A business requires a lot of things - time, manpower, strategy, and the ability to cope with constant rejection and challenges - but most of all, it requires money. Without sufficient initial capital and regular cash rolling in, it can be tedious if not impossible to launch and manage your business. There are many expenses to take into account, from business permits and legal fees to product prototyping and large scale manufacturing. Even with a shoestring budget, albeit, it's possible to establish the foundation of what your brand is to become in the years ahead. Here's five ways to achieve just that:
Start a Side Business
It may sound counterproductive to what you're trying to achieve, but starting a side business can generate passive income that you can then use to fund your primary business. For instance, you can start a web development consultation business with you as the sole proprietor and employee and charge $100 per consultation. Perhaps open a business of buying some products low and selling them high at another site or online platform? For a side business to work, you must carefully choose one that requires minimal supervision, effort, and time to manage. If your side business ends up taking 8 hours of your day, then you might as well make that your primary business and source of income.
Spend Zero on Things You Can’t Afford to
Marketing is an unavoidable expense for a business, but it doesn't always need to come at a cost. There's a lot of marketing channels you can tap into for complimentary air time and brand exposure. YouTube videos that have the potential to go viral, social media posts that spark lively debates, and a personal blog that build a mass following. Some marketing channels cost money, but are relatively inexpensive, such as email marketing and phonebook listings. Taking lessons, like a Salesforce coding course, during your downtime can also eliminate the need to hire employees or consultants to do the work for you.
Outsource Your Needs
There's a reason why outsourcing is a multi-billion dollar market - it works. You can find a lot of competent professionals and partners to offer a specific skill set or study that your business needs. Outsourcing your business' needs, such as web design, accounting, or payroll management, lowers the overall costs and gives you access to a broader range of qualified candidates across the globe. Businesses also only pay for the work they need without having to pay full-time employees and benefits packages.
Borrow and Rent
Be resourceful and tap into the possessions and assets of other people in addition to your own. If you can, borrow something that your business needs instead of renting it. Rent it instead of purchasing. Purchase secondhand items instead of brand new ones. There are a ton of stores and marketplaces that sell or rent out equipment that's in good condition for a fraction of the price. There's no reason to buy your equipment and material brand new, especially if you are still trying to understand your business and testing the waters out. Only after you've actually validated your product and market and have decided to start production at a large scale should you consider investing in new equipment and machinery.
Take Advantage of Technology
Every startup will need some form of technology to efficiently carry out tasks, such as bookkeeping, payroll, hiring, and cash flow management. Open source and cloud computing are the two main technologies that are helping businesses the most today. You rarely need to buy licenses to specific software and servers when you switch to open source and cloud-based storage platforms.
Although it would be great to have the financial support and resources of an investment bank or angel investor, launching a business doesn't require throwing a huge lump sum of money to get started. There are many resourceful and creative techniques that budding entrepreneurs can use to effectively get the cash they need to successfully launch and manage their new business venture.
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