You want to start a small business eh? One problem you have is that you don’t have much money, or any money to be able to cover the startup costs, but you still want to be your own boss, still want to be a so called entrepreneurs – so what can you do? Here is some help, a quick guide how to start a small business with no money in Canada.

How To Start a Small Business With No Money

When deciding to start a small business, there are certain things that you simply must do to ensure success of your business.

These include; having a valid business idea, creating a business plan, dedicating time and effort to the business and of course, having money for your business.

So no matter if you have a million dollars ready to start your small business or if you have zero in your bank account and want to start up with no money – the idea and the requirements are the same.

You must have a business idea.

A business plan will be needed.

You have to dedicate time to your business.

Money! You have to have it or figure out a way to get it.

Those with a ton of money – simply pay for it and get it done, but you want to figure out how to start a small business with no money, so things are a bit different and you may have to get down and dirty to get the same job done – but it’s doable.

Is it possible to start up with no money?

It is possible – but not very easy.

You can Google it and you will see websites talking about starting your business under a $100 bucks. But really? How?

They tell you you can be a clothing designer, a jewelry maker, photographer, handyman, landscaper, marketing agency, app developer…and more

But realistically if you plan on making any money, you need some money.

Just to register your business let’s say in Ontario, it’s $60.

Gas money, business cards, website, a camera..etc – it all costs money

So what is the way around it? How can you start start a small business with absolutely no money?

Figure out what you want to do:

The first step of starting a small business is knowing what you want to do. It may be a bit hard to figure out a valid business idea if you’re thinking how to start a small business with no money, but for the time being, let’s take that out of the equation.

What is it that you want to do?

List out your skills, what you’re good at, what you want to do and come up with a few ideas.

This is not a overnight process so be sure to take your time, think it through, do the research and pick one.

Create a business plan:

A typical business plan, if you hire a professional to write it for you can cost between $1,500 to $5,000 depending on the industry and complexity of the business.

There are tools such as the Business Plan Builder Tool which can also be used to get a plan done for under $500.

Most people starting a business would simply write their own plan and while this can take some time and be frustrating, it can be done.

If you wanted to know how to start a small business with no money, your business plan (writing it yourself) is the top priority.

No short-cuts:

Starting a business with no money is extremely hard.

Think about it, every single little thing like creating a logo, creating a website, getting business cards done, any research, license registration..etc it all costs money.

While most of it can be done if you have the time and patience without spending a penny, it’s time consuming and frustrating to say the lest.

But it can be done.

Getting money for your business:

The last step of how to start a small business with no money is to get money.

Funny right?

Well, you will need money sooner or later but you’re in luck – government funding is an excellent source of funding for startups.

Funding exists to help individuals startup, to pay for hiring of staff, training support, marketing/advertising costs, purchase of tools and equipment…etc

In fact, there are certain programs that can fund employees pays up to 52 weeks! Insane right?

Money without having to have money to start with.

The government of Canada has hundreds of funding programs which come in the form of government grants, government loans and tax breaks which one can use to help fund their small business.

If you require help with your funding search, you can consider using the Funding Database which lists all available funding programs.

The problems of starting a business with no money:

While you can start a business with little to no money, there are certain concerns regarding this as well.

Most business people would warn you “don’t start a business without any money in your bank”, as starting and running a business becomes costly.

While this is true, government funding can definitely be of help.

There are plenty of individuals who have started a small business that has turned successful without any money but time was a major commitment – be sure you have it.