Do you have great business idea?
Do you think your business idea is a great concept?
How can you test it out and do it fast with minimal risk?
If it is a good business idea, do you have the money to execute it?

I believe most of the business owners will often face the above situation while running your business. Your eureka moment may came out of the blue and you feel strongly it will bring you great profit but just do not have enough funding to implement it. It will be a pity that great ideas are lost due to lack of funding but finding an investor is another challenge. In addition, there is a risk involved when your idea is not tested and no one is willing to invest on unproven idea. So in this post, I would like to share with you how you can launch a great business idea without any money!

Too Good to be True
Does it sounds too good to be true? Yes, it is. If you think your idea need $X amount of money to implement, you can get the needed money for free through a platform called crowdfunding. The process of crowdfunding is normally done through the internet.

How it works?
You can just go to those websites that offer crowdfunding services and launch a project to ask for the needed money to fund your idea. All these crowdfunding websites will do all the backend, administrative and legal works for you so you can focus solely on raising the money or fund you required.

Each crowdfunding websites has different purposes, target audiences and constraints so pick the one which is most suitable to your needs. For example, some crowdfunding websites require you to raise the exact amount you ask for before they can release the fundraising amount to you while some websites allow you to get whatever amount that have gathered. The crowdfunding websites will charge you a fee for using their services and it is normally between the rates of 5%-9% excluding the fee charged by payment gateway like Paypal and Amazon payment.

• Pros of Using Crowdfunding
  Unlike investors who invest in your business, the fund you get from crowdfunders do not interfere the daily operation of your business or demand monetary reward in return. In other word, you maintain 100% ownership of your idea. You continue to have the freedom to do what you want and benefit from the direct feedback from those who contribute. However, you are required to give some rewards in exchange of contribution, for example a copy of your work, complimentary gifts or services.

  The greatest benefit of using crowdfunding is once you started a project, you are already building a community and you could benefit from the viral marketing as these supporters help to spread the news of your project through word of mouth.

• Cons of Using Crowdfunding
  The risk involved is when you expose your great idea to the public, it may inspire a lot of copycats. Next, if you need large capital, for example beyond $1 million for your idea, crowdfunding may not suitable for you. Moreover, you have to convince a large crowd that your ideas will work in order for them to contribute so publicizing and marketing your project during the process is critically important.

Examples of Crowdfunding Website
There are, in fact, quite a lot of crowdfunding websites available where you can turn to for funding but majority of them focus specifically on creative artists, designers, filmmakers and musicians. Hence, for your convenience, I have extracted a few crowdfunding websites that are meant more for business ventures, entrepreneurs and startups.

It is mentioned by TechCrunch as the first global crowdfunding tool for startups where you can access to global experts and funders for your project. It is a platform not only open to people looking for fund but also a place for investors looking for interesting startups to invest. In other words, besides getting fund from the public and community, you can get direct investment from investors as well but be prepared to prepare a detailed business plan.

GrowVC has a different crowdfunding business model than the rest as it charge subscription fee instead of one-time fee from the project you raised. Unlike other crowdfunding website that gives you only monetary support, they also have sweat equity investment where experts can invest time and sweat in your business to improve your business venture. For more information on how their model can help you, visit their blog.

Unlike other crowdfunding website, it is free to join KickStarter which made it an attractive option for many startups. They only charge a flat fee of 5% of the fund you have raised if you meet the fundraising goal.

The beauty of using KickStarter is you still have 100% ownership of the business and revenue you generated. The contributors will not gain anything from your venture. But in order to attract enough funding for your project, you must be willing to offer attractive reward (or offer terms) to funders so that they are more willing to fund your project.

The only drawback of using KickStarter is it requires your project to meet the fundraising amount and time limit that you have set otherwise no fund will be released to you.

Like KickStarter, it is free to join IndieGoGo. It may look an attractive option for some as it does not have constraint to meet the funding goal like KickStarter. However, KickStarter does not allow you to have any money if you cannot meet the funding goal but in IndieGoGo, you are allowed to keep whatever amount you have raised. They do charge a slightly higher fee for unmet funding goal though while the normal rate is 4%.

Besides the above website, there are other crowdfunding websites also worth exploring. They are Amazee, CreateaFund, CrowdFunder, Profounder, PeerBackers, Quirky, CoFundOS, FundBreak and Venture Socially.

Tip: Get Funded Quickly
Finally, a tip on how to get your idea funded quickly: establish your group of followers or fans as early as possible. They are the one who usually will be more interested in your idea and more incline to support you since they are your followers/fans. So do take action today and you can leverage on your followers when the needs arise.

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What do you think about the crowdfunding concept? Do you think they can help you to get your idea get funded and implemented fast. Please leave me your thought and comment below.

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