How to Start a Business for Under $100

If this year is the year you want to start a business, you need to read this! Check out how to start a business for under $100 for tips on a basic business without stock.

It is easier than ever to start a business, get in front of your target audience, automate things with AI and have success but there is a lot to learn.

You either have to learn it yourself or pay someone to do it for you.

When starting out, I learned how to code, build websites, do my own PR and marketing then later I started outsourcing what I could. In the beginning, I had no budget so simply could not afford to do anything else but I had time.

So I invested in myself, learned everything I could then I got paid to teach others what I knew while also making an income from my businesses. It has been a great option for me.

How to Fund Your Business

Some businesses require more than a shoestring to get started. You can do this either with a loan, your own savings, applying for business grants or if you are currently on Centrelink, there are options that help.

Another is having investors which means you need to learn the skills around pitching and will likely need to give up a percentage of your business. The investing usually comes with mentoring and connection to their networks too so it can be a great option.

Shark Tank is an example of this but not the only way to do it. There are accelerators/incubators in most cities that can help connect you and teach you how to pitch. They also usually have a workspace available and host events that are valuable for you.

Crowdfunding is another option and can work really well with a solid marketing plan.

Get creative about what you want to do, have a clear business plan including marketing and you will find getting funding is easier.

Get $125 from ING to start your business!

If you are a new customer of ING you can get $125 for opening an everyday account with them by doing the following steps:

Open an everyday account, put the promo code CNW116 in the promo box (you must use the code to get the $125 bonus), and complete all the steps below in the first month.
Deposit $1,000 into the account such as your income or Centrelink payments
Make 5 settled transactions
Open a Savings Maximiser (current interest rate is 5.5%)
Deposit any amount into the Savings Maximiser

Then you get your $125 the following month when the promotion is running. Promotion periods vary. The current promotion runs until 31 March 2025.

Business Ideas

What business should you start? That is entirely up to you, what you are interested in, what needs you can solve, your skills and how much time you have.

Check out 99 side hustles for Aussies for some business ideas along with side hustles.

Read through these ideas and do some brainstorming on problems you can solve or needs you see that you could fill.

Check out the government business website for tips on everything business-related.

What If It Doesn't Work?

Business is a risk and it might not always work out, especially if you haven't done your market research, rushed into things and not launched properly.

However, just because it's not working right now, doesn't mean it won't work in the long run.

Get some business advice, have others review it and offer suggestions. Review what is working and how you can maximise that.

Track how you are spending your time and if you are using it in the most efficient ways to achieve your goals.

Consider hiring a coach or business mentor and join some business groups to connect with others who might be able to help.

Stop taking advice from your neighbour or random people in your life. Have they done what you are doing? No. Then they are not the right people to be advising you.

Accept that statistically most people who are close to you won't support you in your business venture as much as you'd like but they will likely all have opinions and "advice". Learn to ignore it.

And if it truly is not working, there is no way to save it and it feels like a failure, look at what you can learn from this experience. Most successful people fail multiple businesses before they strike it big. That's part of the journey and each failure, if reviewed fully and learned from, can make the next thing you do work faster and better.

What Business Do You Have?

If you already have a business, share it with us! Either post it in The Thrifty Issue Group this month (we will approve it and there will be posts about people being allowed to self-promote this month) or respond to a post on Instagram or Facebook.

We want to help promote you because we appreciate you! So share what you do, include a special offer if you like and hopefully you get some business from our community.

Marketing Tips

If you don't have much of a marketing budget, it is crucial you know exactly who your target audience is, where they hang out and how to connect with them.

Even if you can't be on every social platform to begin with, if you can learn to do one or two well, that you know are relevant to your target audience, it can be extremely effective.

Each platform has tutorials so go through them to maximise how you are using them and ensure you are not wasting your advertising budget.

Respond to callouts in SourceBottle to get free media coverage.

Learn how to pitch your articles, what you are doing and special things that happen to the media yourself or utilise a PR firm.

Be active in business groups, give advice and become known as the go to person for whatever your business is about.

Seek out events you can speak at and network in that are relevant to your business to get in front of different audiences and connect.

Enter business awards and learn how to create amazing applications, get your followers involved and share your success.

Have an email list where you send weekly or monthly emails with things relevant to your audience.

These are just a few things you can do but please do share your business this month so we can all support you within our community at least!

What I Am Reading

I have founded and bought then sold various businesses over the years including a hair and beauty business, websites, a marketing agency and a few businesses in Vanuatu. I am also part owner in a few others.

Here are my favourite books to help with a business:

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz is the book to read if you want a great accounting system that ensures profit and makes business money management easy.

We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman's Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power by Rachel Rodgers is one of my favourite books.

The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life by Steve Bartlett.

Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss sounds boring but it is fantastic and has valuable advice. After a stint policing the rough streets of Kansas City, Missouri, Chris Voss joined the FBI, where his career as a kidnapping negotiator brought him face-to-face with bank robbers, gang leaders and terrorists. Never Split the Difference takes you inside his world of high-stakes negotiations, revealing the nine key principles that helped Voss and his colleagues succeed when it mattered the most - when people's lives were at stake.

Rooted in the real-life experiences of an intelligence professional at the top of his game, Never Split the Difference will give you the competitive edge in any discussion.

Chill and Prosper: The New Way to Grow Your Business, Make Millions, and Change the World by Denise Duffield-Thomas is a great look at how to do business differently so it's not all hustle and grind.

$100M Offers: How To Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No by Alex Hormozi is an interesting read that will help you scale your business and market it better.

Launch (Revised & Updated Edition): How to Sell Almost Anything Online, Build a Business You Love, and Live the Life of Your Dreams by Jeff Walker is the book based on his best-selling course Product Launch Formula and has great advice.

Discounts For You!

Food and Alcohol

Up to $200 off YouFoodz: Try the healthy meal delivery plan for less with up to $200 off YouFoodz.

Good Pair Days has a $200 welcome gift with their wine.

VINOMOFO has up to 75% off wine plus free shipping

Up to $190 off Marley Spoon: but this is split over your first 4 boxes. Grab your $190 here.

Up to $144 off Dinnerly: one of Australia’s cheapest meal delivery services. Split across your first 3 boxes. Get your $144 discount here.

EveryPlate has meals as low as $2.19 with this discount.

1500 bonus points and 10% off groceries with Everyday Extra.

T2 has a selection of special offers for Lunar New Year.

FREE Money

Up Bank offers $15 instantly! I’ve been using them for 5 years now both in Australia and overseas. Get your $15 here.

CoinSpot offers a sign up bonus of $10 in BitCoin when you invest $10 here.

Score a bonus $20 when you sign up to Cash Rewards and buy something worth over $20 online where you normally shop.

Shopback offers $5. Be sure to sign up to both because you will get cashback on ALL your shopping at stores they are connected with.

$5 Cash from WeMoney: Track your money easily and for free with WeMoney and get a bonus $5 when you join and connect your first account. Use the code GHPT8091 to get your $5 here.