Why Starting A Business With Limited Capital Is A Blessing In Disguise

If you would like to start a business and you have no capital to do that, most people will shrug and tell you to keep dreaming because it is impossible. Having started my own business without capital, I know for a fact that the only place impossible exists is in the dictionary. I started my first business with capital (a cool 400K), blew it, and had to start afresh, this time without capital; I know it can be done.

There are two sides to every story and the no-capital–with-capital business start-up one is no different. There are advantages and disadvantages of starting a business with capital, just as there are advantages and disadvantages of starting a business without capital. The primary advantage of starting a business with capital is that you can plan your market penetration at your pace – and then the advantages end there.


There are many disadvantages of starting a business with capital, and this will most probably shock you. Let me explain a fact of life. The people who are likely to agonize about lack of capital are people who start to desire to run their own business as a step in their progress towards maturity in life. 

They are people who have come to the realization that business is their best ticket to a better financial life. However, they all have one thing in common – they are not socialized in business backgrounds. Their families and closest friends are not in business oriented lifestyles. Now if you think that is not important, speak to a Jewish child. Socialization makes or breaks your past, present, and future.

Children from business oriented families, or families whose parents and guardians are actively in the enterprise and business circuits (not in my-distant-auntie-three-times-removed-has-a-kiosk type) hardly ever speak in terms of no-capital as a problem. They are brought up in environments where they naturally know that to find capital is as natural to the business start-up process as getting your CV done is natural to the process of finding a job in the employment circuits. They also know that capital is the least of one's worries in the business world. They know that you can start a thoroughly successful business from your bedroom with just a phone and a pen, and go on to make it a million shilling enterprise. 

That is not to say one socialization is superior to the other, just that one socialization understands the logistics of business better than the other. If then you are from a background where majority in your world are employees, you need to realize that you have a lot of learning to do. Business is a way of life and it operates on completely different rules from that of being an employee. The people, who run businesses as a way of life, see the world with very different eyes as compared to those that have an employment background. I write that with confidence because I have lived in both worlds.

You cannot use the rules of being an employee to run a business – it does not work and you will only end up losing the capital. To realize and admit that is not foolishness, it is high wisdom. To have ready capital therefore is valuable if you understand the world of business, and you will find that those people who are from business backgrounds spend that so called capital on things that make money while those brought up in employee backgrounds spend the money on things that lose them money.

If you do not have a business background in terms of family and friends, this next sentence is a realization that will save you hundreds of thousands of shillings over time. Learning what makes money and what loses money is a journey; be clever enough to admit that there are things you need to learn and you will save yourself a lot of heart ache and years of struggle. If you give yourself time to learn, you are less likely to lose your money. The best thing therefore that can happen to a person who is asking how can I start a business without capital is the lack of capital itself. They have no money to lose therefore they have been forced by Nature to only build and not lose. It is a blessing in disguise.

Related Posts
Ten Practical Steps to Starting Your Own Business without losing money – Part One
How to Start a Profitable International Business With No Capital 
Cost Effective Marketing for Start Ups


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6 comments:

  1. It's very rare for someone to say that it is possible to start a business without capital even though majority of businesses started this way. Nice inspiring article. Keep up the good blogging.

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  2. very inspiring and motivating to those who just for the write time to start a business like me a student of engineering to complete my graduation and then starting my own business.....

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  3. This is so interesting! I'm an inexperienced entrepreneur in the baking industry and I'm in the middle of starting up my own cupcake business. I'm not so sure where to go with the marketing part though. What are your thoughts on SEO marketing? Good idea? Do you happen to know about any reputable SEO Firms that can help me with my online marketing campaigns? Thank you!

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  4. vickykarin: thank you for your feedback. You can read my long answer to the marketing matter on my latest post.

    My one standard rule to success in business is 'keep your costs low and your profits growing.' Meanwhile, keep planning your marketing strategy based on the new information so that you get the best services for your shilling.

    From where you are, I would go easy on spending big on marketing, and focus on developing your product. You will understand that better on the post here:

    http://workinkenya.blogspot.com/2011/10/cost-effective-marketing.html

    That said, anyone there know reputable SEO firms?

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  5. Any angel investors in Kenya Paula?

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  6. A good capital is very vital in your business. It is always imperative that you take good care of it.
    limited liability company

    ReplyDelete

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