As any seasoned entrepreneur can attest, opening your first business can be equal parts exciting and stress-inducing. While nothing quite compares to the thrill of becoming your own boss, you’re liable to experience a number of financial setbacks during your first year of operation. Very few small businesses are successful right out of the gate, and most enterprises need time to grow their respective client bases. As such, you probably won’t see a tremendous amount of cash flow throughout your start-up phase. Fortunately, there are a number of easy ways to fledgling businesses to conserve funds while establishing themselves.
- Consider the Most Effective Avenues of Promotion
When thinking about ways to put your online business bank account to good use, promotional endeavors should be at the top of the list. However, when it comes to promoting a new business, not every method is going to be equally effective. For example, if your enterprise caters to a younger crowd, it may be in your best interest to eschew traditional forms of advertisement, like television, radio and print publications. In addition to being easier on your finances, opting for online advertisements and social media promotion is more likely to help you connect with your target demo. If you’re unclear on what the best avenues of promotion are for your particular enterprise, consider reaching out to an experienced web marketing company.
- Allow Certain Team Members to Work from Home
Depending on the nature of your small business, allowing some – or most – of your team members to do their jobs from home may prove helpful on several fronts. For starters, telecommuting is often an effective way to reduce job-induced stress and increase productivity. Additionally, from a financial perspective, telecommuting stands to save your small business a princely sum. The fewer employees you have working onsite, the less office space you need – and the less office space you need, the less you’ll pay in rent. Furthermore, the more employees you have working from home, the less money you’ll spend on coffee, refreshments and other workplace perks.
- Be Open to Buying in Bulk
It isn’t hard to see why a lot of small businesses shy away from buying in bulk. After all, in the short term, bulk-buying can be very expensive. In the long term, however, it stands to save you a small fortune. With this in mind, seek out vendors who offer bulk-buy discounts to small businesses. Doing so can help you save big on office supplies, computer equipment and refreshments. Additionally, even if a certain vendor doesn’t advertisement discounts for business clients, it can’t hurt to ask.
Few entrepreneurs would describe small business ownership as easy. However, if you’re willing to commit yourself to learning the ins and outs of operating an enterprise, you may see your hard work pay off in the long run. For many new businesses, the first year can be a particularly rocky period. While not every small business will survive this phase, putting the previously discussed pointers to good use can improve your chances of staying afloat.
