If you're about to launch a startup, a business owner, a small-business owner, or are someone who thinks they might want to one day start a business, this article is for you.

Because a well-known and consistent number of entrepreneurs have nothing to show for their business investments and have nothing to show for their investments for years or even decades afterward.

In fact, as explained in the very first two parts of this series, most startups fail, despite the effort and ideas involved.

If you're a small-business owner or want to be one, chances are that your main assets aren't the cash flow from your business or the business itself but your time, network, and relationships.

These are the real value of every business you build. You can't build a business that can stand up for decades without money in your pocket.

Or can you?

You may already have that, and perhaps it's already growing. Maybe you have some assets and income, and maybe you don't. But it may not be growing as fast as you'd like, or it may be in decline, or you may even be in need of some fresh cash to keep your business going.

You may also have a few debts that you can't or won't pay, or, if you do, it may be too much for you to bear.

In the next three articles, we'll show you how to make money without any of that – and how to use that money to invest in yourself and your future, not just for yourself, but also for your business and for your future life.

Getting started without putting in any cash

The first thing you need to do is change the way you think about money. It may take a while, but eventually your thinking will change so that money doesn't define your world, and the way you think about money will change, as well.

So let's do just that.

Here's what I have found when I've coached folks who are ready to get started in business, build a business that won't fail and won't lose value, and begin to generate a reliable and steady income:

When a client asks me how much they should invest in their business, I tell them that they should never put in more money than they could lose.

I am not talking about being careful. I am not talking about having a nest egg. I am not even talking about not gambling or losing money – I am talking about risk.

Imagine you're at a casino. You go in, place your bet, the dealer spins the wheel, and he or she deals you the cards. You bet all your money on the jackpot. You hit the jackpot. You win.

What happens then?

You might be able to afford a retirement account, a mortgage payment, and to put food on the table for you and your family.

However, you might not be able to afford your regular expenses. You could have to declare bankruptcy because you couldn't pay your bills, and you would lose your house, your car, your job, and, most of all, your money.

So, if you win, you win big. But if you lose, you lose big.

I have yet to have a client put in more than about $1,000 or more – and that's on a good month.

You could potentially lose your entire investment in a bad month, which is why I always tell clients that they should never put more money into their business than they can lose.

How to start a business without investing any money

Let's say you have money. But you don't want to put it in the bank, because it's insured by the FDIC, and the FDIC is government. Maybe you want to invest it in an index fund or an exchange-traded fund or a mutual fund or a cryptocurrency or something that you think is going to grow a lot.

Good for you. But, as you're aware, those things have gone up over the last year and a half. However, they may not continue to go up as they have in the last few years, especially if the Federal Reserve raises interest rates.

The reason? It's because those investments are putting money in, and they're expecting to get back that money. That's a higher rate of return than the government is giving the banks, so, if the Fed raises rates more than 1%, then those investments are going to have to be repriced. So, that's why they're going up and our stocks are going down.

So, unless the Fed leaves rates unchanged, you're going to have to brace for this to come down. And, unless you're putting in a lot of money in your investment, you're not going to get a lot of return on your money.

But, if you could get into a business that is actually going to grow, the rate of return could be high.

Here's what you can do:

You have to start saving $50 to $150 per month for at least the next five years – for your retirement account or a 401(k) plan.

For your retirement account or a 401(k) plan. You can put that money into something like an S&P 500 index fund.

For the next five years, you have to invest $150 per month to get you started in that business.

And, for the next 10 years, you have to put in $150 per month.

At a rate of $150 per month for five years, you'll have $7,500 – and that will turn into $1,150,000.

That's $1,150,000 when your business starts making money and growing.

And, at the end of 10 years, you'll have $2,750,000.

But here's the deal: You can't put in more than $150 per month in your business for the next five years – and that's what I tell clients to do.

When you do, you'll invest in something that has the potential to have 20, 30, or 40% returns.

What will you be investing in, though?

But here's the problem:

That's a low rate of return.

You might be able to get those returns on your investment in stocks, but not in your business.

And, if your business doesn't make money, then your retirement account is going to take a hit. That means that your family is going to have less to live on. That means, if you want to take care of your kids or if you want to go on a vacation with your family, your retirement account is going to take a big hit.

It's that simple.

So, now, you're not looking at a big gain like I told you, but you're still going to make money. But, not as much as you would in a profitable business.

Not only that, but, if your business goes bankrupt, you lose your retirement account.

So, what you need to do is put in less than $50 a month.

This isn't some magical number, but it will mean that your investment will not get bigger but will still grow. If your investment grows, then you can increase your amount of money in your business and have a better rate of return.

How to do it?