In my case, I started with a few thousand of my own dollars, and some small equipment already owned. I rarely buy on credit. But its handy. Say I need to hire 3 temps, have the money, but prefer to just pay the bill the next week. That's where some credit helped. So maybe you could start with your own funds, but take one small loan that you don't need for one purchase. Maybe $500 or $1000? Then pay it off the next month. But if you can start now without having to rely on a loan, I think that's the way to go.