How to start a business with zero capital

Some people have asked to business ideas to start with zero naira. Due to popular demand to reproduce this previously published piece, we are reproducing it today. It is hoped that these ideas will help.

Cleaning services

When Ized Zegbua was going to start her cleaning service business in 2014, all she needed was an internet enabled mobile device and a Twitter account. Within months, he had to turn down many cleaning job offers, for lack of adequate hands to help manage the rapidly growing business. As she told the story, she didn’t envisage that the business would grow so fast and neither did she think she would make as much money as she did from a business she started with zero naira.

You too can start a cleaning service. It is easy to do if you think about it.

Event planning

One of the event planning outfits in Ibadan started from the bedroom, the owner of the outfit said in an interview. But the trick is to know how to convince your clients to make a down-payment fee of their events, Tosin Adegoke said.

According to her, when she started, she had help from her friends who knew about her organisational abilities while back in the university and called her if she would be interested in planning an office event for her.

To pull off this kind of a business, she said you must be willing to convince prospective clients to believe in you. One of the ways to do this includes organising your friends’ and families’ events and cataloguing the experience in a book format to distribute among friends.

Writing business plan

Most of business rendering services do not require a large capital to start up. One of such is writing business plans. With many Micros, Small and Medium scale Enterprises (MSMEs) seeking funding, whether in form of grants or loan, there is an increase demand of top-notch business proposals, known also as business plans.

As someone interested in setting herself apart, you could offer this service to include market research, the business plan narrative and the financial statements. According to Inioluwa Adebayo, who engages in this type of business in Lagos, all you have to do is plan your fee around the main one that your client wants and offer the others as add-on services for other clients.

Editing

Personally, I have made some side money editing for people. Book editing and story editing are very easy for me as a journalist. As someone who is looking to start small, editing provides an opportunity to becoming that full-fledge book editor or magazine editor you’ve been dreaming of becoming.

It should be noted that as these businesses grow, so will the expenses, especially for those looking to expand. It will be wise therefore to save some of the money made to help with future expenses, even if securing a loan or grant for expansion is your target.