Yes, you do live in an entrepreneurial age, and yes, starting your own business venture is a great idea with a huge potential for long-term growth and success. Alas, there has to be a catch, and out of all the obstacles and seemingly insurmountable challenges you will have to face, finding the money to keep your new business afloat until it gains traction is by far the most menacing one.
In fact, with the majority of startups failing within the first year of inception, the need to secure funding becomes all the more important. Particularly, if you want your business to reach its second year with a positive revenue stream, you need to minimize your expenses. Remember, saving money is making money, so here are some of the best ways you can minimize startup costs and secure smooth sailing for the foreseeable future.
Don’t hire, outsource
In a world of fully immersive VR, soccer-playing robots and AI automation, the concept of a traditional office setting is getting kind of outdated. In fact, in a global marketplace, there is virtually no reason why your office shouldn’t be wherever the road takes you. And the same can be said for your employees.
Not only is managing an office space very 2005, but it’s also downright expensive. Finding the ideal office, equipping it with the right amenities and paying rent every month (along with a thousand accompanying expenses) is not exactly doing your budget a favor. Instead, why not be a true 21st-century entrepreneur and create a virtual workspace? Outsourcing is an efficient way to tap into the global talent pool and minimize payroll expenses.
Focus on quality SEO instead of paid ads
SEO is the name of the game in the online world, as getting on Google’s good side comes with many benefits and rewards that could end up defining the future of your business. Now, while paying for your ads to be featured on top of a search page or on relevant social media is a viable strategy, it’s also a cookie-cutter solution many a customer no longer appreciates. Essentially, you could be wasting money and endangering your brand’s reputation down the road.
Instead, your main focus should be on buying quality SEO and content from respected digital marketing gurus in order to connect with your audience on a deeper level that will create a loyal following. Not only does quality, optimized content score more points with Google, but by offering something of true value to the audience you will raise brand recognition and become an authority in the industry. Priceless, effective, and cheap.
Go digital and automate everything
Creating a digital office for the modern work collective is not the only way you can take advantage of 21st-century technological advancements to minimize expenses. In fact, with automation, intuitive software and a myriad of online optimization tools at your disposal, you can significantly cut operational costs for the long term.
For instance, you would be surprised how many businesses still use traditional monetary transactions, when in reality the cost of paper checks makes them inferior to e-transactions and digital payments. By implementing payment software, you can avoid the additional fees and increase revenue from the get-go. This is why it’s imperative to automate as much as you can and go digital across the board.
Use inbound marketing to your advantage
Should you push your product or service towards your potential customers or should you reel them in with engaging, quality content? The former will get you in front of your audience, yes, but it’s not something the modern online marketplace appreciates. Instead, the modern consumer leans towards true value and trust.
How do you create that trust? By investing in content and optimizing your online presence for top performance and recognition. This means diversifying your content portfolio to blogs, videos, podcasts, infographics, and everything in between, disseminating it across relevant social media and becoming an active part of the online community.
And all of this can be done without any monetary investments – it only requires time and effort put into content creation and social media management. Conversely, paying for ads and traffic may only bring short-term benefits that will quickly dissipate and possibly even hurt your reputation down the road. So take advantage of inbound marketing, and kill two birds with one stone.
Build long-term relationships from the start
Finally, one of the most inexpensive ways to build your brand and secure a future filled with lucrative opportunities is to simply network and make friends from the get-go. Instead of wasting money on bringing in talent later in the game or trying to secure endorsements, sponsorships and investors when the race has already begun, focus your attention on securing long-term financing from the start. Even if your investor only agrees to cover the most menial of expenses, it will be a win for your small business, so don’t skip taking this crucial step early in the game.
Building a prominent brand in the online world has become easier than ever before, however, the process is not without its challenges and obstacles. Minimizing expenses and costs is, therefore, it is a crucial step in creating a successful business for the future.
