Business is getting more and more competitive. In this consumerist society, the demand for products and services are increasing at a rapid pace. Due to this we’ve seen a rapid rise in the number of companies created, but due to the space being very competitive, it’s more important now more than ever to cut company spending.
There are many ways in which you can make your business more competitive. From making your services and products more quality oriented to marketing them in a more effective manner. Saving money on startup costs is also one of the things that people look forward to. Here are some ways to save money on startup costs:
1. Energy efficient home offices
This is one of the most imagined ways of saving money on startup costs. Most businesses will have their own office. This means that there will be a certain amount of money charged for the running of that office. If you tend to make the office more energy efficient, then it will enable you to save a great deal of money. The saved money can then be invested elsewhere in your business for more productive and constructive endeavors. Look for energy efficient window coverings to help regulate thermal properties in your building – this will help with your energy bill.
2. Create a formal and flexible budget
This is another important tip that a lot of business people tend to underestimate or overlook. Budgeting is one of the most important things to do. You should create a formal and flexible budget in order to save on hidden costs. You could be leaking money every month, and those expenses will eventually add up and this could even put you out of business if ignored. One of the mistakes that a lot of people make is to create a budget and then not sticking on it. You should know the range of funds that needs to be spent and then make a budget accordingly.
3. Take advantage of open source
Some businesses can cost less to set up than others. If you’re an online business you can look for open source alternatives like WordPress to lower your costs. For example, a website can be created to demonstrate the products and services of your company for free. You can even learn how to implement these solutions on your own time at no cost other than cheap shared hosting and a domain for under $10 USD. You can check out this retailer here that used a standard WordPress theme and started their printer and ink drop shipping business with next to nothing on starting costs. Another window blinds company found a plugin that could handle all of their complex calculations such as price matrices, that are needed for this type of product, for free! So if you’re looking, a $50 plugin from code canyon can be used to sell custom made window blinds online.
4. Look out for short term solutions
When you start up your own business, there is no need to think about 20 years down the line. Rather, focus on your short term goals. Life and business are like climbing stairs, one goal after the next, one step after the next. Set your short term goals and smash them out of the ballpark so you can get to the next step. Eventually, if you climb enough stairs you’ll reach your long term goal. There’s no use setting a long term goal without any kind of idea on how to get there.
5. Negotiate business deals
Negotiation is the key to saving money for startups. Being a business entity, you will have to enter a number of negotiations. Negotiations are necessary in order to get something out of deal that might favor you. You should master the art of negotiation in order to save money. This floor rugs store successfully negotiated with the largest rug retailer in their country to supply all types of rugs to them at a significant discount, giving them an edge over their competitors.
6. Learn bootstrap marketing
Without investing anything except your time you can learn how to do influence marketing (Instagram and Facebook), and Search Engine Marketing (SEO). These are today – the backbone of any successful business.
7. Learn Photoshop
As above in step 6, you can devote some of your time to learn how to do your own banners, graphics design, and more with the use of Photoshop. By doing giveaways and contests on social media, your designs will work great with these. This home gym company, and elo boosting service for League of Legends also designed their own logos, completely for free. Quite a great result considering no dollars were spent.
Above are some of the ways in which you can save money on start up costs. However, this is not an exhaustive list.