Why Starting A Business Doesn’t Have To Break The Bank
When we ask our budding entrepreneur friends why they haven’t started businesses yet, we often get the same answer back. “I just don’t have the money,” they say, no doubt looking forlornly at their bank balances.
This is an understandable attitude to have; many think that starting a business costs the earth, and that if you want to start a business, you’ve got to be rich to begin with. That’s just not the case, though.
Many entrepreneurs start out with very little and grow their own empires, and you can do the same with the right attitude, tech support such as key strategic initiative management software, and a little luck. Here’s a few ways that starting a business doesn’t need to break the bank.
Social media is basically a free marketing tool
While there are, of course, certain elements of social media for which you have to pay - ad campaigns and promotions, to name but a couple - for the most part, social media can act as a free marketing tool. Creating content, building up followers, and talking to your audience directly can all serve as great promotional tools for your business. There are even sites out there that can help you build follower counts easily and quickly, and this type of service is often free, so you’re cutting costs into the bargain!
There are lots of investment options available
Of course, starting up a business by yourself is desirable for many entrepreneurs because then they’re not beholden to anyone. They’ve only got themselves to answer to, and there are no additional cooks to spoil the broth, so to speak. That’s a slightly excessively negative attitude, though; finding great investors to help you fund your business is pretty easy, and there are lots of great investment options that you can plump for. Don’t like the look of one type of investment? Try another and you might have better luck!
Crowdfunding could be your bag
Pursuing traditional business loans or other investment options might not be for you. If you don’t think you want to go down the traditional routes, then why not consider crowdfunding? If your business is based on the kind of idea that can easily win popular support, then crowdfunding could get you all the investment you need. Be warned, though: crowdfunding is absolutely not an easy way out. You’ll still need to deliver on all your promises, and those who crowdfund your business won’t be happy if you mess them around in any way.
You can get business loans
If you can’t front the capital to start your business immediately, then a business loan might be the right avenue for you to take. Depending on how far along your business is in the startup process, you could be entitled to more cash than you think, and although you’ll have to pay it back, business loan repayment plans can often be very lenient indeed. Make sure to research your options extensively when it comes to business loans, because the last thing you want is to miss out on a great deal for lack of proper investigation.
Many businesses don’t need physical premises anymore
When you’re running an ecommerce business, physical premises are usually pretty essential. You’ve got to have somewhere to store your goods, after all…or do you? Programs like Amazon FBA will offer to store your products in a secure location for you, and they can often be cheaper than renting out your own warehouse. There’s also a good chance your business doesn’t need a physical location at all; if you’re primarily based online, then you and your workforce can work remotely, saving massively on the need to rent out office space.
Negotiation is your friend
Whether it’s suppliers, employees, or clients, negotiation is absolutely your friend when it comes to cutting costs for starting a business. Are you talking to someone about hiring out warehouse or office space? Talk to them for a little while and see if there isn’t any wiggle room in terms of fees. When you’re arranging payments with clients, you could try to sweet-talk them into taking higher packages (provided that the desire is there, of course), which could in turn net you a little extra cash. If you want to cut back on startup costs, you’re going to need to develop the gift of the gab.
Free software packages will help you immensely
For most paid software, there’s a free alternative out there that’s just as good, if not better. Let’s take video production, for instance. You could, of course, use big-name software like Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro. On the other hand, you could also check out apps like Lightworks, which is a completely free video production suite that won’t cost you a single penny to use. Lightworks has a steeper learning curve, but it’s pretty much just as powerful as its peers, and if you look closely, you’ll generally find free alternatives to a lot of the software you might be considering paying for. Don't forget Canva for free graphics generation software, it's ace!
With a mission, employees might be happy to work for a little less
Let’s get one thing out of the way first: you should never try to negotiate employees down to unfair wages. There’s trying to save money as a startup owner, and then there’s just attempting to con employees out of their deserved salaries. With that said, if your startup has an ethical mission or is a particularly principled company, then you may well find that employees are willing to work for a little less than they usually would in exchange for the chance to be a part of something they’ll feel proud of. Don’t be ashamed to leverage that.
Look into how technology can assist your staff; for example, if you work in the care sector, look into the benefits of a care management system and figure out why should you use an app system over a conventional computer-based system and see how the features would be of benefit to different types of staff members.