You don’t always need a lot of capital to get a business up and running in Vietnam. In fact, sometimes you can get started with little to no funding. (Yes!) Starting a business with no money might initially seem like a far-fetched idea, but it’s not impossible.
It’s true that to start and scale any business, you’re going to need more than just extra cash flow. You’ll likely need partners, investors and a solid plan for how you’re going to use your new business funds to grow. But, when you’re just starting out, you start out small. Even better: you can start out as small as you like.
Related: How to start your business in Vietnam as a foreigner
If your plan is to open up a storefront where you sell your hand-crafted wares, you can always start by selling them to friends and family. You can build up a reputation and get initial feedback. Then, you can sell them on a third-party website online. After that, you can move on to hosting your own site and store. You get the idea.
If you’re worried about how you can start a business with zero funds, here are a few ideas on where you can start.
5 Things You Really DON’T Need for Small Business Startup
An office. You can work from your home. If you set up a home office, do keep track of all your home expenses as you may be able to take a tax deduction for the use of your home office.
A formal business plan. A business plan can certainly help you think about everything you need and where your business is going. But if you don’t need a business loan, you probably don’t need to spend the time creating a formal business plan.
A formal business structure. You can start as a sole proprietor, which doesn’t require any formal registration with your city, as does an LLC, partnership, or corporation. Just get going; you can do a formal registration later. Ask your lawyer to be advised in details.
A loan or outside money. If you are starting small, you may be able to use personal funds for startup and use money from income to fund your business. If you need to borrow money to buy products for sale, see if you can use trade credit from the suppliers or open a business credit card.
Employees. You can start on your own without employees, which can be a huge cost and hassle. If you need help, hire independent contractors as pay them for work.