5 Business Funding Sources Right Under Your Nose

I'm putting the finishing touches on my new book, The Business Money Blueprint: How to Find Funding, Close the Deal and Act on Your Plan and getting ready to hand it off to my copyeditor, but I wanted to share a sneak peek into the self-funding chapter.

Along with the usual suspects (like your own savings, credit cards, friends & family, etc.) I dug around and found enough "options most people overlook” to fill a whole chapter.

Here are five that don’t require a “yes” from anyone:

• Sell stuff you're not using. Look around your house and you'll find hundreds or thousands of dollars in things collecting dust. List them on eBay, Facebook Marketplace or Poshmark this weekend and turn clutter into cash. You could clear serious money in a weekend selling old camera gear, end tables and clothing you forgot you even owned.

• Rent out what you've got. If you're not ready to sell, rent instead. List a spare bedroom on Airbnb, pressure washing equipment on Fat Llama or parking space on a neighbor app. One person I know rents out their guest room 10 days a month and the money is enough to cover a monthly mortgage payment.

• Pre-sell before you build the whole thing. Will Dean built Tough Mudder by pre-selling race registrations, and then he used that money to fund each event. Reach out to your network with an early-bird offer and start collecting money upfront. People get a discount for being early supporters and you get cash to actually build what they're buying.

• Barter for services you need. Trade what you do for what your business needs. Build someone's website in exchange for product photography. Cater an event in exchange for venue space for your launch party. You both get what you need without spending cash.

• Launch before everything's perfect. You don't need the custom equipment, fancy website or dedicated facility to start earning. Offer your service with basic tools and upgrade as revenue comes in.

These five are just a taste. The self-funding chapter covers nine strategies total, plus checklists and other tools to help you match options to your timeline and funding target.

Ready for the full blueprint? The Business Money Blueprint comes out next month and pairs well with Your First Business Blueprint and Blueprints Beat Cocktail Napkins, which helps you create a bulletproof business plan. All three are on Amazon.