Start a Small Business With a Small Budget
Starting a small business with minimal start-up capital isn't all that hard when you have other resources. These resources can come in many forms--from "angel investors" to a brand-name logo provided with compensation by corporate sponsors for your company. With a little supportive funding, you can establish a physical and online identity. Defining your business identity is a cost-effective way to establish your small business.
Instructions
1. Go to your local United States Post Office and rent a Post Office box, to establish a physical address for your business. You can save the money normally spent on renting commercial space for the purposes of having a physical business office. Depending on the branch, a letter-size post office box usually costs less than $30 for a six-month lease.
2. Write a solid business plan to help you secure funds from interested investors, or to get charitable or in-kind donations from potential donors. A business plan will include your resources and detail the expenses for running your business. Donations can be given in the form of goods, services or monies.
3. Prepare a sponsorship proposal. Many corporations give anywhere from $100 to $10,000 for advertising their brand name on promotional material to be seen by potential consumers. A well-written sponsorship proposal will include information on your company and the optimal method for advertising the prospective business within your place of business, as well as a thorough explanation of how the company will benefit from a sponsoring partnership with your business.
4. Get business cards. They can be costly, but if you start off with standard black-and-white, one-sided cards, they should cost less than $50 for 500. Remember, you can also share the cost with other businesses that accept your sponsorship and association proposals.
5. Get a domain name registration (i.e., www.youruniquename.com). This gives your business a virtual identity. A domain name is the first step to building a website for your company. Despite popular belief, it's not costly; registering a domain name can be done for less than $10.
6. Get a reliable server host for your domain name; this will give the website a presence on the World Wide Web, and potentially bring consumers to find your company profile. By linking the domain name to your server host for less than $20 a month, you will have a low-cost, self-maintained website.
