Never underestimate the value of an idea. To quote Alan Moore, “ideas are bulletproof”. Ideas change the world and they can come to anyone regardless of their age, gender, nationality, job or personal financial circumstances. Albert Einstein famously came up with his best work while employed as a clerk at a patent office. Who knows where that spark of inspiration for a potentially life changing business might strike; while walking the dog, getting coffee in the break room or while preparing a compliance report. The important thing is to nurture that spark and over time, craft it into a viable business plan. Unfortunately, however, an idea (however great and original) simply isn’t enough to start a business in the digitally led and ultra competitive contemporary business landscape. Businesses, even those that are run from home and exist solly in the digital domain, need startup capital to cover the inevitable overheads. Securing this seed money can be challenging, especially if your own personal credit rating is less than exemplary. Yet though getting a business off the ground alongside managing personal debt can be challenging, it can be done…

Start managing your debt right now

Nobody likes dealing with their personal debt and we all feel that sense of gnawing worry in the pit of the stomach when forced to confront it. Yet confronting the debt demon is the best way to exorcise it. Many of us carry around multiple debts from numerous creditors, each with its own rate of interest. This is one of the most common ways for debt to spiral out of control. Grasping the nettle and getting in touch with one of the top debt settlement companies may well be the most beneficial thing you do this year! There are many solutions to debt that can significantly improve your credit score.

Reduce your personal expenses

You likely don’t want to hear this, but cutting your personal expenses is crucial if you are to manage the expense of running a business alongside effectively managing your debts. Many successful entrepreneurs experience this in their early days. Nicole Bandklayder founder of The Cookie Cups and many other lucrative businesses began her business while owing significant credit card debt. She relocated from New York to the more modestly priced Minneapolis to drive down her living expenses. Your reductions needn’t even be this extreme. Merely adopting a meal planning strategy so that you avoid excessive spending on restaurants and take out can add up to make a real difference over the space of a year.

Start small and grow

It can be frustrating when you have a fully formed business plan but don’t have the startup capital to facilitate it. If this will take you longer than you’d like, ask yourself if there’s some way you could start your business on a smaller scale so that your initial overheads are significantly reduced. Even just buying the domain name for your business, designing the logo and establishing a social media presence are ,low cost ways of growing your brand even if your business isn’t quite up and running yet.