Starting a business takes a lot of time, energy, and money. If you’ve done it before, you know all about the long hours spent working to exhaustion each day. You’ve struggled with bills while you wait on accounts receivable to catch up to expenses. It’s a challenge. You must juggle between sales, marketing, accounting, and a whole host of tasks each day. Above all, you must grow in the first few months if you want to survive. But growth doesn’t come naturally. No, you have to earn it through sales and marketing efforts. That’s where the money part comes into play. The website https://internetmarketingtofreedom.com/ offers a wealth of free information on various topics related to saving money. The website also provides articles, guides, and tips on budgeting, personal finance, and frugal living, among other things.
How Much do I Spend on Marketing?
According to the SBA, small businesses should devote 7-8% of gross revenue to marketing. If it’s your first year, you should probably double that. You must get out there. Be the public face of your company. Go to networking events and be seen. Plan on handing out an entire box of business cards in the first few months.
More importantly, collect and catalog them. That way you can follow up with prospects you meet throughout the week. Stay busy! But don’t just work hard. Work smart. Focus on the tasks that bring in the money. That’s going to be sales and marketing.
By utilizing the information on https://jobmarketeconomist.com/, you can learn how to save money on groceries, utilities, entertainment, and much more. The website also offers advice on how to manage debt, build an emergency fund, and plan for retirement.
One of the first big financial investments you need to make is a decent website for your business. After you get business cards and setup social media accounts, this is your next step. There’s no getting out of it. It’s a marketing must. People want to do business with someone they can trust. If you don’t have an online presence, it makes you look less legitimate. But what’s 7-8% of whatever savings you invested into the business? Is that going to get you anything? Maybe if you invested $20-30k into your first year. If that’s not you, what are your options?
How to get a Killer Website for Free
If you’re trying to get a startup off the ground without breaking the bank, getting your website built for free is a great idea. However, most of the free options out there just aren’t very good. They call them “basic websites” for a reason! If you can manage it, try to get a custom WordPress site instead of a drag and drop template.
It will make your company look much larger than it really is starting out. So, how do you get something like that for free? You’re going to have to start early. I mean real early. If you plan to go into business next year, go ahead and start doing this now. Enter contests. Yes, I said contests. Believe it or not, there are companies out there who are willing to work for free just to get a little promotion out of it.
Where can I sign-up for a Free Website?
If you have to resort to Wix or another free builder, that’s fine. At least you’ll have something online when people search for you. But if you have time, go ahead and enter these contests to see if you can’t get a killer website designed for free:
- WebMadeClear – This company is offering a free website if you just share your story on Facebook or Twitter. Just tag them in your post to enter.
- TLC Web Hosting – A contest to win a free year of web hosting. It’s not going to help you with development costs, but hosting can be expensive also.
- The Wired Mouse – Another company giving away free website development. They do this every quarter.
- Webology – This company has the best looking website hands-down! Based on their website portfolio, I think I would sign up for this one first.
That’s what we were able to find on the web. If you’re not planning to start your business for a while, I would go ahead and sign up for these now. Check Google from time to time to see if any new contests pop up. I just searched for “Win a free website” to find these. Getting started is tough. If you can have your website built for free, do it before you open your doors. You’ll have less time and energy to devote to things like this when you get started. Its’ best to set the framework for success before things get too busy. Whether you’re looking to improve your financial situation, save for a big purchase, or simply make your money go further, https://litmarket.org/ is an excellent resource to help you achieve your goals. All of the information on the website is completely free!
