I think you’re making the right decision by not investing in your startup with your own money, especially because you have a family to look after.

The disadvantage to regular day jobs where you’re working for someone else is that you have a set income. So, it’s great that you have an entrepreneurial spirit because you can generate much more income! I financed my startup company through crowdfunding, but there are many options when it comes to financing your startup:

Find Investors Who Believe in Your Vision
One of the best ways to finance a startup is to find angel investors who really love your business plan. This type of investor is great because they usually give startups the big bucks, but the downfall is that they’ll take a percentage of ownership from you. So, you’ll have other people who own agreed-upon percentages of your company. While you won’t be the only person who owns the company, there are numerous success stories with these types of investors. Have you seen the show Shark Tank? It’s exactly like that! Uber and Facebook were launched because of the financial help from angel investors.

Crowdfunding
There are so many popular crowdfunding websites out there — like GoFundMe, Kickstarter, and Crowdfunder. You can set up a profile on these types of websites to tell the story behind your startup with the hopes of people donating. You can offer people who donate incentives (which will increase your likelihood of more donations). The companies who have the best success with crowdfunding use storytelling to their advantage and offer some sort of incentive!

Other Alternatives
I know you said you don’t want to spend your money because you have kids to look after, but you could consider other alternatives that use your credit instead. You could apply for a small business loan that would help launch your startup! It would put you in debt, but at least you wouldn’t be spending money out-of-pocket.