teach is to buy then sell. We did the opposite, we sell then buy. When I decide to sell a new product, I will not but first. I will go around selling it first, taking order from prospective customers. Once I got all the orders, then I will buy the products. This way I minimize my risk and I do not need any upfront cash to buy the products. I collect the money first upon order, then use the money to buy the product.
When a person says he needs money to start his business, actually the big chuck of money is not used in buying products. Most of the money is used in renting office space, buying fixed assets like computers, printers, furniture etc. After renting the office, they spend huge amount to renovate the office, wanting to make it look like a big company. In their mind they are thinking, "the company must looks good, should have the necessary equipment before you can start a business." Did they get this mindset from school?
I started my business without an office, still I am able to close deal with my corporate clients. A friend rented an office without paying rental and he got all his furniture for free. You bet he saved a huge chuck of cash. I met a gentleman last month, he just couldn't believe that I can start a business with only $20. He kept saying he need to rent an office, buy this equipment and that furniture. He figured he needs about $30,000 to start his business.
I ever rented a booth for free to sell my product. In fact before I started selling my products, I already make money. It's all about thinking and doing differently. I must clarify, everything that I did was legal, ethical and moral.
Another of my friend started selling her service before she registered the business, get an office and open a bank account. Her clients issued cheques to her before she opened the corporate bank account. Then she took the money to rent office, buy furniture etc. She started with basically $0.
But I must emphasize this - deliver what you promise. When you take other people's money, you must deliver the product or service to them. Integrity is so important in building a successful business. You would want to deliver what you promise so that your clients will come back to you.
The point is you do not need money to start a business, instead you need creativity to start a business. As a matter of fact, I believe everyone can do what I did. It's just that you may be so into their pre-fixed perception of needing lots of money to start a business, therefore, you are stuck in your current situation. As long as you are willing to break away from the old mindset, you will be on your way to starting a successful business.
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