I remember starting my first business. I was going to UCSB, in a rock band, and working at Sears selling washers and dryers. My plate was full but the deep seeded need for my own business was never stronger. The trick was doing a business that could fit into my schedule and has little blowback if things went awry. My genius intellect (sarcasm) came up with changing oil at people’s homes. I worked on cars a lot with my dad and at my home growing up, so it was a piece of cake to do. I had almost no start-up funds so I went old school and handed out flyers. I was able to get more than enough new customers, there were just two downfalls.
- It was messy, I had oil and dirt on me 24 /7.
- It paid almost nothing, after the oil costs and time I was making much less than my job at Sears.
So I closed up my virtual oil change shop and tried my second business; Computer repair. Again, I went the flyer route and also did an ad in the newspaper. This went well but had its own fair share of issues. Like having customers not understand that they crashed hard drive was not repairable. This happened so often that the drive to places that had computer issues I couldn’t fix took too much time.
Even though my first two ventures did not take off I learned that saving money at the beginning of a business is so important. Not only do you not know if your business is something you will pursue, but the costs can outweigh the money you will need to survive.
This was back in 1998, things have changed now! I have had over 30 businesses and several are still active and growing. Even with how drastic business has molded into a new world, there’s still the simple goal when you start a business. Get as much for your business as you can, with spending the least amount of money.
The best ways to save money for your new business idea. (Business Bootstrapping)
- Work from home!
With the tech available today you can make your home an office machine by only using a corner of a room. Get a nice laptop so you can meet clients in public places like coffee shops and restaurants. Your cell phone can work as a good main line but I would suggest getting a phone number from a service like Skype or Zaplee so you can keep it even if you don’t want calls to your cell phone anymore. Print out some business cards, and handouts, and get started building your empire. - Use low-cost or free marketing
Now more than ever there is a mass amount of free marketing places available. From Craigslist to networking events people are looking everywhere to find new services to use. TV is one of the last places people look for service now. If you happen to have money ready to market, start with Google Adwords and Fiverr.com they give the best bang for your buck in most cases. - Build your own website
Getting a professional website 10 years ago costs over a grand easily. Even now the price is about the same but you get a lot more. A site 10 years ago would look scary outdated now no matter how much you paid for it back them. The great news is FREE WEB BUILDERS are easier than ever to use and can build awesome websites. and as trends change you can use new templates in the site builder to update easily.
Thanks for reading and from my heart, GOOD LUCK! Having your own business and being the master of your own destiny is one of the best feelings in the world.