The time has come. You’ve stepped out of faith and you’re ready to launch your business. Startup costs are unpredictable and whether you’ve landed an investor or are footing the finances yourself, every penny counts.

You’ll need supplies, space and staff. These “must-haves” can get unbearable if you let them. Before you pull out your hair and wallet,  we’ve compiled several ways you can cut costs while launching your business and not feel like a penny pincher in the process.

Location Is Everything

Half of the burden when starting up a company is finding the ideal building, but 2020 taught us that a fancy high-rise isn’t necessary for a 5-star business. Consider skipping the traditional office setting for a home office. If you struggle with the idea of productively working from home because a fridge and television are starring back at you all day, co-work spaces are a great option that can be reasonably priced, especially if you plan to build a staff.

If you’re not quite there yet, stop by your neighborhood’s clubhouse, local library or coffee shop for a work-from-anywhere experience that frees you from building rental costs. 

Buy Bulk with Another Startup

Reduce your overhead costs by making bulk purchases on office and product supplies. For those looking to save money in the long run on items with a high shelf life, like office supplies, packaging and non-perishable products, this is a must.

Skip the big brand stores and search locally. Considering the many challenges facing small businesses, it helps to build a working relationship with other small businesses now more than ever. Just sure when placing your large orders, that you’re not buying more than you need and accidentally wasting money.

Over 90% of the business population represents small- and medium-sized businesses.

Cut Down Software Costs

The number one mistake small businesses make while working as a one-(wo)man-band is off-loading the heaving lifting to too many platforms. We’re all for using technology to make life simpler; however, it can get out of hand.

Your start with a few $20 software programs and before long you’re spending hundreds of dollars monthly and still struggling to juggle everything. Save time and money by finding software that takes care of your needs from start to finish. You may find yourself surprised that it costs less than the sum of your combined efforts.

Does your current CRM help you:

  • Reach more customers online and boost your credibility?
  • Organize customer communication, appointment scheduling and marketing efforts?
  • Get paid faster so every day feels like payday?
  • Get the credit you deserve by generating customer reviews?

Be Your Marketing Team

The cheapest marketing team you can build consists of one person — you. Who better to define and push your brand than the mastermind themself? Often, being the Jack or Jill of all trades pays off, especially in the beginning stages. Even if you’ve never worked in marketing before, there’s no need to stress. This is new to you, but not to us.

Here are 5 tips to kick off your marketing plan:

  • Create your company’s SMART goals to help guide you towards where you want to be.
  • Determine the audience of people you’d like to reach. Building customer personas is a great place to start, and customer mapping is a great guide as well.
  • Choose your social media platforms carefully. Just because it exists, doesn’t meet it will benefit you.
  • Create content that will stand the test of time and bring in the benefits you want to see. Having evergreen content on hand will be a stress saver when you’re not sure what to push out to customers.
  • CTAs are your friend. I know it seems like busywork, but it’s not. It’ll be the driving force of your lead generation.

Consider automation to streamline your marketing efforts. Rather than creating one-off emails to send out one at a time or, even worse, to everyone within one email, try creating an email nurturing campaign.

Set triggers that allow emails to send after specific actions or time markers. This will also assist in aligning company goals you may have.

Leverage Social Media

Back in the day, if your business didn’t have advertising, you weren’t seeing success. From throwing dollars at the local newspaper for ad space to posting flyers around town, small businesses had to work to get their name out.

Now, small businesses have free advertisement at their fingertips — literally. Tap into the many ways social media will help you push your business and reach new customers.

Once you’ve found which social media platforms will work for you, set aside time to schedule out some posts. One Thryv perk our users love is our social media calendar that schedules posts and provides customizable prompts to beat brain block.

64% of small businesses use social media in their marketing stategy.

Go Virtual

Make your business one without walls by going virtual. Whether you’re a consulting firm, chef or retail supplier, going online can save you big on normal building expenses.

Aside from that, if hosting events is something you plan to thrive on, what better cost cut than to do it all online? No more flying out guest speakers and wooing them with expensive dinners and hotels for an hour-long keynote.

Don’t sell yourself short though. Just because your event is virtual, that doesn’t mean you can’t collect the pay you deserve.

Check for Discounts

Shopping around for lower rates is always at the top of the list but one forgotten tip is checking to see if your suppliers offer early payment incentives. Imagine getting 10% off for paying ahead of time.

Of course, refer to your cash flow statement to determine if you can afford to make those early payments.