Starting a Company on a Shoe-String Budget
A lot of people never start businesses because they believe they don't have enough money to do so. Unfortunately, these same people don't realize that many of the world's most successful companies were started on a shoe-string budget by an entrepreneur with limited resources. Below is a list of tips to help you save money when you're first starting a company: - Manage your finances in MS Excel, not Quickbooks.
- Manage your contacts in MS Outlook, not ACT.
- Get free legal and accounting advice from law/business students or lawyers/accountants who are willing to do pro-bono (free) work.
- Look for and join organizations that support youth entrepreneurs and small business owners.
- Hire unpaid interns and make their job exciting.
- Partner with somebody instead of paying them.
- Use credit cards.
- Get free, professional advice from SCORE, Teachers, and Professors.
- Get investments from family and friends.
- Find organizations who incubate startup companies or companies who might have office space that might be willing to let an aspiring entrepreneur use it. Perhaps, your school will let you use their copy machines and phone lines.
- Swap services with a company instead of paying them.
- Learn how to do graphic design and web design yourself. If you have these two skills, the startup costs of every business you have in the future will be dramatically reduced.
Michael Simmons is the author of the best-selling book, The Student Success Manifesto: How to Create a Life of Passion, Purpose and Prosperity and an award-winning entrepreneur. He is also one of America's top youth motivational speakers for college campuses. Read his online journal at young entrepreneur journey or click on the following link to download his free success ebook
MORE RESOURCES:
Author Reginald Beal Returns HomeWebster Kirkwood Times, MO - 21 hours agoWhile his father taught him to uphold justice, his mother showed him the value of education, Beal said. The entrepreneur turned author retains a lifelong ... |
Au pair not always all perfectConnecticut Post, CT - 15 hours agoMoraes, a Monroe mother of two who's lived in several countries, has taken under her wing a slew of au pairs she met through Black Rock Congregational ... |
Smartphones place the Internet in more handsSan Antonio Express, TX - Oct 9, 2008“I used to carry a laptop everywhere I went,” says the social media entrepreneur. “I can now travel much lighter because I don’t carry it with me everywhere ... |
Home is where the hard work isCalgary Herald, Canada - Sep 29, 2008The Calgary mother of two had just launched her web-based business Mom Knows Best Natural Solutions (momknowsbest.ca) early last year when health concerns ... |
Bonnier Corp. Acquires Working Mother MediaMarketWatch - Sep 25, 2008"Bonnier is the perfect home for Working Mother and our membership organizations. We look forward to building our products and fulfilling our mission as ... |
Plumas County news on-linePlumas County Newspapers, CA - Oct 7, 2008Craig spent most of his work life as an entrepreneur and small business owner. He and his wife Wendy owned two Chubby's Restaurants, one in Benicia and one ... |
Bus(y)iness moms stay in the loopWrightstown Post Gazette, WI - Oct 5, 2008Any woman who's been there knows that tending to home, hearth and offspring is largely a lonely affair. For work-at-home moms — entrepreneurs who run a ... |
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