Having small capital is actually a good thing.
In 2008, I made a bold move of withdrawing ALL my money from the Pension Plan I had been saving since college to start a business. Together with my friend, we franchised a food cart business. If you remember Hongkong Fried Noodles, that quick, yummy and affordable merienda, that is where we placed our hope of exiting our 8 to 5 and becoming full time entrepreneurs.
I remembered the excitement of being in “business” — the feeling of being a real entrepreneur. It was surreal. I was a real businesswoman handling our very own franchised business. We placed our cart in front of a university. Perfect location. Only that, there were a hundred more food carts around and ours never became a favorite among students. Days passed by. Weeks passed by. And in less than 3 months, our cash started to run out. Not so much income was coming in to actually continue running the business.

What happened next?

We closed it down along with our hard earned life savings. Ouch.

We gave it all out. Our time, effort and…. money. Unfortunately, it didn’t click. And as my father would often tell me, “It’s ok. Charge it to experience.” What else can I do but learn from that failure.

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Maybe some of you are thinking…

IF ONLY I had the money. I would start my own business. If only I have enough capital, I’d set up this business in no time. If only I had enough cash, my dream business would have been within reach.

Can I tell you something? It is actually a blessing that you don’t have hundreds of thousands to spend to start your business. What if you fail? Do you know how painful that would have been?

My advice?
Start small.

When you have lots of money to spend for your business, your tendency is to buy unnecessary supplies, spend on advertising, etc. But when you only have little, it will force you to be creative and innovative. When you have little to spare, you will be mindful in spending every centavo. You will be more vigilant in your business cashflow.

Believe me when I say, it’s a blessing to start your business with little money.

Did you know that Jollibee started out as ice cream parlors and only later on did it transform into a huge burger chain? They didn’t start out as a big company. They slowly made its way up.

Don’t be dismayed you don’t have enough money nor let it stop you from pursuing your dream business. Instead, start now and start small.

Do you agree that you should start small in business?
Is having a small capital a hindrance for you?

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