Now that you have a firm idea of what your first foray into the world of entrepreneurship is going to entail, you need to create a plan of action. Mentors, colleagues and friends have all told you that you must have the funds in place before you can consider leaving your 9 – 5 and launching yourself into the world of self-employment. While you know they are right, you don’t want to be waiting another year or two before you bite the bullet and give your business venture the attention it deserves. All is not lost. Take a look at these ways you can have a financially viable startup on a shoestring budget.

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Business Plan

While it would be ideal to hire a financial advisor and have a professional take a look at your business plan before you present it to the bank manager, don’t worry if you don’t have the funds. This is not a necessity. Instead, get yourself enrolled in one of the many free financial management and start your own business courses run by adult education centers. Skilling yourself up not only gives you the knowledge required to write a comprehensive business plan, but it also empowers you to overcome monetary challenges in the future. Ensure that you include your financial forecasts for the first year of trading and try to ensure that you can mitigate any potential shocks to your sector. You need to demonstrate to a bank manager or business angel that you have thought of every eventuality. They are investing in you, not just your business.

Branding

While you could outsource the design of your logo, tagline, imagery and slogans, you can just as easily create a professional look yourself. If you check out this website, you’ll see how you can easily design a bespoke logo unique to your business within minutes using an intuitive interface. You’ll save thousands in professional design fees and have an exceptional brand for your new startup at the end of the process.

Website

In the twenty-first century, an exceptional website is vital. It needs to have easily navigable menus, feel intuitive and be aesthetically pleasing to look at. The expensive option of outsourcing this task to a specialist company is out of the question on your budget so instead use one of the many online drag and drop website builders. They have inbuilt SEO features to enhance your website’s searchability and have exceptional help sections and forums should you get stuck mid-design.

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Don’t Burn Out

While taking on all the responsibilities of your startup yourself is admirable and will save you money in the long run, ensure that you don’t burn out. Take your time and don’t rush setting up your business venture. You need to be fit, alert and physically able to take on the job of running a startup. You don’t want to be shattered before you’ve even had a chance to launch.

At every opportunity, try to keep your overheads and outgoings as low as possible. Work from home if you can to begin with, use crowdfunding sites to source funding if you need and don’t outsource unless necessary. As your business begins to flourish, you can then relinquish the budgetary constraints a little but until then use this advice to manage your startup on a shoestring budget.