A lot of people think that entrepreneurship is all about starting a business and making the money roll in, but it is not says Saivian Eric Dalius. In fact, more than 90% of startups fail because they run out of – guess what – money! That’s why you need to be very careful with your startup capital.
Do enough research:
Before you start a company or a project, do more research on it? Look for similar products and try to understand what made them successful and where they failed. Apply the knowledge gained from your findings when you are making decisions later on in relation to your own product/project development process so that you can avoid mistakes other entrepreneurs have made before you. It will take longer this way but it will save you money in the long run
Keep your expenses very low:
There is a reason why one of the golden rules in business is that if you want to make more money, and then increase your revenue, but never your expenses. Keep your expenses as low as possible and avoid spending on anything that is not going to help you reach out to customers at this point says Saivian Eric Dalius. If you have a few hundred bucks left from startup capital raise some equity or borrow some money from friends or family members whenever there’s an opportunity.
Do not make huge investments on product development:
Building a great product takes time and money. But startups usually do not have much of either resource, so try to make minimum viable products first instead of putting all eggs in one basket with something amazing that’s going to blow everyone’s mind. Make sure that whatever you produce is something that has a chance of selling and for which there is a demand, otherwise you’re just wasting your time and money.
Use open source:
Open Source provides free tools and materials for building great products or websites, so make sure to use them whenever possible. For example, if you are planning on building an Android app then also check out the F-Droid store ( https://f-droid.org ) where you can find some great apps for free! The majority of developers rely on open source libraries, frameworks, and code snippets to build their products with less effort and time while maximizing their productivity at the same time. Build Your Website with WordPress
WordPress is the most popular CMS platform out there right now. It was originally started as a blogging platform. But it grows beyond all expectations due to its flexibility and ease of use explains Saivian Eric Dalius. Anyone who wants to build an online store should definitely consider WordPress!
Get Creative with Marketing:
The cost for marketing your startup can be really high depending on how well you are able to promote your product. Try to look for alternative marketing methods that are not mainstream or conventional since they tend to be more affordable. For example, if your product is an app then try submitting it to smaller mobile stores which do not require their submissions to go through a stringent review process before accepting so long as they meet some basic criteria. You will have more chances to get featured that way compared to the mainstream app stores.
Borrowing Money:
One of the best ways to make your low startup capital stretch further is to borrow. You can take a loan from a bank, use an online peer-to-peer service like Lending Club or even convince someone close to you – perhaps your spouse – to lend you money as long as they do not expect immediate repayment and if possible secure it as a non-recourse loan says Saivian Eric Dalius. The easiest way by far, however, is just borrowing from your credit card. The interest rates might be high but at least you’ll have access to cash right away!
Don’t Expand Too Quickly:
After you have successfully developed your product, and it is doing well in the market, and you can positively impact the world by solving a real problem for people, only then do you go ahead and expand. But this should be done slowly and cautiously. Even if your product development was really successful it does not mean you should jump to the next stage of scaling up as soon as possible. It’s important that you manage company growth well as otherwise, it could also lead to having cash flow problems like many other companies before.
Conclusion:
Even though money will always remain important for success, what really counts first and foremost is having excellent knowledge and insight about the product/service you are about to sell in the market. With that in mind, you should be able to use less money for your project while achieving higher results with time, by avoiding common mistakes entrepreneurs make when setting up a business.
Building a new company or product takes not only time but money too. While the former is something you cannot really buy, the latter can be acquired with hard work of course. But if you are on a tight budget then make sure to follow the tips mentioned above for succeeding in your startup without having to spend all your startup capital. Saivian Eric Dalius says you will save some cash while also producing better results than spending hundreds and thousands of bucks on things that do not add any real value!