Building a Business with No Internet: The Unplugged Start-up Story

By Niru Tyagi | WHS Consultant | Founder, WHS Guard

When I envisioned launching a consultancy, I pictured challenges — finding clients, perfecting my pitch, keeping up with regulations — but not this: starting a business without a working internet connection.

In the age of digital everything, that’s like opening a coffee shop with no water. Yet that’s exactly how WHS Guard was born — in the middle of a two-month internet outage, punctuated by empty promises from my provider, hours on hold, and a Wi-Fi light that refused to turn green.

Let me paint the scene.

The Reality of a "Connected" Business with No Connection

I’m a Work Health and Safety Consultant. My work depends on reliable internet access:

• Zoom consultations with clients across Australia and South Asia

• Cloud-based documentation, safety audits, and policy reviews

• Daily research, writing, and publishing for my WHS newsletter and thought leadership

And yet, for weeks, I had no reliable NBN. Despite lodging complaint after complaint, being told “someone will contact you in 48–72 hours,” and even visiting the store — I received no support, no replacement modem, and no working solution.

But the business had to start. So I improvised.

What I Learned About Starting Lean – and Resilient

1. You Don’t Need Perfect Conditions to Begin

If I’d waited for the infrastructure to be ideal, I’d still be waiting. I used mobile tethering, public libraries, friends’ homes — anywhere with a signal became my new office. It was slow, patchy, and often frustrating, but it forced me to prioritise only the most essential tasks.

2. Customer Service Is a Business Differentiator

As a consultant, I offer solutions to clients dealing with crisis, burnout, and non-compliance. My experience with unresponsive customer service reminded me why. human-centred, prompt service is so critical. It’s why my own clients hear back from me within hours — not days.

3. You Can Lose Wages, But Not Momentum

There were costs — real, financial ones. I exhausted mobile data and had to purchase top-ups from multiple providers. But worse than that was the cost in lost time. So, I doubled down on what I could control: building systems, refining services, updating my knowledge base.

My Advice to Anyone Starting Up in Chaos

• Start anyway. Conditions rarely line up perfectly. Learn to adapt.

• Don’t suffer in silence. Escalate. Complain. Advocate. You’d be surprised how many systems rely on people just giving up.

• Document everything. Whether it’s WHS compliance or your own customer journey — your records are your armour.

• Support others. I leaned on my network, and now I offer the same. Entrepreneurship is lonely enough — let’s not make it more isolating.

I started a consultancy in a dead zone — no internet, no modem, and no real support. But I also started it with grit, clarity, and focus. That’s what matters.

So, if you're feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or out of range — know that the solution might not be signal bars. It might be starting where you are, with what you have, and building forward anyway.