Page 152 - The $100 Startup_ Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love

world.
• A former store designer for Starbucks, Charlie Pabst needed a $3,500

computer for his Seattle design business. But after he had the powerful
machine and a $100 business license, he was good to go. Annual income:
just under $100,000.

These stories are not outliers. When I began the research for this book, I
received more than 1,500 nominations, with similar stories from all over the
world. You can see the range of startup costs from our study group in the graph
below. The average cost of the initial investment was $610.60.*

You might expect that certain types of businesses are easier to start with

limited funds, and that is correct. It’s also the whole point: Since it’s so much
easier to start a microbusiness, why do something different unless or until you
know what you’re doing? Small is beautiful, and all things considered, small is
often better.

Unconventional Fundraising from Kickstarter to Car Loans
What if you’ve thought it through and you do need to raise money somehow?
Whenever possible, the best option is your own savings. You’ll be highly
invested in the success of the project, and you won’t be in debt to anyone else.
But if this isn’t possible, you can also consider “crowdraising” funds for your
project through a service such as Kickstarter.com. Shannon Okey did this with a
project to boost her craft publishing business. She asked for $5,000 and received