You want to start a small business? 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 entrepreneur – so what can you do? Here is some help, a quick guide on how to start a small business with no money in the UK.

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 the 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 quid ready to start your small business or if you have nothing 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 need to roll up your sleeves to get the same job done – but it is possible!

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 for under  £100 quid. But really? How?

They advise you to become a clothing designer, jewelry maker, photographer, handyman, landscaper, marketing agency, app developer etc.

But realistically if you plan to make money, you will need some funds.

Just to register your business costs £12.

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

So what is the way around it? How can you 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 an overnight process so be sure to take your time, think it through, do the research and pick one.

Create a business plan:

If you hire a professional to write it for you, a Business Plan can cost between £1,000 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 £240.

Most people starting a business would simply write their own plan. 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 startup step including creating a logo, building a website, making business cards, research, licence registration all have a cost.

While most of it can be done with time and patience without spending 1p, it is time consuming and frustrating to say the least.

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 funds sooner or later but you’re in luck – government funding is an excellent source for startups.

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

In fact, there are certain programmes that can fund employees pay up to 52 weeks! Surprising, no?

Money without having to have money to start with.

The UK government has hundreds of funding schemes 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 programmes.

The problems of starting a business with no money:

While you can start a business with little-to-no money, there are certain concerns.

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 people who have started a small business that has turned successful without any money but time invested was a major commitment – be sure you have it.