Lots of people think that starting a business demands you have some money to start the business. Apparently there are some people who hardly spend any cash to get the things they sell. How do the get the items they sell? There are a number of sites where you can get freebies. These people get the freebies, list them on Ebay and when someone buys what they sell think of the profits they'll be making. I think it's something someone who doesn't have capital to start a business should think of.
I have known people who do this. They also make a business out of selling what they got free at yard sales and flea markets. Sometimes they will buy a whole storage locker of items so a small price, say $100 and then resell everything in it for thousands. I know people who have been really successful at this and made a fair amount of money.
If you have a really good business idea, perhaps you can get others to lend you seed capital or to invest in your idea (or both).
Some capital is necessary to make a real business. Selling a couple of freebies on ebay will never amount to much and you probably will be getting paid like $2 per hour of work you put into it. But yeah an online business doesn't always require a lot of capital but you do need something. If you can't save on your own then banks/friends/investors can provide you with the cash provided that your idea is good enough.
A business isn't about the idea it's about the implementation and execution. You have to have a good eye, I know people who buy up things at markets and sell them on Ebay. But it's a 50+ hr/week endevour.
There are tricks in the online business particularly the selling. What's getting popular now is dropshipping. It is a business where you get a contract with a supplier and begin selling their products. When you get an order, you just forward the order to the supplier and in turn, they have the good delivered to the customer. Plainly, dropshipping is like brokering or being a sales agent. What's good is that you need no capital except for the website maybe. However, most dropshippers here are doing their business in the social media.
I think that's the beauty of starting an online business, there are many start up costs that you can avoid. Things such as storage costs, etc are minimal. You can run your business from the comfort of your own room. However, one also needs to consider that the online market is very competitive. You are competing at the global level, so competition you face may at times be much stiffer.
To start any business and make it work needs some sort of capital. Online businesses need less than most though so for a person that is struggling with funds for a new venture, an online business can be an option. It won't be easy, and a lot of new businesses, even online ones will fail, but if the idea is right, then eventually somebody will invest, it's just a matter of not giving up
Great model but as others have stated here that can be risky, not too productive and wasteful on actual talents you have that you can bank on starting with little or no money. Tutoring or teaching for one is a great example. Put in a little elbow grease and start a cleaning business if you want. There really are a thousand ways to start a business with no capital you just have to be creative about it.
There are numerous ways to make money online and some people are making it without investing a single cent. This kind of method is for instance drop-shipping where you find a buyer for a product which you order only when you have made a sale.