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10 Ways to Save Money When Starting a Small Business

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Take a look at the top 2 reasons businesses fail: inadequate capital and excessive cost overruns. Don’t let your business fail because of these two things. Since most of us don’t have lots of capital available to us to start our operation, we must use what we have wisely.

Here are 10 ways to use that capital wisely and manage your start-up costs.

1. Start small. Excitement is great: it is the power that will get you through the tough days in your business. Don’t let that excitement lead you to buying too much inventory, spending money you don’t have on a lavish website, etc. I’ve also been guilty of this one. You get this great idea, it makes perfect sense in your mind, you know you are going to be a rock star and achieve all of your goals right away so you just “go big.” Then you start the business and face the inevitable road blocks that come up, or get anxious about the thousands of dollars of inventory that are sitting in your closet unsold. Then starts the downward spiral of disappointment and discouragement which is enough to cause many entrepreneurs to shut down their venture and get stuck with the bill.

2. Don’t get carried away with marketing materials. I have also been guilty of this one. Marketing materials are the fun part of starting a business: choosing a logo, designing business cards, picking out graphics and colors for your website, getting business stationary, etc. Unfortunately getting caught up in colors and patterns doesn’t make you money. Yes, marketing materials are important but making money is more important. Also, keep in mind that your business model may evolve and change over time. Therefore it may be wise to start simple with your marketing materials and re-evaluate after a few months. The business cards I spent so much time making are now obsolete and ready for the trash as my services have completely changed from 6 months ago.

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