We can't always choose our circumstances
and sometimes we might find ourselves in a position where we're seriously struggling financially.
It's not a great boat to be in.
I know that the recent pandemic put a lot of stress on our pockets
and it might not feel like we have a way out. Believe me
when I say there is hope for you
and your online business regardless of where you are financially. Today
I'm here to share some tips that can help you regain an income and get back
on track financially. In short, if I were broke,
here are the four things that I would do to pick things up again.
Hi, my name is Mei Pak and I help makers, artists,
and designers make a living selling their handmade products online.
I've been running my own businesses
for 15 years now and I've built these from the ground up without much to speak of financially
when I was starting out. Today my first business it's a jewelry
business called Tiny Hands makes $200,000 a year
and that is the smallest of the three businesses that I own
so I know firsthand how to build up from zero.
I'm happy to share my insights with you today.
If for whatever reason I found myself down on my luck financially - touch wood -
here are the four things I would do.
First the most obvious thing I would do is start another business.
Don't be afraid to start a business with a credit card
if you are good at managing credit.
If you put in the work and truly dedicate yourself to building this online business,
you will be able to pay back those debts
no problem. It's a calculated risk that that I am going to take. Starting a business
is a great way to be in control of your own livelihood
and it is entirely possible to build up a big income,
even if you're just starting from scratch.
So although it might seem like a big risk to make those initial steps like especially with a credit
card, you have to be able to start somewhere. And credit cards exist
so that you can. Of course before you begin you need to make sure that you
aren't messing around here. Swipe that card only
for the essentials at first,
which are supplies you need to build up your shop, for instance.
Don't build up an enormous debt that will take years to pay back. Buy
what you absolutely only need
and time your purchases strategically and make sure you know what you're doing,
if you go this route. The biggest trap you can make here is if you don't know how to build a business
and then you take out a credit card to start one.
You will likely make a lot of mistakes
and spend a lot of money with not a lot of sales to show for it.
So if you don't know how to build a business, one of the first few
investments you should make on that credit card
is a source of knowledge,
whether that's a course or a mentor
or a coach to guide you and show you how to do building a business. If
this still sounds a little bit scary don't
worry. Bank of America recently conducted a study of 248 business owners
and entrepreneurs. The results found that 37% of business owners aged 21
to 36 started their businesses with a credit card.
Why? Well, they found that with their limited budget starting out using a
credit card was the best way to start growing quickly
or to just start quickly. Starting a business costs money guys,
and if you don't have ground to stand on financially, using a credit card
is the best option at your disposal.
Assuming you have good credit. This was exactly how my husband
and I started our new art business, our print-on-demand art business.
It was with a credit card, not
because we didn't the cash to start it with
but because we didn't necessarily want to tap into our own savings
to start this new venture. Plus a credit card
just for your business makes it easier for you to do bookkeeping and to keep track of your spending.
So we spent a little over $2,000 to get his business off the ground
and it wasn't until after that initial 2K investment that we made our first sale. That
business now in 2020 made nine hundred thousand dollars in sales.
So I think it would be fair to say that credit card helped make that happen. Still,
you don't want to just choose any credit card that will take you,
right? Look into your limits, your points.
Make sure to keep up a good credit score
so that your limit that they give you is even higher. If your
credit card offers things like rewards points
or cash back, even better because you just might be able to use
those extras to help your business even more.
I have one credit card that I used just for all of my paid ads for YouTube and Facebook.
And I have like seven thousand dollars worth of points on there and it's like free money.
It's crazy. At the same time, make sure to just be as organized
as possible with your spending. To avoid going into crazy debt
that you can't pay off, consider using one
of those account aggregation services to keep everything in one place.
So for example Mint is an app,
you can connect all of your different bank accounts and credit card accounts together
so you can have great visibility on your money.
If you don't go that route, maybe keep a careful spreadsheet of all of your expenses
and your due dates.
You don't want to be left with a huge unexpected bill at the end of all of this.
You just want your credit card to help with those initial expenses,
so you can get your business off the ground
and start making sales. Another good habit to get into with using credit cards is we always pay
off our credit cards before we actually get charged interest.
When used correctly credit cards can be a great way to delay spending
when used correctly and strategically credit cards can be a really great tool to delay
spending and speed up of the acquiring of Investments that you need to start your business.
So that's why I said the act of strategizing the timing of your purchases
is really where a credit card comes in real handy.
The second thing I would do if the business idea doesn't work is I would become a freelancer.
I would start by creating a solid website that I can use to showcase my
portfolio of whatever it is that I'm offering services
for. A website will help my business look professional
and accessible and it helps people to trust me.
This doesn't have to be a Shopify site. For Freelancers who are service providers,
you can use a free site builder like Wix. It's meant to be a static site,
so you don't need a lot of bells and whistles or a shopping cart.
It can be a simple website meant exclusively to show off my work to potential clients.
Once my website is up, I would start networking.
I would begin freelancing on Upwork. Upwork is a great place to build up an initial client base
so you can start getting paid work
and testimonials that will help you gain leverage with customers on and off the site.
You also have new work to add to your portfolio.
Now Upwork does take a 20% cut of your money made,
but when you’re just establishing your business
it is so worth it to build up your portfolio
and client base and the nice thing about Upwork is that people are
already there posting thousands of jobs every day.
Eventually, you will be able to leave the site if you don't want to stay on there,
but Upwork can really help you create a steady foundation
for your freelance business in the beginning.
So at the same time I would also make sure to network in Facebook groups
or Reddit forums or LinkedIn
or really any other online space with client potential where your potential clients might
hang out in. Facebook groups are a fantastic place to meet people who
might be interested in your services. There are groups
for everything you can imagine
and you just might find one that perfectly matches your specific craft
or skills that you're offering as a service.
So begin by joining a few groups and start being a service to people in the group,
you know, like answer questions, give people feedback
when they're asking for it, just be a helpful person
and over time people will start to notice you. Now as a freelancer,
I might offer services like product photography,
paid ads management, social media management
or building or maintaining Shopify sites
because these are all skills that fall within my skill set and if I didn’t have this experience I
do from running my own businesses, then I would market
myself as like a general virtual assistant. Find out what your skill sets are and flex them.
If you're great at Photoshop you can offer to edit people's photography.
If you're a designer you can offer to draw up logos. If you're a writer
offer to help with social media copy
or product description copy. Find what you're good at and then just network network network.
You might be rejected nine out of ten times with the people you reach out to
but that one time out of ten is worth the work
when you're starting a business or a freelancing business.
Now, I know that when you're starting out it is hard for people to trust you
if you don't already have a portfolio, right?
But you can't build a portfolio if no one will hire you so it's a chicken
or egg situation right? To this I would even go
as far for myself personally to offer my services
for free or at a very low cost to start with
so I can build up that portfolio quickly. Number three,
I would think about selling items around the house that I just don't use or need anymore.
So use Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist,
or Ebay to collect some extra cash. Like you can get quite a bit
from an old appliance that still works,
but that you don't use anymore. Or like some artwork that you just don't like anymore.
Look at similar products
for sale to price your item competitively
and make sure you use a trusted website before you make a sale like,
you know on eBay, Craigslist, one of those.
But remember this is just a temporary bind, you will not have to sell your stuff forever
until you've got nothing left.
But just until you get a more steady stream of income rolling
in and so you can get back on your feet. Now to take that even further,
I might even try Arbitrage trading if If you're into that kind of stuff. Arbitrage happens
when you can find a commodity item for a lower price than what the market is willing to pay for it.
So you would then purchase the cheaper priced product
and then resell it in the market for a profit.
For example, if instant pots are or insta pots instant pot since tell pots.
How do you say it but if you find that they're selling in the market
for fifty dollars each and I found one on eBay or on Craigslist that was in great condition.
and it was $20, I can buy the one for $20
and then resell it on another platform for $50 and make a 30 dollar profit.
This does take a bit of effort and knowledge or just good researching skills to do this
well, but believe me when I say that there are people out there with entire businesses built off of
this model that are making millions of dollars doing exactly this.
So let's say you try all of this
and you're still struggling to get on your feet or to get your business started.
Worst case scenario, I would find a remote job on Craigslist to get started.
I actually did do this. For an entire year when I first went full time with my jewelry business,
I found a gig. I got really lucky. I found a gig
as a web designer for a local video effects company
and that job helped me bring in some extra cash
while I focused the rest of my time on building up my business.
Of course, you need to make sure that any jobs that you find on
Craigslist are legit. Do your research
and get into a written contract,
if you do get the job. Most of the time you will find that the jobs listed on there are totally safe,
but you will definitely want to take precautions just in case.
If you do find a steady job on Craigslist,
you will find that you have more time to build up your new business
because of that new flow of cash, that new flow of income.
Even if it's not much. The key is to make just enough money,
so you can afford to really dive into your new venture. If even Craigslist is a dead end,
I may look into delivery services like Uber Eats,
Doordash, or Postmates. The key here with getting a job at this point is
that it's a part-time job with flexible hours
or that you can work from home from. This is not necessarily a career you want to build
but just a temporary stepping stone to get you into a more comfortable life later on.
I know times can be tough for some of you guys right now, for many of us.
But I hope these tips give you a good idea of where you can start,
if you are finding yourself in a sticky situation financially.
You might just find that when there's no place to go but up you'll be soaring in no time.
And what are some tactics you tried when you first started your business on a limited budget? I
would love for you to share with me in the comment section below.