Give Yourself A Grant Grant

I shared a challenge question on my other site today that asked people “What business could you start this week with just 50 bucks?”. Many people think that having no restrictions allows them to think up bigger and better ideas, but I disagree. I think that having constraints on a project actually forces you to think more creatively.

Having a small budget or a ridiculously short deadline requires you to do more with less (and in less time). Constraints force you to be more efficient, lean, quick, and productive.

Want to stretch your creative muscles a bit?
Here is a challenge for you…

The Personal Grant Grant

Give yourself a budget of just $50 to launch a new product or business within a very short time frame. I like weekends for challenges like this, but if this is the first time you’ve tried something like this, give yourself a full week — seven days — to come up with a concept and pay for everything you need to create a new business with just fifty bucks.

Ulysses Grant was the 18th US President and his likeness appears on the $50 bill. Give yourself a new business “grant” of exactly that amount and stretch it out to be the entire budget for launching a new product or service that is up and running (and earning money!) within just one week.

Perhaps you flip items you find on Facebook Marketplace, or maybe you’ll post gigs on Fiverr to build revenue. Another idea might be to buy a pressure washer attachment for your garden hose and start powerwashing houses or vehicles.

Once you start coming up with an idea or two, more will begin to flow. The constraint of time and money should actually make it easier for you to pare down the ideas and concepts that best match your project goals.

If you decide to accept this challenge, let me know!

Keep a record of your efforts. Jot down a daily recap in a personal journal or publish it as a blog or social media summary. I’d love to hear how you went about the project and what you learned along the way.

Whether you’re successful in achieving the goal or not, it will be a fun and interesting experiment. I guarantee you’ll learn a lot, even if it’s only to never take take a project timeline or budget for “grant-ed” again. 😉