Saving Money Building Your Home Business
One of the best things about starting a home based or web based business is that the start up costs involved are much less than they are with other types of businesses. For one thing, you don’t have to lease office or retail space. For another, you can usually run the business by yourself, so you don’t have to worry about finding the money to pay employees!
Of course, while definitely cheaper, starting up your home business isn’t ever completely free. You are still going to need some basic supplies and equipment to get started. These costs can definitely add up if you aren’t careful! Here are some things that you can do to keep them low….
Saving on Internet
Every home based business needs a smooth and reliable internet connection. This means that you are going to need more bandwidth than you would normally need for personal use. The last thing you need is for a Skype session with a client to get glitchy or time out because someone else in your home decided to watch Netflix or do a Google Hangout. More bandwidth usually means spending more money but if you shop around you can usually get companies to price match competitors. You can also use coupon and discount codes. A lot of great internet promotion codes are available here and at other online destinations.
Saving on Hardware
You might love your ChromeBook or your cute little notebook PC. We get it: those machines are inexpensive, lightweight and great for personal web use. You will need to have something more robust for your company though. You’ll want something with its own dedicated and sizeable hard drive. You’ll want a large processor so you can run several applications and programs at once. It will cost some more money for a good machine, but don’t panic if you can’t afford something brand new. Many of the big box stores and online portals like Amazon sell refurbished and floor models for deeply discounted prices.
Note: do not buy used business electronics off of eBay or Craigslist. You could end up with something riddled with malware or that doesn’t even work! Refurbished models have been tested, cleaned and rebuilt by pros and are the safer and more reliable option.
Office Equipment
Here is what you need to have in your office space (in addition to your computer): a desk, a good chair, a filing cabinet, and a good printer.
There are lots of places to get your furniture for really low prices. IKEA, discount shops, the Goodwill, Craigslist, garage sales, etc. These things do not have to be fancy, but they need to be functional and sturdy.
To save money on your printer, go for an all in one laser printer. These are large machines, yes, but they will be very handy for those rare times that you actually do need to scan something in or fax something to someone (you can fax over phone lines now, fyi). These instances will be rare, but happen often enough that trying to fax from Kinkos or the library will just be a hassle.
It’s also important that you go for a laser printer instead of an inkjet. It will last much longer than an inkjet printer will last. You’ll also yield more printed pages out of your toner drum than you ever will from an inkjet cartridge. These costs balance themselves out in the long run.
Helpful Hint: to save up money for new toner cartridges, divide the cost of the toner by the number of pages it will print. This will give you your printing cost per page. Then, every time you print something, simply pay for it! Put the coins into a piggy bank or jar. Then, when you need a new cartridge, cash in the coins at the bank and viola! You’ll have enough on hand for a new cartridge without it feeling like a burden!
There are lots of ways to save on the things you need. We talked about discount codes, refurbished equipment and buying used here. What are some of the things you’ve done to save money on your home office/web business startup costs?
