No-Risk Ways to Raise Funds That People Over 40 Should Try Before Starting a Zero-Yen Business

Have you ever thought how easy it would be if there were a way to raise funds with no risk?

If you have, I think this article will be very useful for you!

I recommend a "zero-yen startup." A "zero-yen startup" keeps the entry barrier, risk, and capital close to zero, in the sense that you don't need to set up large-scale infrastructure or take out a loan.

However, you will need a certain amount of investment, which could be called the "gasoline" of a business. In other words, you need funds for attracting customers, but even raising those funds can be done for "zero yen".

What's more, it is risk-free, and all it takes is operating a PC or smartphone wherever there is internet. You can use the customer-acquisition funds you obtain as they are, so it is literally a "zero-yen startup."

First, know how much you need for attracting customers

Before trying these no-risk fundraising methods, let's think about how much customer-acquisition money you need.

For example, if you decide to start as a blogger/affiliate first, it might look something like this (some items are a bit on the low side):

So, you'd want a little under 200,000 yen in funds.
It's probably about the same if you start something like retail arbitrage (sedori).

No-risk fundraising methods

Popular methods include the following.

Become a mystery shopper

Working as a reporter (mystery shopper) whose purpose is to evaluate the service and handling at stores — from restaurants and izakaya to car dealers like BMW — is another quick way to raise funds. That said, you apply, receive the service, and submit a report, so considering the effort, it ends up being a small part-time job...

If you can coordinate mystery shopping well with events like going out to eat or drink, you might be able to earn rewards efficiently. Rewards are roughly 3,000 to 10,000 yen.

For mystery shopping, it is a good idea to first register with Mystery Shopping Research.

Use interview sites

This is similar to mystery shopping: you take a short, simple survey about a company's service in interview format and receive a reward.

The good thing about this is that you can participate from anywhere as long as you have the internet and a PC.
There have been focus-group-style gigs before, but you had to go all the way to the research company's office, which was a hassle and killed my motivation. After all, being able to participate remotely is a big advantage.
It's also nice that people living outside Tokyo can participate.

Rewards are about 5,000 to 10,000 yen.
There are still few open listings right now, so frequent checking and quick applications are essential.

Interview sites include MINDIA and others.

Earn on skill-sharing sites!

This is no longer fundraising but actual labor, but...

There are lots of skill-sharing sites now, so I recommend using them to earn while you are still a company employee if you can. With skill sharing, rewards are around a few hundred to tens of thousands of yen for know-how, a few thousand yen and up for consulting, and 10,000 yen and up for outsourced tasks.

Looking only at the rewards, skill-sharing sites aren't very efficient. But the real benefit of skill-sharing sites lies elsewhere.

That is: "a track record of providing your skills," "reviews," and "being able to obtain users' personal information."

For example, if you offer course materials or consulting such as "I'll teach you SEO techniques" or "I'll help you make money with affiliate marketing," you can build a track record before going independent. That track record makes a big difference.

That's because after going independent you will struggle to win new customers, and most of the time you will run into the wall of "What's your track record?."

Also, depending on what business you do after going independent, you will experience firsthand that winning customers costs more than you thought.

For example, about 3,000 yen for a networking event that ends with nothing but exchanging business cards, tens of thousands of yen for a fax DM campaign, and about 1,500 yen per inquiry even when running Facebook ads at an advanced level. And of course you will be doing these multiple times.

Right after starting a business, if you can't win customers and monetize as soon as possible, it's "game over," so just nailing this down should make your post-startup situation completely different.

(I really wish I had understood this and acted on it before going independent... truly.)

Good skill-sharing sites to use include:

and similar services.