Building Zero Cost Knowledge-Based Business (III)

Money, you cannot run business without it. Though I am talking about zero cost, but money is still involved in any business. Without money, your business will not profit even if it is a zero cost business. This is why, it is extremely important to have business clients while having an investor will help you to quickly expand your business.

It is really hard to run a business while having a day job. You have limited time to approach your customers directly or even to surface for your business. It is therefore important to join a network to promote your services through your friends and strangers. Promote your solutions and skills through Facebook chats or your blog. A casual chat with your friends might bring you surprises. You will never know your friend of friend are actually looking for the solution you are building. This helps your solution to be promoted rapidly by just word of mouth.

There are plenty of "middleman" or "solution brokers" around. Many people has huge contact database and are always looking for "lubang"(opportunities). However, be very careful and selective when you encounter one. A good "solutions broker" will help you to manage your entire project and provide you with peace of mind to concentrate on solution development. Never underpay your broker. A good solution broker helps you to build your track record which is extremely important for a business to attract more customers and investors. These brokers will also be a good marketing personnel for your business if you are able to pay him/her handsomely.
Investors are able to help your business to take a leap for your business expansion. If you have a good solution which is attractive, investors are always interested to invest in your business. How you can meet these investors ? Some tips for you on investors:

1. Join Entrepreneur Clubs. Be it MCA ICT Resource Center, TeAM or PUMM, these organisations provide you with necessary information and networks to access to investors.

2. Look for Listed Companies. There are over 1000 listed companies in Bursa Malaysia alone.Listed companies are owned by many shareholders. Their money belongs to public and most of these companies are always interested in acquiring potential companies to boost their revenue and improve business portfolio. If you happen to know any friends working with or owning(as a director) a listed company, you can always approach them to help you to sell your company.

3. Private angels. There are many people who are rich and do not know what to do with their money. Socialise around and you might get surprises. To expand your social network, join Toast Masters to get to know more professionals. You can also visit trade shows and free conferences to get to know more people from different industry.

These are some basic guidelines to start a zero-cost business and by no means a comprehensive one. I hope to cover more from time to time in future. Feel free to drop your comments if you have any. Moving to more interesting topic soon... :) . Why city folks are always reluctant or late to get married ?