Some Ways to Get Funding for Your Business Idea

This is just one of the big questions when you're starting a business, where to get the money to make money? The rule of the world right now is that if you have more money, you will even have more money. While those who have nothing or less than nothing will even have less. And yes, it sucks to think about fairness sometimes.

There's a lot of self-help or get rich quick books out there saying that you don’t need money to make money, but I think that is just absolutely BS. If you don’t have your own money to fund your billion-dollar idea, maybe your family has some hidden treasure box inside your mansion or you have some investor friends or some connections in the bank or you have a car to sell. Unless you have rich parents or structural advantages in the society, then you do need money. The most celebrated entrepreneurs got their money somewhere for sure, they didn't build something out of the garage or dorm room just like that. So don’t fall easily for those venture articles that say these entrepreneurs didn’t have money to start with or that they were frugal enough to build something from scratch. It is just one of the ways to keep us regular beings disillusioned. If you are residing in the so-called ‘unsafe’ part of the world, you’ll probably need even more money to get noticed. People don’t really notice poor people’s ideas. But please, don’t hate the poor and the rich, just focus on getting that money to be able to get out of the mud. Just focus on what drives you to create meaning in this meaningless world, as you live amongst meaningless lives.

There’s this fancy term called “bootstrapping”, it just means financing your venture by scraping together all your personal funds or whatever you have, like jewelry to pawn, bank account, crypto savings, kids to sell and other things. This is my preferred way to fund a business as I don’t really want to depend on anyone else. In my dumb opinion, using the money you have instead of borrowing or raising is a better approach. I think I will continue doing this until my business becomes profitable. I just hate the idea of extensive loans and all the headache of monthly payments. If possible, I want to be able to work on my project stress and worry-free especially when it comes to the financial aspect.

However, the downside is that if you don’t have the patience and motivation enough, this is a really slow process. It might mean working full-time or part-time while trying to get your startup off the ground. You need more time to work on your project and sometimes, you won’t even have the luxury of free time due to your job. If your business idea is something like a swanky cafe, party hostel, a cool new app that beats uber, or something that requires a lot of money, then you might consider getting some external funding. This is true for those who need more capital to be able to afford setting up an office or hire people. Bootstrapping or crowdfunding might not be enough. In my case, I don’t really need to hire people as I can do everything on my own, at least for now, which is also kind of overwhelming. At this moment, instead of focusing on being a founder or a salesperson, I’ve been focusing too much on being a graphic designer and marketer. When I make a decent amount of money, enough to pay the rent, I’ll surely hire some people who will do all this extra work for me.

External funding is just one of the ways to scale your business quickly. If your fund runs out or you decide you want more along the way, then you might look into finding some people who might want to invest in your idea. There are also crowdfunding sites these days where you can raise money from your social media supporters. Then there’s also the good old going through the banks to take out some loans.

Somehow I can still manage using my personal funds without going hungry, yet. I just cringe at the idea of going out of my way to ‘pitch’ or beg someone to believe in me. I must admit that I want total control of everything that I do. When I fail, I fail alone. I will fail hard as if that’s something not new to me. And when I succeed, I don’t have to worry about someone who has some % hold on me. I don’t want to worry about leaving someone or dividing something for that matter. Surely, I want to be able to help others to have better lives without them controlling my own life. I know I have this narcissistic and quite alarming psycho-drive right now and it’s probably due to my life’s circumstances and past experiences.

Asking some money from your friends can be a daunting prospect but there’s no harm in trying, especially if you have good friends, probably 1 or 2, who really believe in your idea. Just don’t forget them when you're rich.

Whether you decide to rob a bank, sell some drugs or hack a corporate website, getting the funds for your business would be really up to you. Just make it ethical as much as possible. If you have an idea, I guess you just have to take the first step to get into it. People have lots of ideas but don't have the courage to start something, that's the problem. We are all conditioned to stay within the illusion of security and all-too-comfortable. Back in the day, my friends and I were just dreaming and pouring one great idea after another as we smoked weed. They will remain as only ideas until you let it materialize by taking some action. Though it can be a long road to having a better life, which does not necessarily mean becoming filthy rich, finding a few allies along the way can make all the difference in the world.