This article was contributed by Gigmine.co.
More than 99% of all companies in the United States are small businesses. A great majority of these started (or currently operate) from the owner’s homes. Although this used to be a less-than-respected arrangement, home businesses today are not taboo and are often seen as a great way to get started. Getting started, however, takes money. Often lots of it.
Camino Financial estimates that a small business can cost up to $400,000, although most people get started for $5,000 or less, which is still not chump change. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to save money on startup costs.
Here are today’s tips:
- Look for deals on office supplies. We all need paper, pens, computer accessories, and more to run our businesses. Skip the office supply company, and check out stores like Dollar General, a Cheap Simple Living favorite, which offers one-dollar products that can keep your desk stocked and your snack bin full.
- Use free business tools. If you don’t mind clicking the keyboard, you should have no trouble finding free business tools that can help you run things smoothly. One example, which is particularly useful if you plan to have multiple teams or need to coordinate with people in different locations, is a PDF merging and editing tool. You can use this to save time when working on documents together to quickly and easily turn multiple files into one document, which you can then merge, reorder, and share.
- Clear a room (and clean the rest of the house). Believe it or not, you may wind up spending more money on business if you don’t have a dedicated office space or if the rest of your home is cluttered. Before you get started, recognize that you’ll be in your house more, which means you’ll need to pay attention to both the practical stuff, such as keeping things neat and tidy and the overall energy and feel of your home. Simple things, like cleaning the windows and smudging, can work wonders for your overall ambiance.
- Form your own LLC. Using an attorney to start your business structure can be exponentially expensive. You can spend thousands of dollars having them do the legal stuff, or you can file for just hundreds (in Tennessee, for example, the cost to file is $300) when you use an online formation service. You’ll need to create a certificate of formation, have a registered agent, and understand state-specific rules.
- Maintain your productivity. Zippia shares this staggering statistic: lost productivity in the US comes at a cost of close to $5 billion per year. While your small business won’t lose that much, missing out on even hundreds of dollars per week in productive hours can put a dent in your earnings. Look for ways to keep your focus at work, such as reorganizing your workspace or creating rituals that help you get things done.
- Utilize inexpensive marketing methods. Unless you find a way to operate solely on word-of-mouth, you’ll have to spend some money on marketing, especially as you get your business up and running. Social media, business cards, promotional items, and community events are all great ways to engage the community. If possible, work with other local businesses and form partnerships that allow you to create a referral network.
Starting a small business from home is a great way to take control of your finances. But it does take courage, hard work, and money. If you’re looking to save on the latter, the tips above, which include everything from forming your own LLC and using free business tools to keeping your home clean to hitting up the dollar store for office supplies, can help. And remember, if you need more tips on saving money, Cheap Simple Living offers plenty of posts that can help you do just that at home and at work.
This article was contributed by Gigmine.co.
