Starting With Nothing Is Not Only Possible, It’s Key.

The less you have, the more creative you must be.

No capital, no connections, no expertise is essentially the life story of most new businesses. It’s not all bad though, in fact, it just might be even better than starting cash heavy because the less you have, the more creative you need to be. Think about it.

You’ve got no money for marketing, no expertise for creating product, no connections for getting you into new markets, all you have is your mind and survival instincts. You need to turn yourself into your brand’s spokesperson, you need to learn on the go and you need to keep pushing until you break into a new market all on your own. So, the million dollar question. How do you do it? Well, as much as I’d like to, I can’t answer that. All I can tell you is that the answer is in your mind. It’s not unreachable, it’s not lost, it’s up to you and that’s the best part. People who get funding right off the bat or have key connections when they first begin are missing out on one of the most important experiences of being an entrepreneur. Starting from scratch is all about survival, it’s about using the few tools you possess to grow your brand into a serious contender, capable of competing with companies worth triple yours.

I’ll tell you another thing, you better cherish those first years. That’s right, you read correctly. The years where you’re constantly inches away from one too many mistakes, when you can barely afford the tiny amount of marketing you do have, let alone the luxuries, when every single advancement you make is a combination of creative brilliance, luck and high risk, you better cherish it all. I know it doesn’t sound all that glamorous when I say it aloud but it’s true. Once you’ve succeeded, you’re able to pay experts, pay for marketing, upgrade outdated systems. Your resources become the creatives, don’t get me wrong, you’ll have a whole new set of skills to learn but it’s never quite the same as when you were alone in the jungle without weapons or shelter.

The start is one of the most challenging and exciting experiences you’ll ever know in your professional career, just as long as you remember, only the strong survive.