Starting a small business should involve marketing strategies that are proven to make money. You are taking a calculated risk to make money, so there is a high risk of failure but not if you have the right focus and the right type of business. Making money will come naturally if you remain passionate about your business.
It is difficult to think this way initially about your new start-up up business because most entrepreneurs generally think of making the extra money they need or making fast money to pay off bills first. After all, that is the reasoning for being in business in the first place. If you have been laid off in this tough economy and need to pay bills it is easy to fall into this trap. To avoid these pitfalls, focus on helping your customer and solving a problem for them.
For a small business to be successful there is usually some upfront expense. Especially in retail and getting your money back is not as fast as most retail shops only net 5-10% profits yearly. You pay for space, fixtures inventory and personnel. There are generally large out of pocket expenses associated with retail. I don’t recommend this method.
Service businesses can be the easiest to start and the least cost to you out of pocket and you help solve problems. You generally can incorporate easily, get business cards and be out on the road speaking to potential customers the same day. For example, an office cleaning service. Just go to a local business park and introduce yourself, shake hands and give them your business card and a quick “elevator pitch” about your business service. You can easily pick up 3-5 customers a day and bill $35-$70 per month per customer using this simple method. Add employees as you need to and do the work yourself, initially.
The internet also offers some low cost approaches similar to the example above. You can develop an information product to solve a problem and make you money quickly. There are effective ways to sell services and information products online while focusing on solving a problem and make money more quickly with a click of the mouse. It has never been easier to start a small business and make a substantial income stream that will continue to make you money, than now.