True or false: starting your own business requires that you either have a lot of cash in the bank or that you have access to a lot of capital?
If you answered true, you are not alone. For instance, in a recent interview, Russ Ruffino shared that his biggest challenge when starting Clients on Demand—a now multimillion dollar company—was a lack of capital. How did he overcome this?
Because Ruffino didn’t have a lot of startup funds, and because he also didn’t believe in taking anyone else’s money and giving up ownership in his company, he says that his only option left was to be more resourceful.
In fact, Ruffino helps his clients do this very same thing by focusing on making more sales and being as lean as they can possibly be. This enables them to grow their company without having to rely on outside investors or lenders.
It goes back to the age-old adage that ‘necessity is the mother of invention.’ In other words, if you don’t have the monies you need, by default, you are forced to come up with other avenues for building and growing your business.
If you struggle in this area, there are a few things you can do to become more resourceful, starting today.
Resourcefulness Tip #1: Stay Open Minded
For instance, Hiring & Empowering Solutions suggests that it helps to stay open minded. Consider all of the possibilities that exist for growing your business when you aren’t starting with an oversized bank account before you start to discount whether they will or will not work. One of these may spark an idea that will lead you exactly where you want to go.
Resourcefulness Tip #2: Believe in Yourself
This solution-based company also stresses the importance of believing in yourself as you set out to grow your company. Being confident in your abilities can help you overcome this financial obstacle (and any other obstacles for that matter) Remind yourself that you will prevail no matter what type of hurdle is placed in your way.
Resourcefulness Tip #3: Turn Innovation Inward
Harvard Business Review adds that there is great power in “turning innovation inward.” This involves focusing on improving the old while also creating the new using whatever resources you have on hand. It’s kind of like fixing your child’s toy when all you have is a paper clip and a piece of string. With enough ingenuity and thought, you very well may come up with a solution that makes that toy workable yet again.
Resourcefulness Tip #4: Turn to Your Staff
Harvard also recommends relying on the resourcefulness of your staff to help you bring in more money and cut unnecessary costs until you’re a little more self-sufficient. Sometimes they can see things that you cannot, giving you a different perspective as you work to find lower-cost solutions without a lot of startup capital.
Resourcefulness Tip #5: Create Positive Partnerships
Secret Entourage shares that another way to be resourceful is to invest in business-based partnerships to help reduce marketing costs. By working with companies with similar clients, you’re able to reach your target audience without paying a fortune to do it. This partnership may consist of splitting costs on one advertising campaign or by working together where you market for each other on your own respective platforms.
Starting your own business doesn’t have to mean that you need a lot of cash up front. As long as you’re resourceful, you can come up with the funding required to build and grow a profitable business, and these are just a few ideas to consider.
