One of the greatest challenges you’re likely to face when endeavouring to turn your idea into a marketable product and start a business is that you’re probably going to have limited financial resources in the early days. Similarly, if you have just received investment it can be very tempting to go on a startup spending spree – which can have disastrous results for your long term success, as keeping a positive cash-flow is key to business success.
In this article you’ll find three ways startups can save money, in the early days, by shifting their paradigm away from the need to impress and toward focusing on creating more value – which is what really matters in business.
1. Start off working from home.
A common mistake many startups make is they feel the need to secure premises.
There are clear benefits to having the space to focus in a distraction free environment yet this tends to come at a great financial cost. You clearly want to give the right impression to customers, but there are ways of doing this without having to invest in the infrastructure of premises – for instance, you could get a 1800 phone number that gives you a more professional image, and you could even have this managed 24/7 by a telephone answering service that answers the phone in your company’s name in order to create the illusion of having an office with a receptionist to take calls – when in fact, you’re still operating from your bedroom!
The point is, in the start-up phase you want to save as much money as possible and all good start-ups know it’s not about having plenty of resources in the initial phases that creates success; it’s having plenty of resourcefulness.
2. Keep your costs down on essentials.
There are some essentials every entrepreneur needs such as printer ink, but there are ways to keeping costs down by looking for cheaper alternatives, for instance, you could hunt out discounted deals or consider using refilled cartridges that are available at a fraction of the cost of a new ink cartridge.
3. Don’t hire staff, just yet.
The majority of entrepreneurs feel the need to do everything on their own, but when business starts picking up and making a profit, one of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make is to hire more people than necessary.
A much more cost efficient strategy would be to hire virtual assistants that operate on a freelance basis the workload and amount you pay them can adjust according to your needs.
In summary, when starting out in business, it’s all about keeping perspective and focusing on what really matters.
The most vital currency in any business is that of value; see when you create enough value then everything else will fall into place.
It’s important to remember that everyone starts somewhere, at some point, and even the tiniest of acorns can grow into a collossal oak tree… yet, the journey all starts from a very humble beginning, and therefore, there’s no need to splurge on your startup, instead aim to grow it organically by focusing on creating value.
