5 Smart Choices to Make When Starting a Small Business
Starting a business is never easy. There are so many ways you could do it wrong and fail. When starting a small business, you must make smart, thoughtful decisions, and be very wise about how you spend your money and time. Here are five smart choices you can make when starting your business:
Rent a Coworking Space instead of an Office
Renting an office space can be extremely costly, especially if you’re looking to set up shop in a big city. It also usually requires making a long-term commitment. Coworking spaces are much more affordable, and they come with a host of benefits. Most of them offer very flexible membership plans, giving you the option to rent a space on a weekly or monthly basis. You can even get daily passes at a coworking space like the Common Desk, so you can try it out just for a day to see if it suits you.
The Common Desk has a Dallas office rental space, as well as locations in Fort Worth and Plano, Texas. A membership will give you access to all four locations, making it extremely convenient. Besides the flexibility in their pricing structures and commitment levels, coworking spaces are a great option for small business owners because they provide working environments that are perfectly conducive to productivity.
Working from home or at a coffee shop can be extremely distracting, what with all the background noise you would have to put up with. A coworking space is a more businesslike setting where you would be working amongst other professionals, and they come fully equipped with all the amenities you’d need to get your work done effectively and efficiently.
Don’t be afraid to Delegate
One of the biggest mistakes small business owners make is trying to do everything themselves. While it’s understandable that starting a business can be a very personal undertaking, you could be setting yourself up for failure if you don’t learn to relinquish control in some areas. You could also end up wasting a lot of valuable time and money trying to do it all.
If you need to set up your website but have absolutely no experience in web development or a knack for design, you’re better off hiring a dedicated web developer to do the job for you. You will end up with a more professional looking product, and will be free to focus on other aspects of your business that require your expertise. There are plenty of freelance web developers whom you can hire on a per project basis, which brings us to our next point.
Hire Independent Contractors instead of Employees
If you’re just starting out, you probably don’t need a full team of full-time employees just yet. Besides paying their salaries, you must factor in the cost of onboarding and training them. These expenses can very quickly add up. Consider hiring independent contractors to help you get your business up and running.
Independent contractors usually work on an hourly basis or per project. You will only pay for the hours they work, and not if there is no work to be done. They are usually already experts in their fields, and require very little training or orientation before they hit the ground running. You could save a lot of time and money by working with independent contractors at least until your business takes off and you can afford to hire full time people.
Embrace New Technology
Technology has changed the way we do business, and in many ways, has made our lives exponentially easier. These days, there are plenty of apps and software that can help you complete your tasks faster and more accurately, saving you tons of time and money. New technology may be a little intimidating at first, but if you keep an open mind and are willing to learn, you could get your business up and running—and making money—that much faster.
Know Who Your Ideal Customer is
Another big mistake that many small business owners commit is launching marketing campaigns without doing enough research first. This is basically throwing precious money down the drain. You need to get the word out about your business, but it’s not enough to just try a bit of everything and hope that something sticks, especially for a startup business.
Invest a little time into doing market research, so you can identify your target market and customize your marketing campaigns to draw them in.
The thought of your small business failing can be quite terrifying. But if you stay organized and methodical, and are careful about the choices you make, you could become extremely successful and reap the benefits for a very long time.
As our second lead editor, Anna C. Mackinno provides guidance on the stories Great Lakes Ledger reporters cover. She has been instrumental in making sure the content on the site is clear and accurate for our readers. If you see a particularly clever title, you can likely thank Anna. Anna received a BA and and MA from Fordham University.
0 comments