I encourage you to launch and run your business as leanly as possible: bootstrap the business, invest your own funds in the business, live frugally and watch every penny you spend. The less money you spend, the less profit you need to generate to turn your business into a success. The less money you borrow, the more control you have over the business. Once your business is both profitable and returning a positive cash flow, you are then in a position to distribute funds to yourself and reap the rewards of your success.
Eight tips for running a lean business:
- Explore the opportunity to use virtual assistants, and out sources tasks to sites like www.odesk.com and www.freelancer.com
- Maintain detailed records of purchases from suppliers and use the information, and past buying habits to negotiate cheaper prices with the suppliers.
- Pro actively maintain and repair equipment, to delay the need to outlay for replacing equipment.
- Reconcile accounts on a timely basis, to ensure you’re not being charged for something that you should not be paying for!
Running a lean business does not mean never spending money, it means spending it wisely.
- Invest in cloud technology. Utilising a system like Xero and integrating it with add-on solutions will free up your time to work on your business.
- Invest in a good printer – otherwise you will spend a fortune on ink cartridges.
- Invest in a coffee machine – if you find yourself splurging on barista coffees every day!
- Invest in high quality networking events that attract the sort of people that you want to do business with.