The number one thing most people point at as a stumbling block to starting a business is always money.

In fact, I’ve had people with such notion interrupt me whenever I make mention of the fact that, “there are various businesses you can start without capital.”

Before I go into disclosing few of these businesses, I need you to first have an open mind by getting rid of any preconceived notion of business capital.

Just because you have not tried a thing or it failed when you did doesn’t mean that it is impossible. Harvey Mackay authored a book which he titled, “Dig Your Well Before You Thirst.”

That book title is a profound statement in itself, that anyone who is intentional about succeeding in anything must be deliberate about creating options, creating a good relationship with people, especially those with capacity to provide the strategic supports that will make the options work. Three examples of businesses you can start with this strategy even when you don’t have cash capital includes:

Sell other people’s products

You could either approach the owners of the products of your choice directly or go to trade shows and meet as many as possible in one spot. There are lots of business exhibitions taking place every week where you can pitch for this opportunity.

How do you do this? Find someone you know who is a key distributor or an importer; tell him or her that you want to represent them as a sales representative at the exhibition; from there you can launch out to represent them in market locations where the products are not easily available.

You can go online and conduct a research about the previous exhibition.

Get good photos or videos that you can show as evidence of sales opportunity at the previous exhibition so that you can talk the product owners into paying for participation and also give you the goods at a discounted rate.

But the product owners would still be in the custody of the products at the exhibition place since you did not deposit money for the quantity you intend to sale.

At this point, the ball is now in your court to sell enough of the product that will convince the product owner to take you serious and expand the scope of the opportunity.

Driver Hiring Business

The other day I was in a meeting somewhere when a friend told me that she is desperately in need of a driver. Another friend overheard our conversation and quickly indicated that he also needs a driver.

What is common among people in need of this service is that they are looking for persons with integrity and safe not that drivers are scarce. If you can create a trust and security around this service you can decide to create a pool of drivers, and you are in business at no cost.

This type of business can always be created across many services including baby care, laundry, car cleaning at corporate car parks, etc. Before you think of the cost of training them you just have to hire only trained ones for a start.

Remember you’re not teaching them how to drive. Besides basic training should be what you can train yourself for if you don’t already know and simply impart same to them. The basic training includes personal hygiene, ethics and etiquette, how to read signs correctly.

Also the business should be run online but you may have to look for a friend or relation who has an office you can use as outpost, just a table space. The source of income in this business is the salaries that are paid through you and you take out a percentage or portion and pay the drivers the salary you agreed.

For instance, if the salary you agreed to pay your drivers is N40,000, then you should be charging your clients N50,000.

Drop Shipping

I interviewed a young man not too long ago. He told me how he started his tyre business.

He went with his aunt to buy a tyre, only for them to realise at the point when the vulcanizer was about fixing the tyre that they bought a 2010 tyre at the price of 2015 tyre.

That led the young man to start doing a personal study about tyre. After his findings, he partnered with a friend whose father sells tyre and together they designed a website where people can buy tyre online.

The young men have no goods of their own, they only pick up tyre from the shop of his partner’s father and supply whenever they have customer’s order. All they do is just the job of a sales man: market a product via their website and make sales.

What do people need around you that you can find a distributor of that product and be the sales man for online. Drop Shipping is simply the act of taking someone’s goods and drop off for the buyer and make a simple margin. (Vanguard)

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