How a Sou-Sou Helped This Woman Save Money to Start a Business

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Saving has always been a challenge for me. While I continuously applied the pay-yourself-first principle to my finances, I struggled to stick to my budget.

So when I wanted to start a cake-decorating business, I needed another way to cover my startup costs. I preferred not to take out a loan because of interest charges.

A co-worker suggested starting a sou-sou.

What’s that? you’re wondering. Well, read on.

What’s a Sou-Sou?

A sou-sou is a simple savings plan.

The West African tradition, which is also popular in the Caribbean, requires a group of people to contribute a fixed amount of money either weekly, bi-weekly or monthly to a group account, with one member responsible for collecting the cash.

The group holds a random draw to determine the order in which each person will receive their lump sum payment. However, once each person receives their cash, they still have to contribute until everyone gets paid.

A sou-sous could run for six months or up to a year — it all depends on how many people are in on it. Sou-sous continue until everyone receives a payout at least once.

How I Used a Sou-Sou to Start a Business

Here’s how I started a sou-sou to help me make enough money to get my cake-decorating business off the ground.

Determine How Much Cash You Need to Start Your Business

I created an inventory of supplies I’d need, then calculated the total cost of buying them. This helped me make sure I’d be able to get started once I received my payout.

Next, I shopped around to find the best prices — then asked vendors about a discount for buying in bulk. It never hurts to ask! It helped me save 20% of the original cost when I eventually bought everything.

Find Cash in Your Budget and Earn Extra Money

I needed to free up some money to go toward my sou-sou, so I decided to eliminate one bill from my monthly budget.

I compared my cable and internet bills to see which was costing me more, and then canceled my $50 per month cable service.

To…

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