Can you open a restaurant with no money? Of course you can.

If you dream of opening your own restaurant but don't have the capital, don't worry. Even if it seems impossible, there are creative and effective ways to get started in the business without a significant investment.

This article is aimed at entrepreneurs who want to step into the world of food service and are looking for viable alternatives to start without needing a lot of money.

*If in your case you feel this topic falls short and you're already in another league, don't read this; instead, we recommend: Opening a restaurant: how to plan and manage your initial budget successfully *

We know that, generally speaking, opening a restaurant requires some investment, and sometimes we're talking about enormous investments that are out of reach for many people.

In our series of articles on how to open a restaurant, we have detailed the financial aspects involved, from furniture to food inventory.

This time, however, we'll share a different approach: how to open a restaurant without needing a lot of money on hand.

The idea behind an experiment

Let me tell you how we managed to make one of our restaurants a reality without investing any money upfront.

It was an experiment that, fortunately, turned out to be a resounding success.

How it all started

In 2011, we attended a training session with a marketing expert who told us about the potential of social media for businesses, especially in the restaurant sector.

At the time, we didn't have the advances we have today. In fact, to some extent, in some countries social media was still taking off in popularity.

Inspired by this idea, we decided to try an approach that consisted of building an online community before having a physical restaurant.

"Community" sounds like something big and important, but in our case it really wasn't more than a small group of people we were going to offer and sell food to, and that was it.

The goal was to offer home delivery promoted exclusively through social media, specifically a Facebook page focused on our local area.

Launching the fan page

In January 2012, we launched our Facebook page and began offering Japanese food.

It was surprising how quickly people showed interest. From the first day, probably because of the type of food and because the topic was so new, we received messages from people asking about the menu, and we even began taking orders just three days after starting.

During the first two weeks, we managed to deliver between 3 and 5 orders a day. It was a modest start, but our expectations were quickly exceeded thanks to the power of referrals and social media.

The combination of an attractive offer and the ability to target people in our area turned out to be a winning strategy.

It wasn't a big deal, it was just a few orders, but looking at the glass half full, we were starting to receive money in exchange for our food, and we liked that.

Growing through referrals and advertising

We decided to keep going, to see, as Marco Antonio Solís would say, "Where are we going to end up?" with this.

The small project wasn't demanding in terms of time, and we had no costs beyond ingredients and packaging. We weren't under pressure in any way, and, without realizing it, we were growing little by little.

Little by little, the business began to flourish. Every day more orders came in, and I think that as our followers on the fan page grew, our sales grew too.

In a short time, our posts began to be shared more, and our promotions spread by word of mouth.

More than that, though, I think what really mattered most was that the food was very good, and I'm almost sure that was key to the referrals coming more and more.

By mid-2013, we had reached more than 15,000 followers on Facebook and were processing between 35 and 40 orders a day.

Two more people were helping us. We still had a relatively pressure-free pace, because we only worked a few hours a day, and these two additional people took care of the details.

Without needing a physical restaurant, we already had "something" that was gradually taking shape. Our operating costs were low, and "that" was turning into a business that really did become quite profitable.

Listening to customers and expanding

Something unexpected happened while we were enjoying our success as that kind of virtual mini-restaurant.

Our customers began asking us to open a physical location.

Some said it as a joke or as a random comment, but many really wanted a space where they could enjoy our dishes with friends or even on a romantic date, you know, the things you go to a restaurant for.

Although we had initially ruled out the idea, the conditions came together: our customers' demand was so strong, a nearby business closed its doors and left a nice (and cheap) space available, and we had profits to buy the little things we needed, and that was when we decided to take the next step.

Opening the physical location

Around August or September 2013, we opened the small restaurant with room for 20 tables.

It was a little ugly, honestly, hahaha. We really hadn't planned anything; we had just bought the furniture and, between my wife and me, we painted it ourselves. We didn't hire interior decoration professionals or anything like that (I didn't even know anyone who worked in that).

Even though it wasn't the prettiest, the place quickly became a popular spot, and our base of loyal customers began visiting us in person.

The decision to open a physical space was driven by our customers' needs and wants, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions we made.

We also kept delivering orders to homes, increasing to about 60 deliveries a day, which almost doubled our revenue.

I think it helped a great deal that the place had parking. If you're thinking of doing something similar, I should tell you that a parking lot can be essential.

Final thoughts

Our experiment showed that it's possible to open a restaurant without a lot of money by taking advantage of the tools at our disposal, such as social media.

If you have an idea and a passion for the industry, go ahead and give it a try.

Starting with no money may seem risky, but if you put smart strategies into practice and focus on your community, you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.

That said, the food has to be very good, it has to be delicious. If not, I don't think it could work.