5 Ways to Start a New Business for $100
**UPDATED IN AUGUST 2016**
We asked Natalie Sisson of The Suitcase Entrepreneur to share her thoughts on how to start a new business on the cheap. Here's what she had to say...
A while back, Heather Allard wrote a great article on 5 Ways To Start A Business For Under $1000. She essentially showed you how to start a new business for $953 and shared the products, services and tips she used, that would have saved her $52,346 if she’d known that when starting her first business. It’s an excellent article for the sheer insights she provides. And with 100+ comments, it’s clearly an important topic for anyone starting a new business. We all want to spend the least amount of money and spend it on the right things, that will deliver the most impact, right out of the gate.
My challenge to you today is to start a new business with $100.
It may not initially be world changing. It may not be the next Facebook, or Spanx, or Oprah type of success. But it could change lives, whether it's one or one thousand of them. First, you have to get started. And today's the day. There are exactly one hundred days until the end of this year, so let’s take that $100 and start something special.
Get started
I know as a Mogul Mom reader, you are naturally an action taker, right? You’re someone who is keen to up-skill, to expand your capabilities and to be more strategic with your everyday efforts. So, let’s consider you want to start something new today and launch it in 100 days or less for $100 or less.
Here are 5 ways you could do it.
1. Kickstart Your Idea
If you’ve not tapped into the new phenomenon called crowdfunding, then now is a good time.Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Gofundme are great platforms that'll help you get funded. They work on the premise that people who believe in what you’re doing, will give their money to you, in return for rewards – like the early release of your product, or one of a hundred limited prints of your master painting.
2. Invest In The Best
I’m talking about the best books. You don’t always need to spend thousands on programs or courses if you are simply looking for some brilliant advice and strategies. For under $100, you could buy the top 10 best selling business books on Amazon that will fuel your fire and give you priceless ideas, strategies and tips to help you build something great, right from the start. Here are some of our favorites. You can also check out some free courses on CreativeLive.
3. Build An Online Storefront
No one will ever find the great work you’re doing or the products + services you’ve created if they can’t find you. While word of mouth referrals are worth their weight in gold, there’s never been an easier time than now to get online and in front of a global audience for less. Buy a domain name from Namecheap for as low as .88.Then, sign up with Wordpress, free.Next, get hosting [We recommend Siteground]. Shopify and Weebly also make it easy to open an online store by providing all the tools and help you need. Both let you try it out for free. [Click here to get our exclusive Shopify discount.] Next, get a custom Wordpress theme from Studiopress for about $35.
3. Start a newsletter
TMM recommends any of these popular providers. Some offer free plans:
4. Advertise The Right Way
Advertising doesn't cost a fortune anymore. Now you can get in front of millions of people for around $10 a day with a carefully crafted Facebook advertising campaign. Other affordable advertising options include Vimeo and YouTube, where you can get around 1,000 views of your video for $40 and AdRoll, which will show your ad around the web for $60 per month. While advertising alone won’t bring you new clients for your business, it will certainly help reach a huge audience of potential ones. And, it’s targeted and measureable, which will help you get better results.
5. Buy A Brain
I’m talking about taking an expert out for coffee, so you can get inside their mind, learn from their mistakes and model their success. You can buy a lot of coffee for $100. :)
I hope my article has shown you creative ways to start a new business or initiative with $100 or less. It’s simpler than you think. The tools and services we have at our disposal now make it quicker and easier to get to market than ever before. All you really need is action.
That’s $100 well spent!
What are you going to start today with your $100?