Once you’ve come up with a great online business idea you’ll want to turn your vision into reality like any entrepreneur naturally would; however, people seem to treat their online business ideas differently to if it were a traditional bricks and mortar business.
Many bloggers and internet entrepreneurs treat their business more like a hobby or as a platform for creative expression, and get so caught up in the creativity of it all that they forget to focus on the business mechanics behind the blog – and that’s the thing – your blog or internet business is a business. If you run it like a business it will pay you like a business; whereas if you treat it like a hobby it will pay you as a hobby!
Being an entrepreneur can be a great adventure but it can also be extremely challenging; indeed, one of the greatest challenges you’re like to face is that of financing your online business. Even though the costs are comparatively smaller than other types of business – the costs still exist, and you will need to invest in a content marketing toolkit where each app will run anywhere between $9 and $79 per month (e.g. www.sumo.com). Then, there is the advertising spend on aspects such as Facebook and Google Ads that often provide a great return on investment; but you do need the funds in place to begin with.
Okay, so let’s talk money. You may have heard the term ‘capital’ being used, which in this sense, relates to the amount of money required to get your business off the ground. It’s a good idea to write a list of all the start-up expenses you’re likely to incur, and consider the monthly cost of things such as hosting, perhaps a virtual assistant, and your monthly advertising spend.
Once you have a figure in mind, it’s important to consider the options for getting that initial amount – which will essentially require you to pitch for other people’s money.
For this reason, raising capital is rarely an easy task, and whilst it can be as simple as going online and applying for a small business loan this type of finance is becoming harder and harder to obtain without security in the form of a property.
Here are three alternative suggestions that you can use to fund your online start-up:
Put it on a Credit Card
In truth, the amount of money you actually need to start-up an online venture isn’t much at all, and as the payments are often monthly subscriptions, so a credit card could be the perfect vehicle to help get you off the ground. The best small business credit cards offer an attractive interest rate; just be sure to pay off the balance at the end of each month with the profit you’re making from your venture.
Friends and Family
Borrowing money from a wealthy relative or a few friends can be a great way to go – but it’s important to bear in mind the potential strain it might put on your relationships should the business not turn out to be a success. The last thing you want is to ruin your friendships due to the financial side of things.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding, where strangers invest small amounts of money in reward for something that will be delivered in the future is a great concept, but is not as reliable or as immediate as getting a business loan, using a credit card, or borrowing money from friends and family
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