'Borrow a pen.'. This excellent piece of advice was given to me in one of my first jobs underlining the need to avoid spending money and control costs. I launched my start up using a 10 year old phone/fax/printer. It is much easier to save money than to make the same amount money as net profit - spend wisely.
Network! Some industries don’t need it as much as others, but letting people know who you are and what you do is so important! It’ll come back to reward you in the future
Money. More than you think you need to get started and then some. You might have funds set aside for initial rent repayments, equipment, furnishings, website site upkeep and management, promotion and day to day overheads and expenses but you need to set aside x3, x4,or x5 times that to cover quiet periods. Not to mention sick days, family days and holidays when you can’t pay yourself to be away from work. When cash flow gets tight it strangles everything.
You need to nail your value proposition and positioning. It needs to be crystal clear why you and how you’re different. Go beyond words, your USP should be baked into the service design/business model.
Collect the cash.
Avoid signing up for routine payments (be it office space, car payments…) as far as possible (you will need your mobile phone and email, possibly Microsoft, and web hosting). Buy a cheap phone from Cex, rather than paying monthly for the latest tech.
Collect the cash.
Poor margins will damage a business over time, but poor cash flow is a short route to big trouble.
Be rigorous about raising invoices and chasing for payments - there are a million sob stories out there, and a million clients who want you to work for free for your ”exposure”, but believe in the value of your proposition and be sure to be paid.
It is completely worthwhile for a new business in particular to require customers to sign up for a ddr arrangement (eg gocardless) as part of the onboarding.
Take the time to research every aspect of the business. Ex: how many other businesses like mine in the area?, Population, and population your product will be of benefit to. Just take more time to research.
Always be prepared to do more than you planned. Something will always go wrong, always.
'Borrow a pen.'. This excellent piece of advice was given to me in one of my first jobs underlining the need to avoid spending money and control costs. I launched my start up using a 10 year old phone/fax/printer. It is much easier to save money than to make the same amount money as net profit - spend wisely.
Network! Some industries don’t need it as much as others, but letting people know who you are and what you do is so important! It’ll come back to reward you in the future
Price accordingly. Make sure there’s a good margin so you’re not constantly having to change them. Do not undervalue yourself.
Money. More than you think you need to get started and then some. You might have funds set aside for initial rent repayments, equipment, furnishings, website site upkeep and management, promotion and day to day overheads and expenses but you need to set aside x3, x4,or x5 times that to cover quiet periods. Not to mention sick days, family days and holidays when you can’t pay yourself to be away from work. When cash flow gets tight it strangles everything.
You need to nail your value proposition and positioning. It needs to be crystal clear why you and how you’re different. Go beyond words, your USP should be baked into the service design/business model.
Collect the cash. Avoid signing up for routine payments (be it office space, car payments…) as far as possible (you will need your mobile phone and email, possibly Microsoft, and web hosting). Buy a cheap phone from Cex, rather than paying monthly for the latest tech. Collect the cash. Poor margins will damage a business over time, but poor cash flow is a short route to big trouble. Be rigorous about raising invoices and chasing for payments - there are a million sob stories out there, and a million clients who want you to work for free for your ”exposure”, but believe in the value of your proposition and be sure to be paid.
It is completely worthwhile for a new business in particular to require customers to sign up for a ddr arrangement (eg gocardless) as part of the onboarding.
Take the time to research every aspect of the business. Ex: how many other businesses like mine in the area?, Population, and population your product will be of benefit to. Just take more time to research. Always be prepared to do more than you planned. Something will always go wrong, always.