# How to start a business when you don't have much money
**作者**: Nick Huber
**日期**: 2026-04-16T19:50:24.000Z
**来源**: [https://x.com/sweatystartup/status/2044866013523554675](https://x.com/sweatystartup/status/2044866013523554675)
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If you are broke, you need to start by trading your time for money. This means you need to focus on what I call a level 1 business.
All level 1 businesses require basically no capital, very low skills, no network, and they all have the ability for you to make $20-50/hr quickly.
My favorite level 1 businesses are where you move something, clean something, repair something, or provide some other manual labor in exchange for money.
Mowing lawns was how I started in high school. It put $40,000 in my pocket before I went to college.
It was uncomfortable, difficult, and sweaty but it got me started and was the stepping stone to my next business which made my partner and I our first million.
At first, I mowed the lawns myself, then I raised my prices and had enough capital to hire another kid from school to mow for me.
I would sell the contracts, he would mow some of the lawns, I would mow some, and we grew from there.
A lot of successful entrepreneurs I know purposely leave this information out of their biographies but almost all of them had a similar origin story.
They either got a job in a corporate setting and saved money before they started their first business or they started something really small and just did the work themselves until they had enough cash to hire.
Do not underestimate this path. 2-4 years of gritty manual service work can be the launchpad for you to build whatever you want. If you have no capital, network, or operational chops, this is how you should start.
Find your opportunity:
You should look for something where you can have a competitive advantage in one of three areas. Either speed, price or quality.
You want something with:
- A growing customer base:
You should not need to steal customers from other companies to carve out your piece of the pie. Look for services that are in higher demand today than they were yesterday and are expected to be in higher demand tomorrow than they are today.
- An evergreen opportunity:
Remember, no matter what happens to the economy, grass isn’t going to stop growing. Pipes aren’t going to stop getting clogged. Heaters aren’t going to stop needing maintenance. Things are never going to stop getting dirty. Students will still keep going to college out of state and need storage. People always need haircuts. People need help moving things. People will keep getting married and weddings need photography, videography, and catering, etc. These industries are not going away. These are all great places to start.
- Weak competition:
Choose your competition wisely. Who do you want to compete with? Walmart? Amazon? Chinese manufacturers? Silicon Valley based companies? Big data? Big money? Coders or developers working for $7/hr on Upwork? A mom and pop with a fax machine, yellow page ads and a filing cabinet? You have to choose your competition. Don't compete with folks who are way out of your league.
- Constant or rising cost
Consider the trajectory of your service or product. Don't sell something that is getting cheaper all of the time. This has killed so many businesses and is putting a lot of strain on software development and app companies. The cost to produce some of these is trending lower each year. The cost to remodel your kitchen or install a new deck is only going up.
- Avoid passions / hobbies
Avoid markets that are targets for hobbyists and dreamers. These people don't use common sense and make unwise financial decisions. You don't want to compete with them. This includes restaurants, bars, blockchain, personal training, health coaching, social media app development etc. These are big no-gos for me.
--
Create your list of 10 ideas:
Now, with all of this in mind, make a list of 10 possible services that you could offer. Use this list as your resource but don't be afraid to stray from it.
To help, answer these questions:
- What is unique about my location?
- What trends or changes may disrupt current businesses in my town?
- How is new, widely available technology influencing certain old school industries?
- How can I apply basic tech or new tools to an old school business to deliver it cheaper, faster or make it more convenient?
- What industries are way behind in digital marketing and online presence?
- What services are dominated by mom and pop shops?
- What services are hard for the general public or companies to find beyond word of mouth?
- What services are slowly delivered and have a large lead time?
- What is unique about my skillset?
- How quick do I need money coming in?
Now we form our list of services that we would like to analyze for possible opportunities. The first options will be low skilled, low upfront cost and low barrier to entry businesses. For example:
- House painting
- Lawn care services
- Maid services
- Pest Control
- Mobile Car Detailing
- Pressure washing
- Deck staining
- Window cleaning
- Gutter cleaning
- Mobile beauty services. Haircuts, makeup, massage or pedicure
- Mobile food cart near events (pre-made and simple)
Some people say these are commodity services.
They say its a race to the bottom. This is simply not true.
It's only a race to the bottom if you try to compete on price. You can always find customers willing to pay a premium for the other two factors: speed and quality.
These businesses can help you make your first $100K or even $500K if you stick with it for several years.
If you already have some skills or you have a network, you can think about more specialized services that require more skill.
The next few businesses you should consider should be specialty niche services that only a few companies do but the customer pool is still relatively large.
Examples include:
- Niche photography/videography
- AirBNB property management
- Mobile pet grooming / training / boarding
- On demand holiday decorations
- Home office / closet build outs
The larger your city the more specific you can get here.
Remember, you don't need thousands of potential customers.
You can often create a viable escape from the rat race and even a scalable company with 20-50 monthly customers. Find a niche and focus on it.
The last opportunities you should look at would be high skilled opportunities.
These require significant training or investments in equipment but are still great opportunities:
Examples:
- Electrician
- Arborist
- Niche Carpentry (decks, offices, wine cellars, sound rooms, home bars)
- Kitchen or bathroom remodeling
I love these opportunities. There has been a massive shift away from labor intensive professions as more millennials opt to study marketing or liberal arts and less go to trade schools.
This space is great because the market is drastically growing, the competition is weak, nobody enters these professions because of passion and there is often a multi week lead time to get services like this signaling more demand than supply.
If you put systems in place and simplify the jobs for your employees and get the service to the consumer quickly you can name your price and build a great business.
Study the competition based on three factors
Now for each of your businesses you are going to study the three main companies in your city that offer these services based on the following criteria:
- Speed
The most important factor by far. Call each company and act like a customer. How busy are they? How long would it take to get a quote and get service? Ask a ton of questions about their busy seasons, how many customers they service annually, etc.
- Accessibility / Digital Marketing
How hard is it to find the companies online? Are they buying Google adwords? Do they have any digital marketing at all? Do they have a social media presence? Online reviews? Is their business all word of mouth? What is their quality of customer service on the phone? Do they follow up with you? Do they try hard to get the sale?
- Pricing
How much are they charging for the service? An arborist might charge $800 to take down a tree that takes 2 guys 45 minutes.
Are the margins high or is it relatively affordable? Try to estimate the margins.
As you go through this process you will find holes. You will find areas you can provide the service better, faster or cheaper. That's your opportunity.
When you spot the value add and the problem you can solve its time to get serious about research.
Dive into industry trends on IBIS World. Study trends.google.com to analyze busy seasons, competitor size and search terms. Read everything you can read about the service. Study the companies that do the exact same thing in every major city in America.
There is a company out there that does what you want to do really well but they do it somewhere else. Perfect. Study them and model your business after them.
Naming your company and securing a good web domain is critical.
Build a pro forma financial projection model. Use it to estimate the monthly income and monthly expenses. Do a lot of research to properly estimate these costs.
Don't forget to pay someone $15 per hour it really costs you closer to $20 after payroll taxes and workers compensation.
Work to keep your overhead low:
Most businesses you can operate with very little in the way of equipment. If you need equipment purchase it on Craigslist. If you need a cargo van buy it for $10K off craigslist or rent one at first.
If you need equipment buy it used or lease it. Minimize your risk here.
Now its time to build your website and get your google my business location operational and get a few reviews on it.
A few things to keep in mind with all of this:
- Add value first. Don't try to make a killing right way.
- Play the long game. Make a 5 year plan
- Don't let your emotions control your decisions
- Avoid the sunk cost fallacy
- Set measurable goals with timestamps
- Make customer service a competitive advantage
- Time is of the essence. Work as quickly as possible
- Thrive in uncomfortable situations
- Spend time on what is important but not urgent
- Focus your efforts in the 20% of your activity that generates 80% of your results
- When it comes time to hire and grow, simplify the job for your employees
Be ready to sacrifice your free time and your hobbies in the near term. Be prepared to play the long game. Be prepared to put away your ego and work smart and hard for 3 years straight before the momentum really picks up.
Remember you will never find the perfect opportunity. There will always be reasons why you shouldn't do it. If it were easy everyone would succeed. You want it to be hard.
I hope this helps.
Onward and upward,
Nick Huber
## 相关链接
- [Nick Huber](https://x.com/sweatystartup)
- [@sweatystartup](https://x.com/sweatystartup)
- [12K](https://x.com/sweatystartup/status/2044866013523554675/analytics)
- [trends.google.com](https://trends.google.com/)
- [Upgrade to Premium](https://x.com/i/premium_sign_up)
- [3:50 AM · Apr 17, 2026](https://x.com/sweatystartup/status/2044866013523554675)
- [12.6K Views](https://x.com/sweatystartup/status/2044866013523554675/analytics)
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*导出时间: 2026/4/17 22:08:35*
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## 中文翻译
# 没多少钱的时候如何创业
**作者**: Nick Huber
**日期**: 2026-04-16T19:50:24.000Z
**来源**： [https://x.com/sweatystartup/status/2044866013523554675](https://x.com/sweatystartup/status/2044866013523554675)
---
如果你身无分文，你需要从用时间换钱开始。这意味着你需要专注于我所说的“一级生意”。
所有一级生意基本上都不需要资本，技能要求很低，不需要人脉，而且都能让你快速达到每小时 20-50 美元的收入。
我最喜欢的一级生意是搬东西、清洁东西、修理东西，或提供其他体力劳动来换取报酬。
修剪草坪是我在高中时的起点。在上大学之前，它让我赚了 4 万美元。
这份工作让人不舒服、辛苦、满身大汗，但它让我迈出了第一步，并成为我下一门生意的跳板——那门生意让我的合伙人和我赚到了人生第一个一百万。
起初，我自己修剪草坪，后来我提高了价格，攒够了足够的资金，雇了一个学校的同学帮我修剪。
我负责谈下合同，他修剪一部分草坪，我修剪一部分，我们就从这里开始成长。
我认识的很多成功企业家在他们的传记中故意省略了这些信息，但几乎所有人的起点故事都类似。
他们要么先在企业里打工攒钱再开始第一门生意，要么就是从非常小的生意做起，自己亲力亲为，直到攒够钱雇人。
不要低估这条路径。2-4 年踏实苦干的体力服务工作，可以成为你打造任何事业的发射台。如果你没有资本、人脉或运营能力，这就是你应该开始的方式。
找到你的机会：
你应该寻找能在以下三个领域之一建立竞争优势的事情：速度、价格或质量。
你要找的是具备以下特征的事情：
- 不断增长的客户群：
你不应该需要从其他公司抢客户才能分得一杯羹。寻找那些今天的需求比昨天更高、而明天的需求预计又比今天更高的服务。
- 常青的机会：
记住，无论经济如何变化，草不会停止生长。管道不会停止堵塞。暖气不会停止需要维护。东西不会停止变脏。学生们仍然会去外地上大学，需要仓储服务。人们总是需要理发。人们需要帮忙搬东西。人们会继续结婚，而婚礼需要摄影、摄像和餐饮等服务。这些行业不会消失。这些都是绝佳的起点。
- 竞争薄弱：
明智地选择你的竞争对手。你想和谁竞争？沃尔玛？亚马逊？中国制造商？硅谷的公司？大数据？大资本？在 Upwork 上每小时只收 7 美元的程序员或开发者？还是那些只有传真机、黄页广告和文件柜的夫妻店？你必须选择你的对手。不要和实力远超你的人竞争。
- 成本稳定或上涨
考虑你的服务或产品的发展轨迹。不要卖那种价格一直在下降的东西。这已经扼杀了太多企业，也正在给软件开发和应用公司带来巨大压力。有些产品的生产成本每年都在下降。而改造厨房或安装新露台的成本只会上涨。
- 避开热情 / 爱好
避开那些是爱好者与梦想家目标的市场。这些人不讲究常识，会做出不明智的财务决策。你不想和他们竞争。这包括餐厅、酒吧、区块链、私人健身教练、健康指导、社交媒体应用开发等。这些对我来说都是绝对的禁区。
--
列出你的 10 个创意清单：
现在，把以上这些记在心里，列出一个你可以提供的 10 种可能服务的清单。把这个清单作为参考资源，但不要害怕偏离它。
为了帮助你，请回答这些问题：
- 我所在的地方有什么独特之处？
- 哪些趋势或变化可能会颠覆我所在城镇的现有企业？
- 新的、普及的技术正在如何影响某些传统行业？
- 我如何将基础技术或新工具应用到传统生意中，让它更便宜、更快捷或更便利？
- 哪些行业在数字营销和线上存在感方面远远落后？
- 哪些服务被夫妻店主导？
- 哪些服务是普通大众或公司除了口碑之外很难找到的？
- 哪些服务交付缓慢、周期很长？
- 我的技能有什么独特之处？
- 我需要多快有现金入账？
现在我们来列出想要分析潜在机会的服务清单。第一批选项应该是低技能、低前期成本、低准入门槛的生意。例如：
- 房屋粉刷
- 草坪养护服务
- 保洁服务
- 除虫灭鼠
- 上门汽车美容
- 高压清洗
- 露台刷漆
- 擦窗
- 排水槽清理
- 上门美容服务。理发、化妆、按摩或足疗
- 活动场地附近的移动餐车（预制、简单食品）
有人说这些是大宗化商品化的服务。
他们说这是逐底竞争。这完全不是事实。
只有当你试图靠价格竞争时，才会陷入逐底竞争。你总能找到愿意为另外两个因素——速度和质量——支付溢价的客户。
如果你坚持做上几年，这些生意可以帮你赚到第一个 10 万美元，甚至 50 万美元。
如果你已经有一些技能或人脉，你可以考虑需要更多技能的更专业化的服务。
接下来你应该考虑的几门生意，应该是只有少数公司在做、但客户群体仍然相对较大的专业利基服务。例如：
- 小众摄影/摄像
- Airbnb 房产管理
- 上门宠物美容/训练/寄养
- 按需节假日装饰布置
- 家庭办公室/衣帽间装修改造
你所在的城市越大，这里的细分就可以做得越具体。
记住，你不需要成千上万的潜在客户。
通常只要有 20-50 个月度客户，你就能创造一条摆脱激烈竞争的可行出路，甚至打造一家可扩展的公司。找到一个细分领域并专注于此。
最后值得考察的机会是高技能类机会。
这些机会需要大量培训或设备投资，但依然是绝佳机会：
示例：
- 电工
- 树艺师
- 小众木工（露台、办公室、酒窖、隔音室、家庭酒吧）
- 厨房或浴室翻新
我很喜欢这类机会。随着越来越多的千禧一代选择学习市场营销或文科，越来越少的人去读职业技术学校，劳动密集型行业出现了巨大的人才流失。
这个领域非常棒，因为市场在急剧增长、竞争薄弱、没有人是出于热情进入这些行业，而且这类服务往往需要数周的预约等待期，这表明需求远大于供给。
如果你建立起体系、为员工简化工作，并让消费者快速获得服务，你就可以自己定价，打造一门好生意。
从三个因素研究竞争对手
接下来，针对你列出的每一项业务，你要研究你所在城市提供这些服务的三家主要公司，依据以下标准：
- 速度
这是目前为止最重要的因素。给每家公司打电话，假装成客户。他们有多忙？拿到报价并获得服务需要多长时间？问一大堆问题，比如他们的旺季是什么时候、他们每年服务多少客户，等等。
- 可及性/数字营销
在网上找到这些公司有多难？他们有没有购买 Google 关键词广告？他们有没有任何数字营销？他们有没有社交媒体存在？有没有线上评价？他们的生意是不是全靠口碑？他们电话客服的质量如何？他们会跟进你吗？他们有没有努力促成交易？
- 定价
他们收费多少？一位树艺师拆除一棵树可能收 800 美元，而这只需两个人干 45 分钟。
利润率是高还是相对实惠？试着估算一下利润率。
在这个过程中你会发现漏洞。你会发现你可以把服务做得更好、更快或更便宜的地方。那就是你的机会。
当你发现了可以提供的价值以及可以解决的问题时，就该认真开始调研了。
深入研究 IBIS World 上的行业趋势。研究 trends.google.com 来分析旺季、竞争对手规模和搜索词。阅读一切你能找到的关于这项服务的内容。研究美国每个大城市里做完全相同业务的公司。
总有一家公司把你想做的事业做得非常出色，但他们是在别的地方做的。很好。研究他们，并以他们为模板打造你的业务。
给公司起名并锁定一个好的网络域名至关重要。
建立一份预估财务模型。用它来估算月收入和月支出。做大量调研以准确估算这些成本。
别忘了，付给别人 15 美元时薪，在算上工资税和工伤保险后，实际成本接近 20 美元。
努力保持低开销：
大多数业务所需的设备其实很少。如果需要设备，在 Craigslist 上购买。如果需要厢式货车，花 1 万美元从 Craigslist 上买一辆，或者先租一辆。
如果需要设备，买二手的或租。在这里尽量降低风险。
现在该搭建你的网站、开通你的 Google 商家信息，并在上面获得几条评价了。
在做这一切时，有几件事要记住：
- 先创造价值。不要想着立刻大赚一笔。
- 做长线游戏。制定一个 5 年计划
- 不要让情绪左右你的决定
- 避免沉没成本谬误
- 设定有时间节点的可衡量目标
- 把客户服务变成竞争优势
- 时间至关重要。尽快行动
- 在不舒适的处境中成长
- 把时间花在重要但不紧急的事情上
- 把精力集中在能产生 80% 结果的那 20% 的活动上
- 到了招聘和扩张的时候，为员工简化工作流程
短期内要准备好牺牲你的空闲时间和爱好。要准备好打持久战。要准备好放下自尊，聪明而勤奋地连续干上 3 年，势头才会真正起来。
记住，你永远不会找到完美的机会。总会有你不该去做的理由。如果这件事容易，人人都会成功。你应该希望它难。
希望这对你有帮助。
继续前行，蒸蒸日上，
Nick Huber
## 相关链接
- [Nick Huber](https://x.com/sweatystartup)
- [@sweatystartup](https://x.com/sweatystartup)
- [12K](https://x.com/sweatystartup/status/2044866013523554675/analytics)
- [trends.google.com](https://trends.google.com/)
- [升级至 Premium](https://x.com/i/premium_sign_up)
- [2026年4月17日 凌晨3:50](https://x.com/sweatystartup/status/2044866013523554675)
- [12.6K 次浏览](https://x.com/sweatystartup/status/2044866013523554675/analytics)
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*导出时间： 2026/4/17 22:08:35*
