When I first started my business, it felt like a HUGE leap. It was huge emotionally, mentally, professionally… but it also felt like huge leap financially.
It felt like a risk, like a big investment.
But, once I started actually doing some research and adding up the numbers, I found that it really wasn’t the financial risk I thought it was.
How much money do you really need to start a business?
This is a question I get asked a lot, so I’m sharing with you exactly how I got started, penny-by-penny.
So often I see people holding themselves back from starting a business due to a lack of funds. But, in reality it takes very little money to start a business, especially if you provide professional services like me.
Forget the investors, storefronts, and employees… all it took me to get started was $33.23/month (which is less than 1/3 of my monthly cell phone bill).
Here’s a breakdown of my first year’s business expenses:
- 1 year of domain and hosting from GoDaddy ($52.14)
- Business registration, Articles of Incorporation MN ($135.00)
- PO Box ($72.00)
- Business cards from VistaPrint ($17.56)
- Terms of use, privacy policy, and service contracts ($122.00)
Total: $398.70
That comes to only $33.23 per month.
*You don’t even really need business cards or a PO Box, so you could get by with just the essentials for $309.14, which breaks down to $25.76 per month. And, who doesn’t have an extra $25/month?
At that time, I also had 2 part-time jobs to supplement my income: working at the front desk of a dental office answering phones and waiting tables at night.
So, that $33.23 per month was no big deal.
Often we use money as a reason not to pursue our goals. We put off what we really want to do until we “have more money”. But, technology has made it incredibly easy to start a business and begin earning extra money with very little cash up front.
And, so many premium business tools are completely free!
Here are some of the free (and incredibly robust) tools I used to run my business when I started out…
- PayPal: It’s completely free to set up and use PayPal for accepting credit cards online. There are no setup or monthly fees, and it’s pretty easy to use, which makes it a perfect tool for businesses that are just starting out.
- WordPress: I am a HUGE fan of WordPress. It’s what I’ve always used to manage my website and write this blog every week. It’s user-friendly and the capabilities continue expand by the minute, making it an exceptional tool to use whether you’re just starting out, or are a seasoned web design pro.
- Hootsuite: Hootsuite is what I use to manage my social media business activity. As a business, it’s important to be active on social media without a lot of wasted time and energy. Hootsuite makes this easy.
- MailChimp: MailChimp is a free email management system, and when I first started out in business, this is how I communicated with my audience. MailChimp continues to expand it’s functionality, and it remains a truly exceptional free tool for entrepreneurs.
- Google (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Analytics, Google Trends): Ahh Google, the king of free tools. I use Google for everything: to share documents with clients, to manage my schedule, to organize my business and personal emails, market research and even to monitor the behavior of visitors on my website. Take some time and explore Google tools, there are always new, extraordinary free services popping up for entrepreneurs to use.
- Skype: I still use Skype all the time in my business to meet with clients from all over the world. Skype is an incredible tool for video chatting, conference calls, and even recorded interviews and demonstrations.
- iMovie: This video editing software is a fantastic free Apple tool. If you have a Mac computer, iMovie comes standard and free to use. No need to buy expensive video editing software, iMovie can get most jobs done quickly and easily.
- SCORE: I used SCORE a few times in the very beginning of my business. It’s an organization that provides free mentoring and resources to business owners. There are many local chapters that you can visit if you have questions about accounting, legal processes, and even marketing and sales. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much research you do online, you just need a live person to chat with about your questions and concerns. SCORE was where I turned in those situations, and I always left feeling more educated and confident in business.
Every day more and more free tools and services are available to businesses. We can operate like a pro with very little cash.
Never let money hold you back from pursuing what you want in life. And, never make the mistake of believing something is beyond your reach. Do your homework, research alternatives, and find the amazing free resources that are available to you. It doesn’t take much digging to discover that there are incredible tools and systems there to help you at little or no cost.
Because often our dreams are much less expensive than we think they are. And, financial independence and success is not as far away as it seems.
Your business and your life may look a lot different than mine, but what are some ways you can curb the risk of starting your own business? What tools have you used to make the transition from a traditional 9-5 job to entrepreneurship?
Have you gotten a second job to help pay bills and business expenses?
What free tools or services have you taken advantage of?
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.