Internet Tools to start a small business on the cheap?
- Thread starter mikegg
- Start date
Capt Caveman
Lifer
- Jan 30, 2005
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manimal
Lifer
- Mar 30, 2007
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highland145
Lifer
- Oct 12, 2009
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You can do everything else wrong in business except sales. Tools and processes do matter, but it's an issue more when you become mid-sized. I've seen many poorly run and wasteful companies keep going because they did sales well.
- Jan 2, 2006
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This.
Do you know how to sell your product? Like, *really* know? Which markets, which exact customers, how are you going to contact / target them, with what sales pitch, etc.
- Jan 2, 2006
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Gotta love your replies. Does it make you feel good to correct someone without offering a reason? Bet it makes you feel smart.
Capt Caveman
Lifer
- Jan 30, 2005
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Better than this stupid reply of yours. And the majority of common sense/obvious posts you make.
Did you bring your stuffed animal with you to China?
- Jan 2, 2006
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Some more suggestions:
Ideally you'd want everything on the cloud. Applications can automatically download and categorize your expenses, do your invoicing, bookkeeping, etc. No more dealing with paper.
1. Google Apps - like you said, it's perfect. Gmail with custom domains, Drive, Collaboration Tools, Google+, Calendar. Pair it up with an Android phone and it's awesome.
2. Freshbooks - online invoicing with possibilities of installing extensions. Fuck Quickbooks. Well worth the monthly fee.
3. Expensify - track expenses, automatically download receipts from your credit card purchases (you never have to save your receipts), GPS mileage tracker, integrates with Freshbooks
4. Authorize.net - credit card processing. If you need to take credit card payments in the field, use Square and the iPhone or Android apps to swipe cards right then and there. 2.8%.
5. Blog - check out Jux. https://jux.com/
6. Register your business on Google and Googlemaps and your business profile will pop up on search results.
Gunbuster
Diamond Member
- Oct 9, 1999
- 6,852
- 23
- 81
If you plan on using Microsoft technology and meet the criteria: Action Pack Solution Provider is for partners who build, install, and service solutions on the Microsoft platform.
https://mspartner.microsoft.com/en/us/Pages/Membership/action-pack-subscriptions.aspx
https://mspartner.microsoft.com/en/us/Pages/Membership/action-pack-subscriptions.aspx
Last edited:
thestrangebrew1
Diamond Member
- Dec 7, 2011
- 3,891
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I'm in the same boat doing the leg work to start a small pc repair business in my area. I'm using business in the smallest sense however, it'll just be me in my garage working on someone's pc or traveling to their house to work. I'm just getting started learning things and trying to figure out different processes of owning a business.
- Jan 2, 2006
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1. Also, you can check out the benefits at Freelancer's Union. They get some group discounts on health insurance.
2. If applicable, Yelp can drive a lot of business to you to the point that after a certain number of positive reviews you can just sit back and have business driven to you through Yelp.
3. A business partner can be very very helpful. I'm doing everything solo and it's so hard because your bandwidth is always heavily taxed. Plus everyone has weaknesses - some aren't good at process, some aren't good at marketing and sales, etc. so you need to find partners to complement your weaknesses. At the least someone who knows your business so you can bounce ideas off of them.
4. SCORE for mentoring.
5. I'm sure I'll think of something else.
2. If applicable, Yelp can drive a lot of business to you to the point that after a certain number of positive reviews you can just sit back and have business driven to you through Yelp.
3. A business partner can be very very helpful. I'm doing everything solo and it's so hard because your bandwidth is always heavily taxed. Plus everyone has weaknesses - some aren't good at process, some aren't good at marketing and sales, etc. so you need to find partners to complement your weaknesses. At the least someone who knows your business so you can bounce ideas off of them.
4. SCORE for mentoring.
5. I'm sure I'll think of something else.
highland145
Lifer
- Oct 12, 2009
- 43,973
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The problem is it's not one answer fits all. Legit business or side work (maybe under the table)?
Legit:
Fed/state tax id.
Sole proprietor or corp sub chapter s. (Sole prop for you most likely).
Need liability insurance?
Unemployment tax/workers comp?
Maybe i-9 for citizenship verification.
Quarterly/year end tax filings (form 941 for fed).
Can you do it out of your house/zoning?
local property tax on your FFE used in the business.
local business license.
Driving...track your mileage.
Sales tax, here, you must charge the client sales tax on parts.
etc ad nauseum.
And that's why a lot of people work under the table.:whiste:
I am not an expert be any stretch of the imagination. I do have 2 businesses. 1 was a good idea...the other...not so much. I think EagleKeeper has several.
Call your local SCORE.
Edit:Fuzzy beat me on the SCORE and I think it's the best thing I posted.
highland145
Lifer
- Oct 12, 2009
- 43,973
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QFT unless they can't afford to set it up. No idea what sole prop insurance rates are.
Red Squirrel
No Lifer
First off, what type of business? Web hosting? Server management? Web design? Hardware store? New way to quit smoking? Some kind of web based service like a help forum?
All this matters.
Assuming an Internet based business, the key is start small. You can probably get away with a VPS or shared hosting. For your website and server management, don't pay someone to do it, learn how to do it yourself. You will save lot of money and with those skills you can continue to grow/improve the site as you need, and not rely on someone else to do it and hope they come up with what you want. What if something breaks, will they be there when you need them? Hosting and server management, try to do all this yourself. When shit goes down, YOU are in charge, and you will be able to get it back up faster. The more 3rd parties you rely on, the more people that can drop the ball on you. The more self sufficient you are, the more efficient and lower cost your operations will be.
Automate as much as you can as well. You may need to hire someone for specific tasks obviously, but the stuff that can be automated, automate it. When the company grows you can also hire programmers to help with stuff. The more in house, the more efficient things will be, and the more efficient things are, the lower cost they will be.
All this matters.
Assuming an Internet based business, the key is start small. You can probably get away with a VPS or shared hosting. For your website and server management, don't pay someone to do it, learn how to do it yourself. You will save lot of money and with those skills you can continue to grow/improve the site as you need, and not rely on someone else to do it and hope they come up with what you want. What if something breaks, will they be there when you need them? Hosting and server management, try to do all this yourself. When shit goes down, YOU are in charge, and you will be able to get it back up faster. The more 3rd parties you rely on, the more people that can drop the ball on you. The more self sufficient you are, the more efficient and lower cost your operations will be.
Automate as much as you can as well. You may need to hire someone for specific tasks obviously, but the stuff that can be automated, automate it. When the company grows you can also hire programmers to help with stuff. The more in house, the more efficient things will be, and the more efficient things are, the lower cost they will be.
SlitheryDee
Lifer
- Feb 2, 2005
- 17,252
- 19
- 81
Everything depends on what you are doing. What are you giving to or doing for customers in exchange for their money?
DigDog
Lifer
- Jun 3, 2011
- 14,426
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deadlyapp
Diamond Member
- Apr 25, 2004
- 6,655
- 734
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I'll actually weigh in on this thread, since I've been running a small business now for almost two years (<$120k gross receipts) and we've attempted to keep operating costs as low as possible while we start up.
LLC paperwork we did ourselves, it was fairly simple and no lawyer needed
EIN assignment was easy and didn't need to be done by anyone
We don't have an accountant - I am generally saavy enough to do all our accounting in spreadsheets, which isn't ideal, but as long as you stay on top of it and categorize through the year, it's fairly manageable
We have no employees, and no contract staff at this time
We pay sales taxes, and property taxes (TX), but due to low receipts there is no franchise (basically income) tax for us in TX
We file as a single member LLC (basically same as sole proprietorship) so end of year taxes are simple
In terms of operating costs that are web tied:
- We started with google sheets, but ended up ponying up for office 365 for outlook and word - this is about $80 / year. The google sheets/drive/etc integration was nice, but sometimes felt limited.
- We built out our website with Wix, which is around $200/year, however the tools that are built into it were well worth it. There are certainly some free or lower cost options but generally they have trade offs (eg you can't directly have domain parking, you must advertise their services, etc)
- We have our domain through GoDaddy, and we purchased multiple years up front to save money. You can certainly find free or lower cost domains but it all depends on how professional you want it to look.
- For a logo, you can make it yourself and keep it cheap. I've used both Adobe Spark and Canva, which both have free versions which seem to work fairly well. If you are not artistic or can't come up with an idea, you can hire someone on Fiverr (be warned you might have mixed success)
- Credit card processing is important - most of them have about the same fees but you can shop around to find the lowest cost one. If you don't expect a lot of CC charges, you can also take payment by Venmo, Zelle and other cash type apps to help minimize your expenses if you don't expect huge amounts of sales
LLC paperwork we did ourselves, it was fairly simple and no lawyer needed
EIN assignment was easy and didn't need to be done by anyone
We don't have an accountant - I am generally saavy enough to do all our accounting in spreadsheets, which isn't ideal, but as long as you stay on top of it and categorize through the year, it's fairly manageable
We have no employees, and no contract staff at this time
We pay sales taxes, and property taxes (TX), but due to low receipts there is no franchise (basically income) tax for us in TX
We file as a single member LLC (basically same as sole proprietorship) so end of year taxes are simple
In terms of operating costs that are web tied:
- We started with google sheets, but ended up ponying up for office 365 for outlook and word - this is about $80 / year. The google sheets/drive/etc integration was nice, but sometimes felt limited.
- We built out our website with Wix, which is around $200/year, however the tools that are built into it were well worth it. There are certainly some free or lower cost options but generally they have trade offs (eg you can't directly have domain parking, you must advertise their services, etc)
- We have our domain through GoDaddy, and we purchased multiple years up front to save money. You can certainly find free or lower cost domains but it all depends on how professional you want it to look.
- For a logo, you can make it yourself and keep it cheap. I've used both Adobe Spark and Canva, which both have free versions which seem to work fairly well. If you are not artistic or can't come up with an idea, you can hire someone on Fiverr (be warned you might have mixed success)
- Credit card processing is important - most of them have about the same fees but you can shop around to find the lowest cost one. If you don't expect a lot of CC charges, you can also take payment by Venmo, Zelle and other cash type apps to help minimize your expenses if you don't expect huge amounts of sales
Scarpozzi
Lifer
- Jun 13, 2000
- 26,391
- 1,780
- 126
I've been wanting to start a side business and would consider making it my primary, but don't really have a product or idea. It's the toughest thing trying to come up with a plan, unless you've got a healthy amount of cash to invest in a restaurant or B&M business. I feel like everyone these days are just doing online drop shippers and other similar spinoffs. It's even worse that all these foreign entities are getting in on it and they often aren't delivering. It's just driving more money to Amazon at the end of the day as people are less willing to do business with online storefronts they don't know.
brianmanahan
Lifer
- Sep 2, 2006
- 24,586
- 5,991
- 136
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