Starting
up your own business has become the new “getting a job” in recent years. With many people finding that latter route is
difficult, the concept of creating one has taken off. However, success in business can mean a lot
of sacrifices in the early days and finding ways to start up with as little
capital as possible is crucial. Also
learning how to manage on a budget can make all the difference in the early
days. Here are some frugal start-up tips
to help you on the way.
Office furnishings
Forget
the modern, sleek, sophisticated and stylish office. Charity shops and outlets are there for a
reason, as is eBay. They’re there for you to find cut price
office furniture and supplies. OK so maybe not charity shops, but certainly
don’t buy new. Especially for premises
where clients won’t be visiting, make do with the cheapest furnishings you can
find. You can buy new when you’re a
millionaire and not before.
Desk (and office) Sharing
If you
are a small, or micro, business and need office space shop around
carefully. Office rentals are relatively
competitively priced at the moment but consider checking out special deals and
offers from providers. Many offer ‘desk
rental’ deals in shared offices which can be the most affordable option for the
smallest of firms; allowing access to professional premises and facilities at a
fraction of the cost.
Rewards for all
Green Credentials
Re-use
everything you can. I’m not (necessarily)
talking about hanging the tea bags out on the line to dry, but certainly any
and all packaging materials can be re-used.
Envelopes (particularly the jiffy bag kind) should never be thrown away,
bubble wrap, anything that’s potentially going to save you cash should be saved
up and re-used. This approach has been
re-branded as being ‘green’ so it doesn’t even make you look cheap
anymore.
Cloud computing
While
you shouldn’t skimp on important things like accountants, do shop around before
employing one. The field is competitive
and most firms offer a range of services to suit different sized firms. You may just need one aspect of accounting
dealt with, or may prefer monthly, quarterly or annual fees. Also streamline the process by using software
such as QuickBooks, available in
cloud or desktop versions to make managing money straightforward and also
allowing you to prepare accounts that can be dealt with quickly (and therefore
cheaply) by your accountant of choice. The
company that developed the range (Intuit)
have focussed on creating accounting software for small business and are a leading brand in the
UK.
Well Rounded Staff
Not so
many years ago something of a “that’s not my job” culture existed in many UK
firms. Despite the fact there is nearly
always a clause in employment contracts to state “tasks as required”, not
everyone was keen to do what they perceived as “somebody else’s job”. Start ups can’t afford to allow this attitude
to develop and begin as you mean to go on, training staff to take on or fulfil
any role as required. It can save time
and money in the long run and makes staffing more flexible.
Promotions and Advertising
From
finding the right accounting software for small business to cutting the costs
of furnishings, advertising and staff rewards, there are a huge number of ways
to manage and make money when running your own firm. Keeping costs down in the early days is,
however, essential.
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