Don’t let it.
I’ve spoken with several people who have not started pursuing their dreams of business ownership because of the costs involved. I get it. Dreams are expensive. A $100 idea can easily snowball into thousands of dollars. And that’s before the project has launched.
If you desire to start a business and have not moved forward because you’re overwhelmed by the cost of it all, following are a few things ways to overcome sticker shock and bring your business to fruition without breaking the bank.
- Research costs. Research and calculate all the costs involved in starting and maintaining your business for the first year: business licenses, legal structure, equipment, taxes, consulting rates, maintenance fees and estimated unforeseen expenses. Once you have a ballpark figure, and can see how much you need, you can plan how you’re going to get it.
- Look for coupons, deals and other discounts. Researching this information will take time but a little discount is better than nothing.
- Saving may be challenging depending on your income and expenses. Try to save a consistent amount each month, even if it’s just$10 a month.
- Payment plans. If you can’t make a one-time full payment, ask if you can spread the payments over a certain period.
- Additional income streams. Generate an additional cash flow from hobbies, side hustles and part-time businesses.
- Pay for projects in stages, if possible. For example, when I worked on my 62 Blog Posts to Overcome Blogger’s Block book, I had to pay an editor; a book designer; and a book printer. Because each process was different, I didn’t have to pay for everything at one time.
- Ask for referrals. Sometimes contractors give discounts to new clients based on their relationships with the person who referred you.
- Depending on the project, you can purchase low-cost services from freelance sites like Fiverr and Upwork.
- Work your strengths and hire your weaknesses. Do as much as you know how to do and then hire people to do what you don’t know how to do. You will waste valuable time and energy trying to do it yourself.
Many of the suggestions above require patience and discipline but with proper planning, commitment and perseverance, you can overcome sticker shock and bring your dreams to life.