Thrifty startups — 3 belt-tightening tips
When you’re exploding into the entrepreneurial arena with the swashbuckling bravado of a modern-day Branson, it’s easy to forget about boring issues like budgets.
But being too free and easy with your spending is risky business — it could delay your launch or cause you to sink without trace a few months after opening.
We’d all like cool and comfortable offices complete with hammocks and chillout areas and a full complement of staff ready to hit the ground running with top-class customer care. But sometimes it’s wiser to stay tight and streamlined with a new business.
If you want a thrifty startup, here are three belt-tightening tips.
- Co-working
Renting an office is expensive — particularly in prime locations in London.
And if you’re a sole trader, working with a small team or managing teammates remotely, it’s unnecessary.
Meanwhile, working from home is fine if your business doesn’t involve many in-person customer interactions, but it can become isolating.
Co-working is a cost-effective and sociable alternative — it segments your business and private environments and is conducive to collaborating and working creatively.
Property registry Instant Offices has a range of well-appointed work spaces in West Norwood and beyond.
- Virtual PA
Failing to manage your business diary efficiently can be costly.
If you miss a sales pitch meeting, potential customers left in limbo might prefer to contract the services of a punctual competitor rather than offer you a chance to make amends.
And if you add the burden of being your own assistant to a work schedule that’s already bulging like a bodybuilder’s bicep, you might crash and burn in a brief few months.
Better to hire a virtual PA for a few precious hours per week — their professional coordination skills will keep you ship shape and ensure that every high priority date is highlighted.
Outsourced admin service Virtual VA can support you with services like travel and entertainment bookings, research and personal errands.
- Outsourced payroll
Loyal staff who have gone beyond the call of duty to help you launch your new business probably won’t take kindly to incompetent payroll processes inadvertently converting them into unpaid volunteers.
And if you’re employing salaried staff who work from abroad, you’ll need to ensure that the tax deductions from their wages comply with the territory they’re working from.
These duties would usually fall in the remit of an HR professional — however, the cost of hiring one could prove prohibitive.
But outsourced payroll provider SD Worx has a precise and powerful HR software platform that ensures accurate payments and tax compliance, as well as generating useful management reports.
This type of automated service provides the peace of mind you need to focus on making money moves.
So there are three belt-tightening tips for a thrifty startup — adopt them today and your new business will be a lean, mean, profitable machine.
How do you control business budgets? Share your advice in the comments section.
Category: Business and Politics
