In the past there have only been a few ways to acquire money to start a business: friends and family, traditional banks, and venture capitalists. For most of us, all three options are out of the question. So what do we do? Should we put our dreams on hold for another five to ten years hoping that one of those will work out for us? Unfortunately, that’s exactly what a lot of budding entrepreneurs do. It seems odd that these entrepreneurs can be so creative in every way, except with their financing. It’s time to think outside the box and take your dreams off the shelf. Use Other People’s Money (OPM) and get started today.

Credit card companies have become very competitive in the last five years. When they compete you win. They’ve created a whole new way to start a business without using any of your own cash. You can leverage their money for a short amount of time to start your business. Imagine walking into a bank and telling them that you want an 18 month, interest free loan, for a startup business. Don’t forget to tell them that you don’t have a formal business plan and, the loan must be unsecured. These kinds of borrowing conditions are common and credit card companies are knocking your door down to give them to you.

If you have good credit you can ‘float’ the cost of your business for a number of months. ‘Floating’ is the process of transferring the payments or complete balance between zero interest credit cards. In essence you are buying interest free time to build your business. For example let’s say George leverages $10,000 to start a business. In 30 days the minimum payment is due. He has two options: one he can transfer the minimum payment to his second card, or two he can transfer the entire balance to the second card. In this way he has created 30 more days of interest free time to build his business. He is using the credit card company’s money and not his own to build his business.

For some people the idea of using credit cards to build a business seems counterintuitive. There are a number of reasons why they might think this. For starters, credit cards are easily abused and carry negative connotations. Most people use their cards to purchase vacations, home improvements, big screen TVs, and other consumer items. None of these items will make them money and are considered consumer debt. On the other hand there is business debt. Two key differences between business and consumer debt is that business debt is short term and has the potential to make a return. If using credit cards to finance a business seems counterintuitive that’s because business debt is being confused with consumer debt.

A word of warning with using credit cards as an OPM strategy. Treat the money you spend with your credit cards as you would your own money. Always remember that your business’s customers are the ultimate source of income. Credit cards should never be used to buy things that aren’t going to make money. Purchasing new office furniture, computers, and flashy cars too early can ruin your business’s development. Those things should be bought with revenue from your business, not with precious start-up money. Using your credit cards as a financing tool is one way to use other people’s money to get your business off the ground. Like any tool, it comes with its pros and cons so judge carefully. Whatever your decision, don’t allow fear to step in the way of your dreams to build your own business.