Basically, I have rights to 2,000 Auto-Rickshaws in India and I plan to use them for Advertising purposes. I have tried to raise the necessary $10,000 for Start-up costs (Starting a company, hiring legal help, getting Placards for Advertising, etc.) but everyone looks at my age and translates that into incompetence. I am frustrated as I have spent hours of rational thought into the idea and I am trying to document a flaw, but as far as I can envision it is a perfectly good idea. As a 16 year old, I do not have accumulated Capital. My parents are not very supportive either. I believe that what I have is a good, planned concept without any clear means of Capital accrual. Everything else, I have worked with and executed. I am confused and on the verge of giving up, and because of my age, lose out on a good opportunity. I was wondering if anyone can help me. Thank You.
2006-10-23 20:05:48 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Advertising & Marketing ➔ Other - Advertising & Marketing
business is more complicated than you think, is not enough to have only good idea, you need lots of other skills, which i don't believe you have if you are only 16, unless you are some kind of wonder kid ... but I think you are heading to the right direction .... just keep going in that direction and one day you are going to be very successful
2006-10-23 21:59:40 · answer #1 · answered by Callisto 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Raising capital is a challenge for everyone in business; not only 16 year old boys. I am 31 and a business owner myself, and it was very difficult to get started. First I want to say that I wish I thought of getting into business when a I was 16, so I commend you for it. Second, I learned that if you don't have the money, and no one else wants to invest, you have to first demonstrate your ability to "do business".
I'll explain. When I first started, I also saw many great opportunities that I did not have capital for, and could not get investors. So I had to let them go, and pursue smaller opportunities that required mostly work and little money. A few things happened during the execution of the smaller opportunities. You start to meet other people in business (very important). Then these other business people see that you are dedicated to the success of whatever project it is, that you can create cash flow, and that you do not cheat or steal money. The word spreads really fast in business, so you should get more deals as your name gets around (as long as it is in a good way). As you build capital with your profits, you can move up to bigger deals.
Now this is a "from the bottom up" approach. I had to do it, and it worked. It was very difficult at the beginning because of small profits and long hours, but it was worth it. So I want to add to not lose focus of the deals you are really interested in. You should still pursue them as they may still come together.
All I am saying is that sometimes you have to prove yourself in business before people want to give you money for a new venture. This is because you may have a very good business plan, but you have not proved before that you are willing to put in the work. Business can become a very work intensive ordeal, so be prepared for it. Investors may fear that if it gets tough, you may not be able to work through it.
In other words, while you pursue your bigger dream projects, also show a good performance in smaller deals. People will start to trust and respect you as a business person, and will want to deal with you for the bigger projects; because at the end of the day business is about making money, and if you don't show people that you know how to make money, they are not going to feel comfortable giving you money.
If what you need is about $10,000 I suggest that you research micro-financing, but you will need an adult to represent you on the loan. If you want to stick at searching for investors, then you need to prove yourself as a money making business person.
I want to add that be careful if hiring someone to handle it for you. The wrong person may take advantage and "steal" your idea because of your age. Also, these representatives tend to charge up front, but cannot guarantee results. All they will do is talk to the people they know (other business people), to see if they can find investors, but they cannot guarantee that these "angel investors" will be interested. If the representative is going to search for loans, then you are back to square one because you need an adult with good credit to sign.
2006-10-23 20:43:04 · answer #2 · answered by jasonheavilin 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have every right to start up a business in advertising, but you haven't got the contacts to get the big advertising contracts. For this you will have to get in touch with another firm who you could maybe obtain work from i.e. using another advertising firms contacts as work for now, until you get your own clients. Its all about portraying an image, you will probably need to dress up, or even better go along with someone older.
But most of all if you have passion and are dead sure of what your doing . . .
dont ever give up! it takes time, but it will happen :D
2006-10-23 22:19:56 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi, it's great to see someone your age being so brave and ambitious. I'd like to suggest you visit the link below. It shows you many ways to create income with literally NO money to start with.
You could build up some collateral to go to the bank with who would look more favourably on your proposal then.
It's an information site rather than sales, so you're under no pressure to spend money you don't have.
But do follow through the site. Don't just read the first page and leave.
Good luck, Pete.
2006-10-23 23:21:21 · answer #4 · answered by Peter M 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I feel youre pain. I walked into the bank a few days ago to try and take out a loan and they just looked at me like a glop on the wall.
I need some $ tostart a web buissness but noone takes me seriosley even though it is a great plan. Email me at darrkadlubowski@yahoo.com I would like to hear about youre buissnes. I'm 12.
2006-10-23 20:17:43 · answer #5 · answered by darrkadlubowski 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are not saying what country you are in. If you are in the United States, check out Junior Achievements. Get your parents on board with your ideas because legally they will be responsible for your actions if you are under legal age to conduct business on your own. If you are outside of the USA, contact the Junior Achievements anyway and ask for assistance. They are very knowledgeable with teens and entrepreneurship. What do you have to lose???
2006-10-23 23:44:05 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try this website
www.libertyleague.com. If you like what you see give send me an e-mail. I also have a number that you can call and listen to a live phone call about this business. It is not one on one it is with a whole lot of people and when it is done you can give me a call and I can answer any questions you might have.
2006-10-24 04:26:30 · answer #7 · answered by Bill C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am new to a business which does marketing online and is in India. As far as I know you can sell products if your parents will back you. If you want to see my website you can contact me at basyejones@wwdb.com and I will lead you to my website. Also I will find out about marketing our products in India. Best of luck and You can do it even at a young age!
2006-10-24 09:56:05 · answer #8 · answered by neonskye1 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hire someone to represent you. Someone who is older and will present an adult and professional image. They could be paid by a portion of what sales they get.
Often people will discount others because they look too young to actually take seriously.
2006-10-23 20:19:55 · answer #9 · answered by billybetters2 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Money talks kid. If you draw up a business plan & perhaps hire a professional to manage all of this, you will succeed. If you are serious & take every step towards success, you will succeed
2006-10-23 20:10:47 · answer #10 · answered by Claude 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋