Wednesday 23 December 2009

Starting a business on a shoestring

There was once a perception that only those with money could make money; that only those who had financial backing could start up their own business. Let’s have a look at why this is not the case.

Many entrepreneurs have gone on from nothing, with very little cash, to make a lot of money from their ideas. The key factors to their successes are the right idea, a good business plan and the desire to make it work. You can have all the money in the world to throw at a new business in the first instance but, if you don’t have the business savvy to make it work, then you may just be throwing money down the drain.

There are online companies that can help you to grow your business venture on a shoestring. It depends on the type of business you are hoping to run so choose your business idea carefully. Why not stick to a business in an area with which you are already familiar – stick to what you know. And if you do have to borrow, then borrow wisely and do your homework first. The last thing you want is to owe money that you can’t afford and end up losing everything you had your heart set on.

Working online is one way to keep your set-up costs down and give the impression that you are a larger business than you really are. Once you have set up a website using a free package, you can be up and running in no time, with very little money required.

Keep your costs to begin with as low as you can; be a miser, stop being a consumer for a while and learn that you cannot reap the rewards at the outset. A lot of hard work will have to come first and so you need to tighten your belt and park that idea of driving a flash car just for the time being!

Work from home; work from your garage, your kitchen and so on. Advertise in free online business directories and make the most of all free advertising opportunities that come your way. Use free stationery printing offers. Basically, get as much as you can for free! Join clubs, join online networking sites and get the word out there at no cost.

Website builders give you the option to trade online and set up an online shop (an e-commerce solution) so that your customers can buy from you any time they like. You become instantly accessible and, being part of the world wide web, you are able to grow beyond your wildest dreams if it works out.

To begin with, source out work which will allow you to get paid in cash quickly. You can’t afford to wait for 30 or 60 days before being paid if you have started your business on a shoestring. You need it now.

And once your business starts making money, then you need to put some of this aside for future growth as opposed to spending it on personal things. There will be plenty of time for this later down the line when you are raking it in! You need to think work, work, work; business, business, business and be thinking ten steps ahead.

Plough as much of your earnings back into the business as you can and watch it grow. Watch your shoestring turn into a fully fledged profitable business!

Copyright © Peter Moore 2009 - Co-Founder - EzWeb123.com

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