Create a profitable business from $100

[Andy Nguyen]

What would you do with $100 to build a business?

 

[tylor]

i did this when i was 16 with my birthday money.

i started with $100, which i invested in some video lectures online which taught me how to use html / flash for building web sites.

from this, i built roughly 8 web sites ranging from $500-$1000

with that money, i invested in some molds for carbon fiber products for automobiles. i kept building, and before i knew it had brake, suspension, wheels, and intercooler kits.

at 18 i moved to Los Angeles because i wanted to take all of the research i had done on various car parts, where the best factories were, etc. -- disassemble production cars and put my parts on it [e.g., i wanted to take a bmw 3-series, strip it all down to most of its core, put my body panels on it (so it would look like a different car), my suspension parts (so it would corner better), my turbo kit (so it would be faster), and so on] to fill a small niche market.

however, i did need investors to do this and the general vibe i got from most wealthy people i met was that i was simply too young to be trusted with their money. during this process i sort of fell out of love with the afertmarket car scene, so i stopped making parts as well. i was able to sell most of my sources and molds, though. now i'm getting my degree in industrial engineering.

it's probably for the best, because this was around the time banks were failing, so perhaps the business wouldn't have succeeded anyway due to the market. the depressing thing is that this is what Fisker Automotive was doing around the time i was in LA, now they have a new car (Fisker Karma) which is very cool and what i would've liked to eventually moved the company into. there's a large possibility that the automotbile industry can have a major shift, depending on who comes up with the right technologies.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

Good story, Tylor.
This thread is actually arising from a contest the UK govt run called "Make your mark with a tenner" where people submit business proposal that they can do with £10
Make Your Mark With A Tenner is an enterprise of note | Money | The Guardian

And here is one idea from Google

 

[bigbadwolf]

How about something like a food stand/cart? Though it'll cost way over $100. Here is a review of the 20 best in NYC.

 

[Andy D.]

bigbadwolf - Not sure this will set you back $100, but who knows in the future:

Make: Online : MIT's food printer

How about something like a food stand/cart? Though it'll cost way over $100. Here is a review of the 20 best in NYC.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

I still think the web provide unique opportunity to take a unique idea and make it big. You can't start anything physical with $100 while you can get a domain name, several months of hosting, and make something out of it.

 

[Joy Pathak]

$100 on Red.

 

[darth]

Buy far out of money oil call options. Now when oil reaches 110 encash it.
Hire a driver ...Start a taxi with that money... keep on buying taxis with the profits till the time you own 90% in that mkt.

 

[Stephie]

I think the real question is how profitable a $100 business can become if done really well, and how big a waste of time a really terrible one can be. People with expertise in a subject or a flair for creative writing can make decent money on FREE blog hosts. Let's not forget about how FREE an internet business can be. I'm just assuming the rate of failure of website businesses is astronomical. To make $100 back on a site that sells no product is not guaranteed by running Google Ads, waiting for half cent clicks or whatever the rate is today. I think the overall point of this question is to make people realise that they probably don't need to invest a ton of money to do what they really enjoy and start earning a small amount of money for it in order to test the sustainability of it. Reinvesting is always crucial.

 

[Andy D.]

Agreed.

The company I am currently employed at has need for an illustrator on occasions, they use somebody in the UK, who pretty much runs their business from word of mouth, online portfolio and their web presence.

If you have skills like this I think you can make a very good living, or some good money doing it part time from as little as $100.

I think the real question is how profitable a $100 business can become if done really well, and how big a waste of time a really terrible one can be. People with expertise in a subject or a flair for creative writing can make decent money on FREE blog hosts. Let's not forget about how FREE an internet business can be. I'm just assuming the rate of failure of website businesses is astronomical. To make $100 back on a site that sells no product is not guaranteed by running Google Ads, waiting for half cent clicks or whatever the rate is today. I think the overall point of this question is to make people realise that they probably don't need to invest a ton of money to do what they really enjoy and start earning a small amount of money for it in order to test the sustainability of it. Reinvesting is always crucial.

 

[Andy Nguyen]

A lot of people have good idea, or good at making money out of an idea.
If anyone has interesting business idea, I love to hear it
Hopefully, I'll find some of my own in the new year.