Dan W Bliss

Today, we sent a newsletter with my article entitled Being Broke is Not an Excuse.  The results were fascinating.

It seems that an article like this can strike entrepreneurs in two ways:

1. The article can inspire or motivate them to get moving on their businesses.  Put the excuses aside and get to work!

2. The article can frustrate them or cause them to become bitter.

I was very surprised to see how polarizing an article can be.  People from the frustrated camp argued that broke with $0.00 is paralyzing.  That, in fact, a business can’t be started with $0.00.

The optimists fired back with more encouraging views.

In the comments below the article, I felt that I had to address the intent of the article.  Of course, people need food, transportation and even phone or internet access to get a business started.  The point is that you don’t need millions (or even thousands) of dollars to start a business.

Frankly, it might be an interesting experiment to start out homeless with no money, and see if it is possible to start a profitable business.

Hmmm…  Let me think about that one!

Take 'em to lunch!

When I was in my mid-twenties, I was unable to convince one of my best friends to help me renovate my first restaurant.  For the life of me, I simply couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t help.  I later realized that he was a bad influence.

He was a good friend.  He would do anything for me if I ran into hard times.  However, he wasn’t there to give me a boost whenever I pursued a dream.  He was fun to be around, but he had an aura of negativity.  His humor was often based on bringing others down.  He was holding me back.

I made the difficult decision to stop spending time with this friend, and my career has prospered ever since.

Over the years, I have become keenly aware of the people that surround me.  I have learned how to surround myself with positive people.  Guess what….. most successful people make the same assessment about the people in their lives.

I believe that a positive attitude breeds success, which leads to wealth.  Becoming a positive and successful person can happen in an instant.  JUST DECIDE.  As you work toward your goals and build relationships with other successful and wealthy people, your wealth will come.

If you want to surround yourself with wealthy people (and become one yourself), just follow these steps:
1.  STOP COMPLAINING.  Nobody likes complainers, especially successful people.
2.  STOP COMPLAINING.  Too many people find common ground by complaining.  It’s a BAD habit.  It is easy to complain about traffic, weather, the economy and articles that repeat something just to make a point!  Frankly, a better habit is to disagree with complainers and watch them change their tune.
3.  Attend events and conferences.  Network and get to know outstanding people.  Prepare before you arrive, so you know who will be in attendance.
4.  Ask for advice.  Push your ego out of the way and ask successful people to share their wisdom.  You’ll be surprised at how generous they will be with their knowledge.
5.  Ask how they did it.  People love talking about their personal success stories.  It’s true.  If you are genuinely fascinated by their stories, most people will be glad to talk to you.
6.  Offer to buy lunch, dinner or drinks.  Get together socially and get to know successful/wealthy people.
7.  Don’t suck up.  Successful people don’t want sidekicks that agree with everything and laugh at every bad joke.  (Well, maybe some do.)  Just be yourself.
8.  Treat everyone equally.  Don’t look down on waiters and kiss up to executives.  People are people, and everyone deserves your respect.
9.  Be confident, but not cocky.  Shyness and insecurity won’t get you anywhere.  Stand tall.
10.  Don’t be a leech.  Pay your own way.  Don’t allow your wealthy friends to cover your tab again and again.  If you can’t afford that expensive dinner or golf outing, it’s better to make other plans and explain that you can’t make it.
11.  Be giving.  Try offering to help without asking for anything in return.  Be genuine in your help.  If you recognize a way to help a successful business owner, and you offer that help for free, you will be remembered and appreciated.
12.  Be comfortable talking about money and business.  Wealthy people enjoy talking about money and business.  These subjects are interesting to them.  These should be your interests as well.

Sadly, many people without money are convinced that wealth leads to classism.  While this may be true in some cases, there are two bigger reasons why wealthy people don’t hang out with poor people:  (1) poor people don’t enjoy talking about money and business, and (2) poor people complain too much.

Wealthy people enjoy spending time with up-and-comers.  A person who is flat broke with a positive attitude and big ideas will have no trouble finding wealthy people to hang with.

Robert Kiyosaki of Rich Dad Poor Dad fame says, “Being poor is permanent.  Being broke is temporary.”  If you don’t have any money, don’t think of yourself as poor.  Think of yourself as temporarily broke, but on your way to big things!  That’s the attitude you need to attract wealthy friends.

Empty Pockets?

Not having money is no excuse to put off your business dreams.  As they say, there is more than one way to skin a cat.  Whether you are unemployed, or employed and overextended, you CAN start a business without any money.

I know some of you are saying, “No way!  I’m completely broke, and my plans are big.”  Here’s a little dose of reality for you…  It’s not always easy.  An investor or lender isn’t going to swoop down out of the sky and give you a million dollars with a little pat on the back!  You are going to have to WORK, and you’re going to have to THINK.  Based on your circumstances, you may need to adapt your business to match your circumstances.  This means that you may need to start Phase 1 on a modest level, then Phase 2 on a bigger level, etc.

I’ll give you an example of an early business I started with $0.  After college, I struggled in commercial real estate (mostly because I couldn’t convince businesses to hire a rookie to represent them in buying or leasing property).  With a friend, I started a house painting business.  Our only costs were the DBA registration, business cards and estimate forms that we printed at Kinko’s (total cost less than $100).  We generated clients by contacting homeowners with peeling paint outside – a perfectly targeted audience.  We did some estimates, and we used the deposits from our first two clients to buy ladders, brushes, etc.  We then ran some newspaper ads to hire workers.  In our first month, we went from $0 to $26,000 in sales.  We soon had four crews and more work than we could handle.  We were in business!

If you need to start a business that requires more significant capital, well I’ve done that too.

Here’s a list of ideas on how to launch a business, starting with nothing:

1. (This is my favorite.)  Instead or starting a new business, buy an existing business and improve it.  The seller will often finance more than half of the cost.  Plus, you will be able to use the track record of the business to gain immediate credibility.  Once you buy it, you can change the business to match your vision.
2. Find customers that will give you an advance for future products or services.
3. Talk to your suppliers or manufacturers.  Ask for terms, so you can pay them in 90 or 120 days.  They may even invest in your company.
4. If you are in the restaurant/bar business, vendors who supply pool tables, jukeboxes and video games will often lend $2,000 to $15,000, just to get your account.  The best part is that they will be repaid from the vending income, so you don’t have to worry about making any payments.
5. Good credit can come in handy, and not just for credit cards.  You can often finance furniture, equipment, carpet and building materials to renovate your business.
6. Speaking of renovations, recruit your friends to help you paint and spruce up your business.  These are the only people that will work for pizza and beer.
7. Look for barter opportunities.  Make a list of the things you need, and try to negotiate a fair trade.  Some deals may even require a three-way trade.
8. If your budget requires expensive equipment, consider leasing instead of buying.  This will reduce your startup costs.
9. If you site requires extensive web design and programming, consider giving your programmer a stake in the company or simply ask to pay over time.  If your programmer needs the work, you might get favorable terms.
10. Write an amazing business plan and find investors or partners to participate.  Before approaching anyone, think about it from the investor’s perspective.  Is it worth the risk to invest in your business?  How will they be repaid?  Is the payoff high enough?

Talk to everyone you know.  Seek ideas and referrals to help you formulate ideas to get your business off the ground.  Watch some videos on PerfectBusiness, especially interviews with entrepreneurs in your industry.

Some businesses just need a little bit of seed money for web design concepts, legal costs or even the entire cost of the startup.  I can’t tell you how many people contact me looking for investors of $2,000 to $5,000.  It’s just crazy!  If you don’t have credit or friends that can kick in this amount, then you might simply have to do it the old fashioned way… EARN IT!

1. If you want it bad enough, you’ll do it.  Try these ideas on for size:
2. Sell your car and buy something cheaper
3. Move into a more affordable apartment
4. Get a roommate
5. Sell your giant flat screen TV
6. Pack your lunch and stop drinking $4 coffee every day
7. Quit smoking
8. Get a side job on Saturdays

Sure, it hurts.  But, if you need a little bit of seed money to get your business rolling, you may need to sacrifice.

On a final note, you might want to check out peer-to-peer lending services, such as Prosper.com.  If you decide to borrow from family or friends, but are concerned about awkwardness in your personal life, check out VirginMoney.com.  Virgin Money will act as a middleman to collect payments on behalf of the people that lent you money.

So, now that you know how to solve your lack-of-cash dilemma, get to work!