How to Start a Business With No Money in South Africa

Entrepreneurship can feel like a far-fetched dream when you have no capital. Terms like start-up capital, investors, crowdfunding and other money-related terms are often thrown around, making it seem like starting a business without capital isn’t doable.

However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. While it isn’t easy to start and build a business without money, it’s possible. With thorough research, planning, knowledge and discipline, you’ll be well on your way to building your business with no money.

In this guide, we’ll help you identify the kinds of businesses you can start with little to no money, which one to choose, and how to make your very first step in monetising your idea.

You might want to start a business, but need some guidance on the kind of business to start, especially if you want to start a business with no money. Identifying which business will work requires both market research and an internal analysis. There are three steps in this process. Which are

• Step 1: Find out what the market demands
• Step 2: Have a look at the skills and resources you already have. Remember: This must be something that will not cost little to no money.
• Step 3: Look at how you can take what you have to offer a product that’s in demand.

How to Find Out What the Market Wants?

In business, once you’ve figured out what your customer is trying to achieve, you’ve done the bulk of the work, the rest is to give them the solution to help achieve their desired goal. Hacking this increases the chances of your product or service succeeding. Here are 5 steps to help you identify what solution to offer through your business:

1. Identify Common Pain Points: Start by analysing yourself and the people around you. Look at aspects of everyday life that are a hassle, then discover how you can provide convenience. For instance, Uber’s history began when Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp were stranded on a snowy night, leading them to conceive the idea of requesting a ride via phone.
2. Market Research: This is a crucial stage in the research and planning process of starting a business. When you know how to conduct market research, you can identify your target audience. This entails efforts where you survey people to gain insights on who exactly you are reaching and how to improve your offerings to better serve them.
3. Evaluate Your Idea: In the evaluation phase, you must thoroughly interrogate your processes. You can ask yourself the following questions:

• • How can my product or service be better?
  • Could it be faster while maintaining efficiency?
  • How accessible is the product I am offering? If not, how can it be more inclusive?

Before starting any kind of business, you need a business plan. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of assuming that a business plan is only necessary when in pursuit of funding.

The reality is, you need to create a business plan even before you start your business, especially in this case, where you do not have start-up capital or any income to pour into the business. Your business plan will help you identify the steps you need to take to ensure your business is a success.

From the detailing of your business structure to your growth plans and how you aim to achieve these plans through your marketing and sales efforts. Additionally, your business plan must outline your business management plan, even if it’s just you for now, but you should be able to foresee growth and how your business will need to expand capacity.

What to Include in Your Business Plan

It’s crucial to be conscious of the fact that you are starting from zero. Thus, this plan will not rely on funds you do not have. The growth will be dependent on the profits you make and reinvest into the business.

Here is an outline of what you must include in your business plan:

1. Executive Summary: A short overview of your business idea and the key points of your plan.
2. Business Description: Explain what your business does, its mission, and its main goals.
3. Market Analysis: Describe your target customers, their needs, and any important trends.
4. Organisation and Management: Show how your business is structured and who will run it.
5. Products or Services: Describe what you are selling and the value it gives to customers.
6. Marketing Strategy: Explain how you will promote your products or services without spending money in the early stages.
7. Funding Needs: State what resources you need to get started and keep the business running.
8. Financial Plan: Share your revenue forecasts and explain how you will use profits to grow.
9. Risk Plan: Identify the main challenges and how you plan to deal with them.
10. Appendix: Add any supporting information, such as resumes or research.

There are quite a few businesses that you can start with no money. The best part about some of these ideas is that you can use them as a way to build initial income for a bigger business that might need funds.

Tutoring

A tutoring business works as a zero-cost business as it doesn’t require any money. With tutoring, you rely heavily on your academic strengths and your network. Tutoring also allows you to run your business from the comfort of your home.

You can let your tutor students come to your location, or you could have your classes online. To advertise your business, you can use free templates of design tools like Canva. Market your business through WhatsApp, social media platforms, and encourage people you know to spread the news through word-of-mouth.

Vetkoek Business

The best thing about a vetkoek or magwinya business is that you can start with ingredients that you already have. These ingredients include wheat flour, yeast, sugar, salt, warm water, butter, and oil. The profit you make from this business can be reinvested into the business. That way, you can expand your business. When you have a magwinya business, you can identify a busy area to help people know about your business.

Virtual Assistance

A virtual assistant is someone who offers support to clients through tasks such as creative, technical, administrative, and more. Virtual assistants work from a remote location. Starting a virtual assistance business doesn’t require money. It requires a solid structure and marketing to ensure you reach clients.

To start, you should decide which services you will offer. If you’re good at social media and writing, then you can start there. If you find clients who demand other services, you can outsource, reinvest the income, and grow your business over time.

Cleaning Business

Like many low-cost businesses, a cleaning business will just need the skill and the ability to market yourself well. You do not need to invest in cleaning products in the beginning, as you can request that your clients have their own cleaning material. To start, create a poster on a free platform like Canva, create a catalogue to display on WhatsApp business, and drive efforts towards networking to get more clients.

There are a multitude of businesses you can start without spending a cent; you only need some inspiration.

We live in a digital age, where doing things through traditional or manual methods isn’t necessarily the best option. Thus, digitising SMEs in South Africa is essential. But, in the early stages of your business, you might not afford to pay for several tools at a time. Fortunately, there are free tools available. Here are ten free digital tools for your business:

1. Canva: Design tool with free templates available.
2. Zoom: Zoom offers a free version where you can conduct meetings.
3. Wix: Wix is a free website builder. You can build a site for your business’s website, allowing your potential customers to learn about your business.
4. Google Analytics: This tool lets you track and analyse the visitors that come to your site.
5. Survey Monkey: If you’re conducting market research or want to launch surveys for your business, Survey Monkey offers a free version that lets you host surveys.
6. Asana: Asana is a project management tool that helps you organise tasks. They have Additionally, if you ever add people to your team, it lets you seamlessly collaborate with team members. Asana’s free tiers let you collaborate with up to ten teammates.
7. Mailchimp: Offers a free plan for sending e-mail newsletters to a limited number of subscribers, ideal for early marketing efforts.
8. WhatsApp Business: A free messaging app that allows businesses to interact with customers, create a business profile, and send automated messages.
9. Google My Business: This tool lets you create and manage your business listing on Google. This helps by increasing your visibility in local search results and Google Maps.
10. Business Name Generator: businessnamegenerator.net is a free tool that assists entrepreneurs in developing business name ideas for their business. Additionally, it helps you check the availability of the names.