Starting a business is probably one of the hardest things decisions to make in life because starting a business is arguably harder than finding a job. With a job, you’ll be secure in the knowledge that you’ll go home with a paycheck at the end of the month unless your employer goes bust or you get the pink sheet. However, when you start a business, you’ll assume risks for its launch, smooth operation, success, and profitability.
Interestingly, generating ideas on potentially profitable businesses is the easy part, the real work is raising money to start a business. However, if you are not looking for one million dollars, it might be quite easy to raise business loans. This article provides insight into three businesses that you can start with less than $5000. Of course, you might need more than $5000 to start on a larger scale but a startup capital under $5000 will get your feet in the door.
1. Start a cleaning services business
Offering cleaning services to homes is one of the many businesses that doesn’t require an exorbitant startup capital. You can easily setup a cleaning service business for under $5000 if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty in the real sense of the word. Depending on how deep you want to go in the cleaning business, you could offer maid service, house cleaner services, janitorial services, or you could become a crime scene cleaner or a certified cleaning specialist.
You can even turn the cleaning services business into a moneymaking machine by hiring people to do the actual cleaning. By hiring people, you’ll be able to focus your energy of marketing and administration and you’ll be able synergize the strength of numbers to handle multiple projects than what an individual could do.
Start up costs: You don’t really need much money to start a cleaning service – the most important thing is diligence to offer an impeccable cleaning service. Nonetheless, you should be ready to invest a few hundred dollars into protective wear, basic cleaning supplied, business cards, invoices, and liability insurance. If you want to take up specialized projects, you might need to invest in getting necessary certifications. You’ll also need to think about getting a car or van in order to smoothen your logistics.
2. Offer virtual assistant services
If you are tech-savvy, organized, and have an incredible ability to pay attention to details, you might be able to set up a virtual assistance business under $5000. Virtual assistants help business owners and professional with a variety of administrative, marketing, and sales services. Most virtual assistants start their careers from a real-world administrative assistant jobs before deciding to strike out on their as virtual assistants.
The typical functions of a virtual assistant includes helping a contractor who is on the field keep abreast of communications through email or phone, sending out invoices, and scheduling meetings among other things. If you are a fast learner or if you possess deep industry experience and a strong network, you can also launch a firm offering virtual assistant services where you hire virtual assistants to work for you.
Startup costs: To begin a virtual assistant business you’ll need to invest in a computer, phone, copier, scanner, and a reliable internet connection. Thankfully, the aforementioned are things you probably have already but you might want to upgrade them in order ensure a smooth workflow. If you do not have prior experience as an administrative assistant, you might want to consider taking classes or coaching sessions where you could learn the basics.
3. Own vending machines
Owning vending machines is probably one of the ‘easiest’ businesses you can do especially if you’d want a business that involves actual buying and selling as opposed to the aforementioned services. The simple business plan for vending machines is that you’ll buy a vending machine, stock it with your preferred product (fruit, candy, chips, drinks or cookies etc), put it in a strategic location with good foot traffic. You can then go over to the machines to take out your cash and restock as necessary.
One great thing about vending machines is that you don’t need to stay with the machine and you don’t really need to hire someone to man the machine. More so, you could buy many machines that you’ll place in different locations or to sell different products. Your biggest job will be finding out how to pair your vending machine with the location where you’ll have a fast turnaround.
You’ll need to raise money to buy the machine and to stock with the goodies. You’ll need to pay for transportation to and from the location of the machine. More so, you should note that some places might also require to pay a fee before you install your vending machine and other might ask for a percentage of sales from the machine.
