Kay was serving his National Youth Service Corps in Ondo state when he went with his friend to visit a relative. When they got there, they discovered that even though the fans were all turned on, the room was really hot. When Kay inquired to know why the elderly man complained about how all the fans in his house had refused to work properly since he bought them. According to him, he had called several electricians and spent thousands of naira trying to get it fixed but nothing worked.
As an Electrical engineer, Kay got curious and asked if the man could allow him to check out the fan. “Go ahead and do what you want. I wouldn’t even mind if you spoilt it in the process. The fan is just no good. You have no idea how many electricians have tried to fix it”.
Within a few minutes of checking it, Kay excused himself, rushed to the market to get what he needed to fix the fan. Just like that, the fan picked up and started working properly. The elderly man was very appreciative of his efforts, paid him for his services, and had him fix the rest of the fans in the house.
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Right there, he asked Kay if he would be interested in handling the electric wiring of a new house he just completed building. To cut the story short, that was the start of a business that is now worth millions of naira. Kay went from being self-employed after his service year, to employing people under his electrical wiring and installation business.
This is a perfect example of zero financing. A lot of would-be entrepreneurs can write a long list about why they are yet to start a business because they have not secured funding. But the fact is – it is possible to start with zero financing.
A business only exists because it is solving a problem, and there are two ways to go about it. One way is to gather funds to solve the problem and begin to seek the market. The second way is to get a client or two, solve their problems, and then use the funds to set about getting other clients. You can tell that the first method is riskier because you could pump in funds to get all the materials you need and never get a client. I am sure you know that there are businesses that are yet to become profitable even after two years of operations.
The second method holds less risk for you and allows you to start the business on the side while getting some income from other sources. You cannot afford to treat a business as a side hustle when you have pumped in funds, yours or others. But when you get one client and offer your services, you get paid, you get a review, and possibly a referral. This also becomes part of your portfolio. You sure know that you could have the funds and after pitching to a client, they would still ask for reviews and portfolio.
According to smallbizgenius, over 60% of successful businesses started with zero or minimal finance and built their way up. Don’t put off that business any longer. Just sniff out a client, and solve his problem. The funds will trickle in gradually.