Years back I had this need for a small sum of money to start a small business and searched in vain for anyone to loan me the money. The banks are usually useful in Nigeria for these sort of things.

If you’ve been in a similar situation you know how difficult it can be to raise just N200,000 (less than $1,000) to start that business idea you’ve always had.

So a friend then gave me this very simple but effective and creative advice. This idea is so simple that you may even dismiss it the first time you come across it. It may be useless for raising significant startup capital so I advise you use it if only you want to raise anywhere between N100,000 to N500,000 or even a million naira. So imagine you need to raise $1,500 to start that hustle you have been thinking about.

Instead of asking a couple of friends and family to cough out the money why not take this approach.

Make a list of everyone you know (family, friends, work colleague etc) who can ‘dash’ (gift) you a small sum of money without too much persuasion or breaking sweat. Say you needed N250,000 and you divide it by 25. This means you’ll need 25 acquaintances who can give you N10,000 for free and you have your N250,000. If you have a large circle of people to ask you could even make it N5,000 per head and get it from 50 people you know.

The idea behind this approach is it is easier to ask people for painless, negligible amounts of money than ask for loans of sizeable sums. So from taking a piece here and there from many people you have your small startup capital.

If you are in a position where you need this sort of money try this approach out. Get out a piece of paper and list down every single person you know who can afford to part with N5,000 or N10,000 without too much resistance. You’d be surprised how long your list will be. Then reach out to them one by one. Be simple and straightforward and ask for that amount. Not as a loan but as a gift. By the time you make the rounds you have your small seed capital.

Don’t underestimate the little ideas. Go on, try it.

Find little ideas on Personal Finance, Business and Succeeding