Category: Start a Business

Blooming Beautiful: Starting a Business With Almost No Money

When I was thinking about starting my first business, Blooming Beautiful, we were living with my parents. We had an 8 month old and my husband was at university getting his post graduate teaching diploma. 

We did not have much spare money to invest in starting a business. 

Through Blooming Beautiful I sold secondhand maternity clothes on behalf of other women.

My costs were:

Logo – mum helped me design it   (free – outline of me pregnant with Ruby). 

Advertisements -I printed them at the local Warehouse Stationery ($6 for ream of paper plus 10c a sheet for 4 ads each sheet).

I placed the ads at places like Plunket, kindergartens, and daycare centers (Free). 

Clothing Racks (secondhand $40 x 2)

Mannequin (secondhand $50 approx)

It was an incredibly inexpensive business to start. Mostly the cost of paper (advertisements and tags). The ‘store’ was a spare room in our house.

My admin was a school maths book. The cost of goods sold was so low. We referred to it as our cash cow. 

Lioness: When the Costs Step Up

My second business was Lioness. This was quite a different business. I designed and produced breastfeeding tops. Our tag line was “breastfeeding in public privately” 

I was pregnant with our second child, our son Jack when I started Lioness. (This is me modelling with Jack)

The costs with this business were much higher:

Design of patterns – I have a Certificate in Pattern Making and Garment Assembly (free)

Material – bought by the metre from a warehouse in South Auckland

Cost of cutting material – dependent on quantity

Cost of sewing tops – dependent on quantity

Postage

Packaging

Labels

Advertising – Magazines & newspaper

Child Expo – we had a stall

Clothing Label tag

Website design

Website hosting

Our income per item was greater with the tops than the maternity clothes but the cost of goods sold was greater also. 

We were in a position to put more money in this business, but each time, my personal comfort level was to always and only put in money that we could afford to lose, or if we lost it, our home life wasn’t in jeopardy at all. 

Initially with Lioness we started with a smaller run, so limited material costs. I cut the first lot out myself although we still sent them to a professional seamstress. 

We did some free giveaways to promote the business. I joined a radio giveaway to talk about it on the radio. 

We sold these 2 businesses when we bought our first home and moved south of Auckland to Cambridge.

Once Upon A Garden: Investing in Setup, Keeping Running Costs Low

We had 2 more children in Cambridge and when my youngest was 3, I started thinking of another business. This time was different again. I retrained as a Landscape Designer and Once Upon A Garden Landscape Design was born.

For the fuller story read my blog:  Your First Business Idea Doesn’t Have to Be Forever   

I invested in this business more than my previous ones. (Approximate Figures)

SET UP COSTS

Retraining – Diploma of Landscape Design ($2500)

TurboCAD Software ($400)

Laptop (already had but have upgraded over the years)

Graphic Designer for Logo and Letterhead – $800

Vehicle Signage ($300)

T-shirts/Sweatshirt branded ($700)

Business cards and promotional material ($300)

ONGOING COSTS

Once the foundational costs were purchased, the costs of goods sold was very minimal. 

Each design incurred a draft cost ($10)

Cardboard Tube packaging ($11)

Costs of final printing ($30-100) 

Thank you chocolates and a card ($10)

With Once Upon A Garden, a deposit is paid from the client at the start of each job which well and truly covered any costs incurred by me, so the cost of goods sold with this one was very low. 

The setup was higher here but they were one off costs and ongoing this business is very cheap to run. 

So How Much Money Do You Need to Start a Business?

Depends on the business. For my first 2 businesses, I didn’t need cards but for some reason I thought I would for Once Upon A Garden. So I ordered a thousand. Turns out, my clients find me on social media etc. and when they find me , they don’t need a business card. (I still have a fair amount in my business cupboard in the garage).

We can easily assume we know what each business needs but I have learnt that is not always the case. 

With Blooming Beautiful I advertised with physical photocopied homemade ads. Lioness was in magazines and newspapers and the radio. Once Upon A Garden is via social media and we have a website. Each one has different needs.

Ways to Keep Startup Costs Down

There are ways to lower the cost of a lot of items. Design your own logo on Canva, use an online printing business for your cards etc. and funnily enough check what you actually need before getting it. You can do your own bookkeeping, via Excel spreadsheets. I do all my accounts, get them as ready as possible then hand them to my accountant who usually spends just a couple of hours checking things. A lot of equipment can be bought secondhand then upgraded as and when you grow. 

There are times to be lean and there are times to invest. Initially I did everything myself and only did free courses and learnt the slow way for sure. 

And then when I was able, I bought the smaller courses and eventually bought the larger ones to buy time and someone else’s expertise.

So there is a time to be lean and when the situation allows, a time to seek help.

My One Rule for Investing in a Business

My approach with our finances for starting each business has stayed the same. Only invest money that we could live without. This relieved me of a lot of stress when starting these businesses. And when the opportunity arose as the business grew, I could invest more. This has worked wonderfully for us. Admittedly, Tim was working full time so my businesses never had to carry us financially, and I know that is a huge advantage. My recommendation would be to consider what your ‘can afford to lose’ amount is and start there. 

And another starter low cost move is to watch my free class. I walk you through my Entry to Exit Blueprint and we go deeper into WHY you want to be in business. It’s 30 minutes, and true to everything in this post, it costs nothing. Sign up here. 

The Hobby Business I Was Ignoring

In 2019, just before covid hit, I was applying for jobs as an Architectural Technician.  I had been treating my business Once Upon A Garden Landscape Design as a hobby for years, never seriously considering working for myself as a real option. Not giving it any love or attention. Very random marketing and next to no social media presence. When I did work, I was charging about $60 an hour, so even after tax, that was still a very healthy hourly rate.  

I had recently completed a Diploma of Architectural Technology. The starting rate for this role could be around minimum wage, approximately $25/hr. in NZ at the time. This was pretty shocking to me especially when you compare it to the hourly rate I could bring in with landscape design. With still having 4 kids at home, I had decided I didn’t want to work fulltime. 

When Covid Closed the Door on Job Hunting

Then covid hit and any job opportunities dried up alongside it. 

The thought came to me to compare the options in front of me:

Continue to look for work as an architectural technician at $25/yr, earning approximately $26,000 a year before tax.

Or – could I boost work on Once Upon A Garden with the goal of bringing in a similar amount, and still retain the flexible lifestyle I wanted?

So the goal was to meet what I could earn part time as an Architectural Technician. This was 26k a year before tax. Dividing 26k by $60/hr. came to 433 hours a year. That’s about 8.5hrs a week. The same income as working 20 hours a week for someone else , without the travel costs, the rigid hours and the boss. 

A very doable option.

Why Working For Yourself Pays More Than You Think

The year before this decision OUAG brought in $3700 Net Profit.

When you work for yourself, Net Profit is what is left over after you have taken out all legitimate expenses. If you work for somebody else you get taxed on your take-home pay and still have to cover travel costs and work expenses yourself. Working for yourself means you get taxed after expenses – things like work-related travel, phone, internet and in my case, a portion of my mortgage interest, rates and insurance. This is huge. 

At this point I wasn’t putting any meaningful energy into the business. I had been studying, and life was full on. Once Upon A Garden was firmly on the sideline.

The Numbers That Changed Everything

But I now had the goal of 25k. 

This type of challenge invigorates me. I find I respond well to a tricky spot and having to figure a way out of it. I get inspired to look at an issue from different angles and think, what can we do here? How can we help ourselves here?

In 2020, OUAG brought in $17,300 Net Profit. 

Bear in mind, some of the expenses being deducted were ones we would have spent anyway. We claimed a portion of our mortgage interest, phone, internet, rates etc. because our office is at home. This made the actual benefit to us even higher.

In 2021 OUAG brought in $19500!!!!!

During lockdown I worked on my systems and made things more efficient. I created a plant database which continues to save me hours of time with every single client. 

Over this time, my husband wasn’t able to work due to covid regulations so we created a property services role within Once Upon A Garden. One-off garden maintenance, weeding, odd jobs – the things people don’t want to do themselves. 

How cool that this hobby business, which was only ever meant to provide bonus money, could now support our whole family and give work to my husband.

Working For Yourself Gives You Options a Job Never Can

The thing I love most about working for yourself is that you have options. You have a container within which you are able to pivot, adjust, play with and make suit you. 

I can’t emphasize this enough. So many people I know are not happy with their working situations but feel they can’t do anything about it. 

I realise I am in a hugely privileged position. Tim’s income covered our bills, which meant I was able to stay home with our kids and start a low cost business without financial pressure. I am not ignorant of the fact that not everyone has the luxury. 

If you are reading this and are in a situation where you do need to keep working for now, keep reading. There may be something you can start on the side that could eventually give you what you need. My free class is only 30 minutes and a great place to start.

What Happened When I Actually Showed Up For My Business

Anyway back to the rise of Once Upon A Garden!

In 2022 we hit $41,600

In 2023, OUAG brought in $51,000!!!

Crazy stuff. It was jumping at an alarming rate. 

Job Security When Working For Yourself vs Employment

Recently, I heard of a number of women who had been in their workplace for over 10 years – no complaints, doing their jobs well – and then new management came in. There was a need to cut costs and with very little notice these women were told, just before Christmas, that their jobs were gone. 

Some of them were in shock. You can feel like there is job security in employment but in reality that is a myth, as recent world events have shown us. 

One of the women was in the fortunate position of owning a farm with her husband. She responded to this redundancy with plans to create a glamping and Airbnb set up – in essence, creating her own business. It isn’t job security in the traditional sense. But there is real security in relying on yourself. Being able to pivot when needed is powerful. It beats being at the mercy of decisions completely out of your control. 

I am not sure how the other ladies responded but it would be a horrible feeling – that lack of control over your own future. 

I spoke to another woman still employed there, and she said a number of her colleagues were now anxious their department would be next. 

My response every time I hear stories like this is the same –  I am so glad that a portion of my income is reliant on me. 

If no one wants their gardens landscaped, we can mow lawns, do weeding, and find another way.

There is never full control – we can’t dictate the market – but being entirely at the mercy of a boss and fully reliant on someone else just doesn’t sit well with me. 

Where You Put Your Attention, Growth Follows

Have you heard the saying, where we put our attention, attraction happens? I don’t fully understand the mechanics behind it, but in my experience, giving Once Upon A Garden more love, made it grow. The marketing efforts made sense – more visibility, more clients. But I also believe that going through my systems, creating tools, and showing up consistently for this business sent a signal. To myself, and maybe to the universe, that I was taking this seriously. That I believed in it. 

If you’re looking for inspiration on what that business could be, I’ve put together a list of 7 low cost businesses you could start right now.

Could This Be You?

Maybe you have something sitting on the side right now. A skill, a service, an idea you’ve been treating as a hobby. What would happen if you decided to take it seriously? If my neglected little landscape business could do this, I genuinely believe most businesses can.

If the idea of creating your own opportunities appeals to you, here’s where to start.

My free class walks you through the one foundational thing you need to know before you do anything else – the thing that makes sure your business works for your life, not the other way around.

It’s just 30 minutes – and it might be the most useful 30 minutes you spend this week. Sign up here.

Before starting your own business, ask yourself this one question. Why do you want to be in business? Why do you want to start a business of your own instead of working for someone else?

Why I Swore I’d Never Start My Own Business

My parents have always had their own business. And not one they bought – each time they built it from scratch.  

First came a carpet cleaning business, which took up most of my primary school years. Then during my teens, they ran familiarization tours around New Zealand for clients considering moving here. Later came Simple Signs — a vinyl cut sign business where Mum did the design and they both did the installations. Boats, cars, shop windows, you name it.

So with that as a backdrop, I made a firm declaration: I never wanted my own business. 

I wanted to work for someone else – so I could call in sick and still get paid. 

A rather questionable reason to enter the work force, I’ll admit.  

But there you have it. That was my WHY to not work for myself.

What Happened When I Actually Did

When our eldest was just  6 months old , we moved back in with my parents. Tim went back to uni to complete a post graduate diploma in teaching – and with that, our busy little life got a whole lot simpler and a whole lot more interesting all at once.

I loved being a mum to Ruby, but let’s be honest — looking after a young baby is monotonous at times. Mum saw it before I did. “You’re an educated woman, of course you’re bored,” she said.

She was right.

So I looked around at where there was a need in my life and started a business called Blooming Beautiful  – a name courtesy of my dad – where I sold secondhand maternity clothes on behalf of other women. They’d book a time to come to our house and try on clothes at their leisure. No rushing, no changing rooms the size of a shoebox.

It was a fantastic little business. Very low costs. Mum designed my logo, I printed flyers at the local Warehouse and did the rounds of preschools finding sellers and buyers. Back then, maternity clothes in NZ were only really found in designer shops – not exactly accessible for most women.

I set up clothing racks and a mannequin, and ran a completely manual bookkeeping system with handwritten tags on every item, each one coded back to its seller. Nothing online. Bear in mind, this was 24 years ago. 😀

It was simple – but genuinely fun to build.

When the challenge started to fade, I did what apparently comes naturally to me: I started another business. Lioness was born – breastfeeding tops I designed and manufactured myself, sold through our own website and retail stores. 

The Question That Changed Everything

From entering a radio competition for small business owners, I won a printer and 6 weeks with a life coach. 

She was absolute gold. 

Her name was Margaret. She introduced me to the idea that before you start a business, you need to know your WHY.

Then use that WHY as your compass.

Margaret’s WHY for running her own business was simple: she wanted time with her boys. That WHY directed everything about how she worked. Her hours, her schedule, the clients she said no to. Even when saying yes would have significantly increased her income.

When I heard this, I stopped and thought about my journey of starting my own business and looked at my two honestly.

I started Blooming Beautiful because I was bored at home with a baby who largely slept. Lioness came next, born out of wanting a creative challenge on top of that boredom.

Those were my WHYs. And they had made complete sense at the time.

What Happens When Your Why Expires

By now I had two children. Ruby was three and Jack was one, and I was neither bored nor craving mental stimulation anymore.

Then one day I received an order back from the manufacturer and something looked off. The colours were around the wrong way – arms and body mismatched, completely out of balance – and these tops were destined for a retail store.

I sat there staring at them, working out what was wrong. And when I finally spotted the mistake, I broke out in a sweat and thought: I don’t need this.

That was the moment I knew.

I had started these businesses to give myself something stimulating and interesting alongside the joys of motherhood. They had served that purpose beautifully. But Ruby and Jack were filling that space now, and the businesses were no longer meeting the WHY that had created them.

So I sold them both.

After selling both businesses we bought our first home, had two more children and I eventually retrained as a landscape designer. My WHY then was simple: I wanted work that would fit around four kids. Something where, if someone was home sick, I could work from the kitchen table. So I studied online, got my diploma and Once Upon A Garden Landscape Design was born.

My Why Today (And Why It Matters For You)

For a really long time, I have wanted a working situation where I wasn’t tied to my location. I want to work from a campervan by the beach while Tim brings me coffee, then go for a swim.

So every time I find myself working from somewhere new, I am absolutely winning on the inside.

My kids are growing up fast. By the end of next year it is very likely that Tim and I will be the only ones at home. The idea of being free to travel, to visit them wherever they land, while still bringing in an income became more and more enticing. 

So I created my online course Your First Steps.

Ready To Start A Business? Find Your Why First

If you are thinking about starting your own business, my very first recommendation is this: do some soul searching and get clear on your WHY.

It will become your compass. It will shape your hours, your clients, your decisions. And as I discovered, it will also tell you when it’s time to move on.

When I was looking for my next business, after selling the first two and welcoming two more children into the mix, I didn’t start with an idea. Instead, I wrote a list of criteria that any new business would have to meet. Being available for my kids was non negotiable and didn’t want to put them in preschool full time. After Lioness I knew I didn’t want a product based business or money tied up in stock. No room for that with four children anyway!

That list was my WHY in action.

When landscape design crossed my path, it fit. I am creative, I love making things work better and look beautiful, and I could largely work from home.  It was the perfect business to build around my family.  The WHY came first. The idea grew from it.

Your WHY doesn’t compete with your business idea. It creates the criteria your business idea must fit.

Want to explore your WHY before starting your own business? Come and join my free class where we dig into this together.

[Join the free class here]