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Solo's blog provides the resources that microbusinesses, solopreneurs, freelancers, and other super-small businesses need to start, operate, and grow.

Blog for starting, running, and growing your business | Solo.co

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In this article:\nBootstrapping\nPersonal loans\nSmall business loans\nMake a trade\nCrowdfunding\nFind investors\nSmall business grants\nStartup incubator or accelerator\nWhen starting a new business, finding the capital to back you can often be the hardest part. But funding your new startup doesn’t have to be difficult. You just need to know what options are available to you and where to start first.\nDepending on how large you expect your business to be from the start, you may be able to begin small and scale up later as needed. \nThis may even allow you to start the business from your own savings and then reach out to other sources like investors or your personal network down the road. \nMany avenues exist for funding your new business, so if you aren’t able to do it on your own, don’t fret. We’ll guide you through some of the best options out there. \nBootstrapping a startup business\nBootstrapping is starting with the bare minimum that you can get by on. You don’t even need to save up a huge amount of capital to get going. You simply start with the resources you already have at your disposal. \nUntil you grow your business sufficiently, everything you earn goes back into the business to help you increase your resources and capability to provide results/products for customers. \nA great example of this is starting a web design company. Let’s say you have built your own website before and you already have the software, tools, and know-how to do this. \nYou can choose to start small by offering your services at a low cost to people in your personal network and grow your business from there. \nThe same can go for any type of business that you already have the minimum effective resources for. \n\nUse your own savings to fund your business\nMaybe you have a grander plan for your business that requires a little more capital to start up than bootstrapping would allow but you don’t want to go in debt to start your business. \nYou can make a plan to put aside any extra earnings from your current day job into a savings account, and save enough for your startup costs before you launch.\nAnother option here could be to pick up a second or third job to help save the money you need to go after your dream of entrepreneurship. \nHere are some tips you can use to help you save the money you need to start your business:\nMake a list of your needs and wants. Determine which wants you are willing to part with and put your money that would have gone to those into savings. \nAvoid personal debt (i.e. car loans, credit cards, personal loans). \nCreate a realistic budget and follow it. \nLearn to sacrifice unnecessary luxuries or “wants” and derive satisfaction from living debt-free and saving for your dream business.\nAutomatically deduct a certain amount into a dedicated savings account each paycheck so you don’t have it available to spend from your checking account. \nPersonal loans from family, friends, or network\nReview your personal network and determine if there’s anyone you would be willing to borrow money from to help fund your new business. \nYes, we said “anyone \nyou would be willing to borrow money from\n.” This is actually as important as the consideration of which friends or family members actually have the money and would be willing to invest in your business.\nIt’s important to think long and hard about borrowing from friends and family. Be wary of those who may want to have a say in business decisions due to their “share” and make sure you have a solid plan of action for paying them back as quickly as possible. \n\nFinances can cause a strain on \nany\n relationship, so don’t enter into any agreement that is going to hurt your relationships. \nSmall business loans\nSmall business loans are a common resource for starting up new businesses, but not every bank or lender is going to be willing to assist you. \nWhen you apply for a small business loan, you will need to have a detailed business plan that outlines how you will make good on your debt. \nYou may also need to offer personal assets as collateral for the loan you are taking out. Keep these things in mind if you pursue this option. \nCheck out our \nguide to small business loans\n to learn how to apply, what types of loans are best, and tips for making it happen. \nMake a trade\nYou can trade equity or services to help mitigate some of the costs of your new business. You might not be able to completely get by on trades, but it can be helpful to lower initial startup costs. \nFor example, let’s say you are starting a new gym, but you’re going to need marketing services to get the word out. Marketing is expensive, so you find an advertising agency that is willing to trade their services for gym memberships. \nBe creative. Don’t give up if your first choice turns you down. If you’re interested in this option, ask around at several places before trying another method. \nCrowdfunding your startup business\nCrowdfunding is a way to raise money, generally online, from people or companies that are interested in your project. \nMost of us are familiar with the GoFundMe campaigns that get shared on social media to help raise money for charity. That’s just one crowdfunding platform. \nCrowdfunding for businesses is a little different in that you can’t always go the route of asking for donations. \nDifferent types of crowdfunding\nInvestment-based crowdfunding: Someone invests in your business and receives a stake in your shares. \nLoan-based crowdfunding: This is also referred to as peer-to-peer or peer-to-business (P2P or P2B) lending. Individuals will lend you money in return for a set interest rate. \nReward-based crowdfunding: Individuals will give to your business in exchange for some kind of reward like free samples, passes, or discounts for your services. \nDonation-based crowdfunding: You receive no-obligation donations from those interested in helping you out. This form of crowdfunding is generally used for charity but can be used for startups as well (depending on the platform you use). \nCheck out these crowdfunding sites to get started:\nKickstarter\nCrowd Supply\nCrowdfunder\nFundable\nWeFunder\npiggy bank with people inserting coins for startup crowdfunding\nFind investors for your startup\nCrowdfunding and small business loans aren’t the only ways to get investors for your business. You can also seek out venture capitalists or angel investors to help you get started. \nVenture capitalists\nVenture capitalists (VCs) are generally looking for businesses with large growth potential. VC firms generally raise money from a variety of sources and find the perfect investment opportunities to put that money into. In return, they make money on the interest of the loan they provide and/or have stakeholder claims in your business. \nAngel investors\nAngel investors are likely a more suitable option for small business startups. They typically have spare funds available to invest and look for opportunities to gain a higher rate of return than they would get from a traditional investment. \nThe main downside to either of these investor options is that they are usually looking for a large stake in the companies they help. \nMake sure you read the agreements carefully and don’t get into a deal that will kill your business before it gets legs of its own.\nSmall business grants\nDepending on the type of business you are starting, you may be eligible for a small business grant. \nGrants are basically “free money” that you can use to invest in equipment, improvement of commercial premises, startup inventory, office supplies, or whatever other business needs you have.\nThe \nU.S. Small Business Administration\n (SBA) helps businesses find opportunities to receive grants. See if they have something you can qualify for.\nStartup incubator or accelerator\nThis last option is to find a startup incubator near you. Startup incubators are programs designed to help small businesses get started and find success. \nThey are typically run by non-profit organizations, sometimes associated with business schools or other universities. \nThe nature of an incubator program is that they will provide entrepreneurs with some of the resources that would otherwise be difficult to acquire, like a workspace, startup funds, networking opportunities, legal counsel, management training, business training, and more. \nYou may also like: \nBest practices for launching a small business\n

Top 9 funding options to back your startup business

41 small town business ideas that thrive

In this article:\nWhy set up a pop-up store\nHow to set up a pop-up store\nPrepare, set up the space, and market your store\nPop-up shops are a great way for online retailers to test the waters of running a physical store. Typically, a pop-up shop is a store that opens temporarily to help create brand awareness for a store in a new area or help business owners decide whether or not they want to dive fully into the brick-and-mortar world. \nWhile many pop-up shops run seasonally, you can test out a new pop-up store during any time of the year. In this article, we’ll guide you through some of the things you need to know before getting started. \nWhy set up a pop-up shop for your retail business?\nHaving an online-only store can be a challenge for business owners because it doesn’t allow the on-street marketing or foot traffic that a brick-and-mortar business brings. A pop-up store can increase brand awareness and customer traffic just by being on the ground where people are frequently traveling. \nA pop-up shop also provides shop owners the opportunity to decide whether or not a physical store is something they want to try long-term. Maybe you’ve been considering opening up a physical location for your store for a little while now, but you’re not quite ready to go all in. Try opening a pop-up shop for a month or two to see if it’s something you could sustain long-term. \nEven if you’re not looking to run a store year-round, seasonal pop-up shops are very common and could help give your store more business during busy shopping times (like Thanksgiving and Christmas). \nHow to set up your pop-up store\nWanna test out a pop-up store for your retail business? Follow the rest of this guide to make sure you have everything you need to get started. \nPrepare to open a physical store\nThere’s a lot of preparation that goes into starting a physical business, even if you already have the online part going well. You have to find a space that will allow you to fill it temporarily. You also need to make sure you have people to manage the store and ways to display your inventory. \nFind a space\nAs you find a space for your pop-up store, you’ll want to think about where it is located. Not all locations are equal when it comes to the consumer shopping experience. A store in or near a shopping mall is generally going to perform better than a store in a medical park. Consider your location and audience as you look for a building. \nGet permits, licensing\nAs you look for a space, also determine what kind of licensing and permits you need to run a physical store. Every city has specific zoning for commercial properties. Make sure your building is in a place that allows retail businesses and get any permits that your city requires to set up a physical store. \nSet up utilities\nConsider any utilities that you may need: electricity, water, garbage, internet. Get those set up well before you open up shop—especially electricity and internet so you can take transactions with ease. \nDetermine how you will use the space\nAs you are looking for a space or when you find your space, determine how that space will be used. How will you layout your store? Think about where your inventory will go, where the cashier/checkout will be, if you’ll have public restrooms available, and if there will be space for an employee break room. \nIf you have a clothing store, will you provide a dressing room? Think about all of the different spaces you will need and how those will fit into the building you find. \nCreate materials for your brand\nA physical store requires physical branding. You can’t just rely on your internet presence to get traffic into your store. You need to create and set up signs outside the store and throughout the building to help establish your physical brand. \n(Image)\n\nRent, make, or buy fixtures you may need\nYou’re going to need fixtures to place your inventory on: shelves, tables, racks. You might even want furniture for lounge areas or for customers to use as they try on clothes or shoes. Determine what you’ll need to set up your store and how they will fit into the space you found. \nHire staff\nIf you’re not going to be the only one manning the store, then you’ll need to hire staff. Hold interviews and start advertising open job positions well before the store opens. Your staff can help you get the store set up, and you’ll want to get them properly trained before setting them loose on running your store. \nDetermine payment options \nHow are you going to accept payments? With an online-only store, your customers pay online as they checkout on your website or Amazon. But at a physical store they’ll expect someone to ring them up and take their payments. So you’ll need to have some kind of point-of-sale (POS) system in place to help you manage payments and process transactions. \nYou may even have a current POS like Square or Stripe that provides card readers and tablets to help you take transactions in person. Check with your POS provider to see what options you have available. Or consider \nalternative payment methods\n.\nIn this post-COVID-19 era, also consider using cashless and contact-free payment options whenever possible. \nSet store policies \nBefore you open up shop, set your store policies. Determine your store hours, what kind of parking availability you’ll have, how many people can be inside at one time. Consider all policies and rules that you’ll need to establish with your employees and customers before you open. \nSet up the store\nNow it’s time to set up the space. You’ve already planned your layout, so now you can put that into action. Gather your inventory and furniture items and start getting your store set up. Consider using a local interior designer who is experienced with commercial layouts if design isn’t your area of expertise. \nHere are a few other things to add to your checklist of setting up your store:\nTest your technology. Make sure your POS systems, computers, WiFi, and any other technology are working properly before you open up shop\nKeep a tool kit on hand. Ideally, you’ll have everything in place to simply set up in your store. But it’s a good idea to be prepared with tools, batteries, tape, pens, paper, glue, or other items that could come in handy\nSet up your signs to draw in customers \nMake sure your contact information is readily available for customers, whether that’s a business card, signage, or other visual to invite them to stay in contact\nWalk through the store as a customer, or invite friends in to test out the shopping experience\nMarket your new store\nMarketing your store should really be started before you open and should continue throughout the duration of your store’s existence. Before you get started, make sure that people know you are opening up a physical store. Advertise this on your \nwebsite\n and \nsocial media accounts\n.\nSet up a \nGoogle My Business listing\n so people can easily find your store and business information on Google. \nOffer promotions to draw people in as you open up. Consider a soft grand opening to welcome the community to your new store. \nAs you get customers, remind them that you value their online feedback. This will help bring in more customers over time (should you stay open or pop-up in another location later on).


21 articles found in “Starting a business”

Top 9 funding options to back your startup business

41 small town business ideas that thrive

Small business guide: How to set up a pop-up retail store

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