One great idea for a low cost business start up, that actually does well during tough economic times, is a thrift shop. There is a famous article and ebook on tgtbt.com about a woman who started her thrift shop for the $900 she had left in her bank account after she lost her job. And there was a happy ending because she had her business in the black within 6 weeks!

This business was started quite a few years ago, and $900 does not go as far as it used to go. But there are ways to start this type of consignment or resale shop for every little money, and there are some ways to do it for even less than a grand.

Finding Space for Your Thrift Shop

Ok, rent and a rental security deposit may eat up a lot of your seed money.  It will be best, of course, to place your business where you have plenty of exposure and parking. However, you may save a lot by getting a location just a bit off the main roads, and then making sure people can find it with your promotion.  Word of mouth advertising, online social networking, door hangers, and flyers can give you a lot of attention for a little bit of money.

You Save On Inventory

If you plan to start a thrift store, you inventory should cost little or nothing. Consignment stores do not have to pay for items until they are sold. Resale stores should only pay a fraction of what they expect to gain. Before you purchase any thrift store items, make sure you visit some similar shops to get a really good idea of what you can expect to sell items for. 

A Thrift Shop with No Shop?

You can start out by selling online to save up enough for rent.  You must pay for your advertisement on online auctions like EBay, but they allow you to “pay as you go” so you can get a feel for your business. Even if you do have a brick and mortar store, online sales can complement your business.

Consider A Niche

It takes awhile to learn any business, even if you are reselling other people’s used things. In addition, you may have noticed other competing thrift stores in your area. One tactic is to specialize.  What type of items do you know well? Upscale, brand name only resale shops seem to do well in any economy.  You could also consider a resale shop for baby and toddler items. These things tend to get purchased, used for awhile, and then stored in the garage.  And when I think of thrift shops, I tend to think of clothes. But there is a market for gently used furniture, tools, electronics, or applicances too.

Do you have any ideas about frugal startup businesses? You can register for free and comment.

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Just when we thought things were getting a bit better, the US economy is showing some alarming symptoms of staying in the pits! After almost half a million jobs were cut in June, 2009, the jobless rate is at 9.5 percent. Folks, that is getting really close to 10 percent, and that number probably does not take into account many millions of people who are underemployed or who have just given up on the job hunt for right now.

The Worst May Still Be To Come

Many economists do predict that the unemployment rate will hit 10 percent this year, and perhaps peak out at 11 percent, until companies are certain that the nation’s economy is stable and they can begin hiring more people again.

And the grim jobs data has also started pulling the stock market back down. Bad news does that. This is a time for people to hang on.

Online Work For Jobless People

Meanwhile, as desperate job seekers lurk on the internet, make sure you keep an eye out of online job scams. That is not to say you cannot find plenty of legitimate online work though.

Look at some online freelancing ideas.

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Why are you working so hard to generate prospects, leads, and sales, while totally ignoring the wonder of internet automation? If you understood the sales conversion process, you know that you need to filter out buyers from lookers. The internet can really help you perform this process.  As experienced internet consultants and marketers, we have mapped out a simple strategy to generate internet sales leads without spending a lot of money or having high tech skills.

Generate Online Sales Leads Cheaply

You can create your own good internet sales leads with your own inexpensive online network and promotion strategy. Visitors may view a link to your website, visit your website, become interested in what your website says about your business, and then take the next step to fill out a lead form, call you, or email you! You are generating a stream of very qualified business prospects without having to talk to, or chase after, any of them!

Take Your Business Online!

Now wouldn’t a strategy to have potential leads call you make you more productive? Would’t it make your job more fun? I know it really made my sales business a pleasure! I hated to cold call or knock on doors,  but I love engaging my potential customers when they take the trouble to contact me for more information!

Make Sales Fun Again

Any job that is fun and rewarding will be more likely to engage you! You will probably find yourself working harder than every before, and you will probably love it!

Get Cheap Internet Sales Leads ! You can learn to generate your own free or cheap leads online with simple tools and strategies that we use on with our own online cliets.

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