5 Unique Ways to Fund Your Next Business Idea or Startup

Personally, I’ve always thought it was quite tough to try and start a business in the offline brick and mortar world. In most cases, the numbers just don’t make sense and the startup and management costs are simply way too high. Take a look at the internet and how easy it is to start up an online business, brand or blog — and it’s more obvious than ever before.

However, just because it may be ‘easier’ and more ‘cost-effective’ to get started with an online business, that it will actually be easy to guarantee any type of success. Depending on the type of business you want to create, you very well might need some additional funding or capital to help get things moving. The good news is that you won’t need to kneel and beg at your local bank to try and get some money. Once again, the internet has made the process of borrowing money and getting funding even easier.

Today I wanted to share a few different methods and resources to help anyone get their hands on some much-needed cash when starting a business online.

PayPal Working Capital

Many individuals and small businesses are already using Paypal to accept and send out payments. Something not everyone knows about is Paypal Working Capital. In short, Paypal makes it extremely easy to borrow money through their account. Based on your history and revenue flowing through your account, you can apply for a Paypal Working Capital loan and instantly receive up to 25% off your annual revenue (flowing through Paypal). The great thing about this method is that Paypal charges only a small percentage and the payback process actually comes out as a percentage of each incoming transaction to your account. It’s also free to apply and your credit score won’t be affected.

Get a Small Business Loan

One of the most common ways to get your hands of some business money is through the use of a business loan. When it comes to working with banks and financial institutions, there are many different types of business loans to choose from (such as SBA Loans, Term Loans, Equipment Financing and a Business Line of Credit to name a few). As mentioned earlier, it’s also a benefit to working with any legitimate and trusted online banking sites to set any of these up. There is no longer a need to visit your local branch, as it’s way too fast and easy to compare and shop around different loan rates and introductory offers online.

Pre-Sell Your Idea

If you currently have a business idea that is based on your expertise or something you’d like to package up and sell, a great idea before investing a ton of money into the business, is selling if you can pre-sell your products or services before getting started. This is something we’ve commonly seen in the world of online marketing and selling courses online through webinars. It shouldn’t be hard for you to come up with a business plan and reasons why someone would want to buy your product. Pull all of this together and create a webinar for your audience, then sell the idea to them at the end. Give your audience an option to gain access early and become one of the first customers. Get enough of these customers and you might be able to prove your idea a profitable success before you even get started!

CrowdFunding

If crowdfunding has taught us anything, it’s that ‘anything’ can generate millions of dollars online if it’s pitched in the right way. Sites like GoFundMe and Kickstarter have raised hundreds of millions of dollars for new ideas, products, and services before they’ve even come to market. This concept is similar to the one above in that you are getting funding before actually selling the product, but most crowdfunding sites do come with their limitations and transaction fees in the process. To find the most success in crowdfunding, take the time to look at previous campaigns that have gone on to hit their goals and even more. It’s not just about the product, it’s also the message, delivery, and marketing of it.

Start with Your Own Money

When all else fails, or if you have some extra money set to the side, why not just invest in yourself? One of the best ways to fund your next business idea or startup is to actually put your own money into the company. Not only will this give you a bigger incentive to find success, it will also allow you to instantly save on interest fees and also allow you to start your company on the right food. Depending on the size and startup costs of your new business, this might be easier said than done — however, if you do have some money set to the side and are completed dedicated to making your business idea work, this is a great option for getting started.

How to Launch a Successful Business in 2017

As you can see, there are plenty of ways to invest in yourself and your business outside of the traditional methods used many years ago. Almost anyone can get their hands on some extra money to help fund their business idea, it’s just a matter of how much history you have behind you already, how you want to pay your loan back and what direction your business might be headed. No matter what option you choose, always focus your business on the end customer and their user experience to find the best long-term results.