As the saying goes- when it comes to business, you have to spend money to make money. And it's true, there are always going to be costs to consider which can be difficult if you're starting from scratch.
However, there are things you can do to save money and keep your costs as low as possible, and from there you can always add more and expand as you make profits.
Here are some ideas to consider.
When you first start out in business, there are lots of overhead costs to consider. There's equipment to buy, stock, machinery, materials and more. If you don't have a lot of money to get started, this can be enough to put you off. However, there are ways you can get around this. You can hire instead of buying, take if you wanted to open a coffee shop for example. You could rent a commercial coffee machine instead of buying one which would cost thousands up front. As time went on you could save money from your profits and buy later down the line, but this way you could get started right away. The same is true when it comes to premises, it's cheaper than you might think to rent commercial premises. You don't necessarily need to purchase the building to work from, it's something that could come later down the line.
Hiring staff can be expensive. You have recruitment and interviewing costs to consider, not to mention to legal complications such as ensuring health and safety is up to scratch and they have the right legal cover. To make life easier, especially in the beginning you could utilise contractors and freelancers. You would hire these on a job by job basis, and as they're self employed you don't need to worry about things like PayE and tax . As time goes on and the work becomes more stable you could look to hiring people on a more permanent basis. But in the beginning, this can be a great way to do things. If you look online you'll see how there's easy access to the right people on freelancing sites and third party companies.
The right software can save you time, money and hassle. In some cases, you will be able to completely automate areas of your business. Look at helpdesk costs for example- instead of hiring a human worker, the right software would run this element of your business for you. Do your research, find out what's out there and what would benefit your company. Later down the line you could even have bespoke software designed, but for the time being there are lots of great softwares out there you could use.
How did you keep costs down when you started your business? What advice would you give to anyone just beginning their venture?
