by Joe Lee

Created on: November 25, 2008   Last Updated: October 04, 2010

Entrepreneur! It seems like the life of an entrepreneur is so interesting. Indeed it is filled with never ending excitement, but just like anyone, the life of an entrepreneur has its ups and downs. But then who is to say what is ups and what is downs. Most entrepreneurs see the downs as ups. It is just a matter of perspective. Entrepreneurs are able to see the downs as an opportunity or a learning experience, thus, the downs become the ups.

Being an entrepreneur for 5 years, not a long time though; I may be able to share my experiences with you. I believe I earn the right to crash some of the myth about business. There are too many "fact" about business that are taught by non-business people. Some of these "fact" are simply not true.

Myth - You need capital to start a business

I want to tell you, you don't need capital to start a business. You do need creative juices to start a business. Think about all the successful entrepreneur you can think of, how many of them start their business with a lot of money?

I started my business with only $20. I didn't even pay for the registration of the business. I also imported products from China without coming up with any upfront fee. This makes me believe strongly that you do not need any money to start a business. Whenever someone told me he can't start his business because he didn't have enough money, I always asked, "why do you need money to start a business?" In my belief system, start a business with money doesn't make sense to me anymore.

Not only me, many of my friends are able to start their business with very little money - as little as $100. Why are my friends and me are able to start our business with so little money?

Very simple, we do exactly opposite what the professors are teaching. What most business books teach is to buy then sell. We did the opposite, we sell then buy. When I decide to sell a new product, I will not but first. I will go around selling it first, taking order from prospective customers. Once I got all the orders, then I will buy the products. This way I minimize my risk and I do not need any upfront cash to buy the products. I collect the money first upon order, then use the money to buy the product.

When a person says he needs money to start his business, actually the big chuck of money is not used in buying products. Most of the money is used in renting office space, buying fixed assets like computers, printers, furniture etc. After renting the office, they spend huge amount to renovate

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