Launching a startup is a dream for many entrepreneurs, but it is a bit of a lofty dream at that. Great businesses have a clearer path to investors and other resources, but others, despite great potential, will go through harder times to get that financing.
Entrepreneurs falling in the second category must learn and adapt, so that they can get their business to thrive on a limited budget. It can look hard at first, but it is surely not impossible. Let’s take a look at some tips that will definitely help to achieve success while not spending that much money.
Sites and blogs are vital
Building and publishing a website is rather easy, even for people with little or no programming knowledge. Websites are vital for all companies, as they serve as the first view a potential customer has – in fact, sites are now looked at as “today’s business cards”. Having a sign-up form is also encouraged, because it serves as a medium for customers to develop interest for the company and product.
Writing a blog is very useful, because it builds solid search engine optimization for the most important keywords related to the company. Publishing about the development of a product, industry news, how-tos, and so on is the way to go, assuring that those keywords are inserted in the articles. SEO optimization is a must-do, as well as social media publicity when new articles are published.
Use (and abuse) email
Email is a powerful tool to reach people, with no shortage of free providers to choose from. Take your contact list and, if possible, get new leads with your site or other mechanisms, and target them heavily with your email marketing. From a simple presentation of the business and products, to a regular newsletter, there are a lot of options to utilize on email.
Alternatively, get the services of some email marketing firm: some even have free plans for a limited number of contacts and features.
Look for alternative funding sources
We have all heard about companies that get massive investments just for an idea that, actually, has never been put to practice. This happens because ideas also have value, especially if said ideas are good. If anyone has an idea that has breakthrough potential or can be game-changing in its niche, then it will most likely attract a generous amount of investment, which can be vital in the company’s early stages.
There are some private investment companies on the market, which lend money on easier terms than banks usually do. But there are other alternatives, like crowd speaking. This is a method that collects and stores likes and shares posted on the campaign and then, on a selected date and time, they are all “released” automatically. This causes a blast in the social timelines. This helps that content to beat the noise and gets the message heard.
These are just some tips for a boot strapped startup, but surely there are many other available. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.