Starting Up on an Empty Pocket
At 25 years old, and two years out of college, my net worth wasn’t especially “high” when I decided to start my own home-based business. Inevitably, cutting start-up costs would become one of my biggest concerns. How do I create a website, print business cards and purchase necessary business supplies (laptop, cell phone, etc.) for less than $5000?
Location was easy. Since my company specializes in freelance writing (and for now, there is only one employee—me), working out of a home-based office was an affordable and efficient option (staying focused at home is another article completely!).
To design my website, I utilized my network of college friends and my spouse. I was able to quickly locate a friend who was a web designer; they offered to do the job of designing my logo and building the site for $300! If you’re wondering if the quality of work is good, check out www.WriteIndependent.com. Since she created the logo for me, I was able to easily download a free 30 day tryout of Adobe Illustrator, which I utilized to create business cards and a brochure. You can get your business cards and brochures printed online, but I don’t recommend it. I was fairly dissatisfied with the quality and service that I received—but then again, what do you expect at $30 a box? Rely on word-of-mouth to find a local printer. It cost me $500 to digitally print 250 business cards and brochures, but the quality is fantastic.
For phones and laptops, go to www.TechBargains.com to find the best deals and coupons. I received $500 off my Dell Inspiron notebook, based on discounts I found on that website alone.
Also, because I wasn’t on salary anymore, I had to get my own health insurance. Check out E-Health Insurance to compare different plans.
So, stay tuned, I’ll be posting more articles about cutting costs and staying on top of the purchasing game in the future. Until then, save and use your money wisely!
4 Comments
David Askaripour
August 10th, 2006 at 9:11 pm
Good call with the health insurance. I’m actually still on my parents plan, but not for long since I am now out of school. I’ll need to get my own. Thanks for the info!
Reid Morrow
August 11th, 2006 at 12:45 am
You spent way too much money on business card. For you next batch of cards, go to http://www.onlineprinthouse.com. 2500 cards for $65.00!
David Askaripour
August 11th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
Yeah that sounds about right, Reid. I believe that I paid roughly $175 for 5,000 cards a few years back. Full color, double sides, glossy…they whole 9 yards.
Monica Bowers
August 15th, 2006 at 6:01 pm
Well, the $500 was for business cards AND brochures, which were both full-color jobs. I admit that I initially balked at the price. But I used two online vendors, and spent $150, to end up with poor quality prints. Based on those two bad experiences, I went with a higher-priced, local vendor, who hand-delivered the proofs to me before the business cards and brochures were printed. Basically, I paid for the quality and superior customer service.
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