How to start an online business with a minimum budget

Gone are the days when you had to tout your ‘B-Plan’ to Angels and Venture Capitalists. The capital used to be the fundamental table stake even to get started. (You see? It’s right in the name – ‘fund’amental!) 

I know this will sound cliché but – WWW has truly brought the world closer! You no more have to go door to door to make a sale. 

You might be 

– A student who wants to earn some pocket money

– An employee who wants to create a side stream of passive income

– An entrepreneurial spirit who can’t stand an idea of ‘being employed’

No matter who you are, no matter what your age is, you can start a business – starting today! 

Here is a quick checklist to get your business started online with a budget as low as INR 5000.

Idea Generation

The first step to start a business is knowing what you want to sell. I would suggest adhering to something you are good at. Reason? With a low budget, you might not be able to delegate your tasks in the initial days. You will be the sole engine pulling the train. Once you start generating revenue, you can hire help and built a system that will continue to work in your absence. 

Try to find a decent business idea, if not unique. There were 7 search engines in the market before Google was born. And, the rest is history! Just try to come up with a sellable product/service. Come on, who would want to buy a peanut butter flavored deodorant? (Or, would they?) Anyway, you get the point, right? 

Get Online

To start a business online, you have to ‘get online’ first. You can use free domain names. But, the biggest disadvantage is that it wouldn’t sound trustworthy. Would you buy a gold earring from www.buygold.wordpress.com? A business that is selling gold online with a free domain name – it can wrap up itself anytime and leave the internet. Why? Because there is no investment at all! 

Reserve your domain name now before somebody takes it!

Go Social

Your website is the mirror of your business. Like the old-school business cards, people will use it to contact you. However, to let people know that you exist, you will have to be more social. 

Create a vibrant presence on social media. By ‘vibrant’ I don’t mean you should spam the newsfeeds of your potential customers. But, presenting yourself ahead, engaging with the comments on your posts, hosting giveaways, fun competitions, activities, value-adding information, infographics, etc. will attract more and more followers. More social you are higher will be the traffic to your website and greater will be your revenue. 

Once you have started generating considerable revenue and have a spare workforce to take care of high demands, you can start running paid advertising campaigns on social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. 

No-Spam E-mail Marketing

Cold emailing is the secret sauce of the success of many businesses. Emails containing newsletters, blogs, research/news stories and other information about offers and promo codes are a great way to make your passive customers active again. All you will need to have is a business email. Don’t use an email with an extension ___@gmail.com, ___@rediffmail.com, etc. Again, the same reason – they are free! If your company name is Qualispace then use a professional email id like info@qualispace.com. 

If we count a total, the above investment should not ideally exceed INR 5000. Once you start generating revenue from your business, that investment will also credit back to your account. 

So, now that you have the secret recipe of starting a business with a low budget, don’t wait. Grab your domain now and start decorating your online workplace right away!   

Good Luck!