Whether you’re trying to persuade investors to back your barely off-the-ground business or you need to find another fool-proof way to raise enough capital to see a profit, figuring out how to do so as a successful entrepreneur can make or break your business—especially as a startup.

That initial first year can be a crucial time to not only find investors but to startup funding rounding and raise enough capital to get the brand’s feet off the ground.

Of course, you’ve all heard the saying—it takes money to make money—or some version of it. And the truth of the matter is, that capital is a steadfast requirement in any business and can help them through the early days of a Startup Launch.

Even though you might have an outstanding plan, ultimately, initial funding is a requirement you cannot skip out on.

In this article, we’re going to go through the various ways of how a startup can be funded—and ways you can make capital in those first few steps as a Startup Business:

1. You can Crowdfund:

From pitching your own ideas to the masses to get investors to take an interest in your idea to asking the public to support your idea or cause, Crowdfunding is an option.

To perform well in this type of Crowdfunding, you need a well-detailed business model.

This pitching of an idea not only helps you fund your Startup, but it also already helps you create some sort of public interest as well as initial marketing for your business before it even lifts off the ground.

2. You can fund it yourself:

When you’ve got something to lose that you call your own, this might even lead to a more productive you—and a more desperate (hungrier) work ethic.

“Bootstrapping” or pulling yourself up by your bootstraps can also refer to asking loved ones, family, and friends for a little bit of financial help to get your business off the ground.

This type of funding not only allows you some private flexibility on your part (you’re usually relying on the kindness or interest of community members and people you know), but it also helps you avoid any type of red tape you would normally be looking at with business-related loans.

This can also mean that you opt for opening up a credit card with a minimum payment plan to help fund your business upfront.

This can lead to getting the money you need quickly—but can get quite hefty with long-term payment plans.

3. You can also just opt for a loan:

This option can go on for pages—there are so many different ways to secure a loan.

Whether you’re going through a banking institution and approaching them with a winner’s business plan or attempting to work with a capital loan, you need to know the details, pros, cons, and leverage that comes with each.

Applying for a loan or grant from providers can also be an option in this regard. However, before you get in business with any of these options—do your homework!

Which organizations charge interest?

Which ones have a good or bad reputation?

Don’t jump into a loan with just anyone.

4. You can also win engaging competitions or contests:

If you already have the detailed plans of your Startup Business in place, all you need to do is get the ball rolling by entering it into competitions for funding.

This will not only help you pitch your idea but also showcase it against other businesses of similar fields. This sort of exposure can not only help with feedback for your business but also for publicity, which can help you bring in more capital once it’s off the ground.

5. Look into Government-backed Programs:

Some of these funding programs help Startup Businesses by offering them capital through the process of a grant committee. However, there’s a lot of red tape involved with this process as well as it being a long, drawn-out process.

To Produce Results in the Long-Term, You Need the Green Upfront

Investing capital into your Startup Business is a very important tactic that can help not only get your Startup off the ground—but also keep it afloat and possibly profiting in the future.

However, if you’re on your own at the beginning of the business, that doesn’t mean you have to be on your own the whole way through. Aside from self-funding like bootstrapping, you can turn to other people, other businesses, investors, banks, and so many different sources to help you get your business running, full-force.

You want to run a successful business—and a profitable one. An important thing to remember here is that to get money, you need to give money.