Are you one of the tens of thousands of people in America who wants to go into business for themselves but has not been able to do it? You are not alone. A 2023 survey by Yahoo Finance found that over half (55%) of all adults in the U.S. desire to start their own business and be their own boss. For people under 30 years old, it’s closer to 63% who are budding, one-day entrepreneurs. However, only 12% actually ever do it. That’s all, just 12%. Why is that?

Of course, the first thought that comes to mind, is money or the lack thereof, and this is true. Lack of financial resources does tend to be the number one obstacle to starting a business for most people. However, a very close second, is fear. In my personal opinion, fear is actually the top reason, because fear stops people from looking deeper into how to get the money needed to go into business in the first place.

If you are one of those people, there’s no shame—millions of folks feel the same way. On the other hand, perhaps you have done everything to secure the funding you need and found that it was simply impossible to attain. In either case, this article is for you.

The bottom line is that success is simple. It is not always easy, but it is usually simple. Success often requires following just a few simple steps, just a handful of straightforward steps. Once you know and understand exactly what those steps are—then the job is to follow them.

Three Simple Fundraising Methods – No Credit Needed

I’m going to show you three simple ways to raise money without the need of credit. But first, please take the following three simple steps. These are the ABCs, if you will, of starting a business of any type. If you are serious about starting your own business, please complete these three simple tasks. If you have done these tasks before, that’s okay, do them again now.

A. Visualize yourself in business

This is just short mental exercise, but a very serious one. Please visualize your business down to the finest detail. Visualize yourself in a day-in-the-life of your business with all the details.

B. Set three goals

Set at least three clear goals with exact dates to achieve them. These need to be goals, not needs and they need to go beyond your immediate grasp.

C. Picture the goals

By that, I mean literally picture those goal with actual photographs. Write them down and find a picture that represent the goal. As an example, if one of your goals is to own a new Mecedes-Benz, then find the latest model of that car, and get a picture with you sitting in it. Write the date that you will attain the car on the photo and put it in a place where you must see it every day.

With those foundational steps accomplished, here are three no-credit fundraising methods.

1. Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is simple and fast way to raise money, not only for a business but for numerous issues, causes or ventures. Essentially, crowdfunding is exactly what it sounds like; you get funding from the crowd. You post your business idea on a crowdsourcing platform, and invite thousands of people either invest or simply donate the money. And, yes—it works. The differ slightly on their methodology, but they are basically the same. A few to check out are www.kickstarter.com, www.indiegogo.com and www.gofundme.com.

2. Sell Stock

Unlike a loan, when you sell shares or stock in your business, you never have to pay it back. When you borrow money, you must stick to some arrangement to pay the money back. When you sell shares, you make the investors your partners and they take the risk along with you. If your company grows, so does the value of their shares. If your business fails, so does their investment. Search, “Sell shares to fund your own small business,” or something like that. A few other places such may provide good info also, rocketlawyer.com, Investopedia.com and allbusiness.com.

3. Find an Angel

Angels are also exactly what the sound like they are. They are mostly regular people with a bunch of money and are willing to take a big risk for a big return. The panel on the celebrated television show, Shark Tank, are angels—angle investors. They can invest in anything that they want to, regardless of your personal circumstances. Angles will, however, make the rules on how much money they invest and the terms. It is always a business arrangement involving either debt financing (loans) or equity (shares). Google, “where to find angel investors” and you will find sites such as finder.startupnationcentral.org and angelinvestmentnetwork.us.

Some of the above are very easy, some not so much. However, all are very simple—as simple as success!