New businesses don’t have lots of money to invest at the first stages, so how do you get more out of the money and resources you have?
1. Give Crowdsourcing A Go
Design Crowdsourcing lets you hire a designer online, only when you need one. If there’s a specific designer on a platform that does brilliant work for you, you can request their services directly the next time around. This is great for logo design, website design, marketing materials, merchandise and more.
Looking to save on your next design project?
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2. Invest In A Great Freelancer
If your needs are a little more extensive, in-depth or varied, hire a freelancer. You get the expertise and talent, but only pay for them when you need them.
You can find a freelancer capable of doing almost anything you need - writing content, freelance graphic design, imagery, photography, customer service, admin, social media, marketing etc.
3. Get A Virtual Office
If your start-up isn't big enough yet or you can't afford an office to yourself, consider getting a virtual one. These increasingly trendy co-working spaces charge around $120 a week, and the perks can far outweigh a home office set-up.
You simply pay a set monthly fee and use a space when you need it. You get a good location, there's a receptionist that can take messages for you and you have access to meeting rooms when you need them.
4. Utilise Free Online Tools and Open Source Applications
There are thousands of free online platforms that can help you run your small business - Google Hangouts, Skype for video chats and voice calls, accounting workflow management applications such as Financial Cents, DropBox for storing digital files in the cloud, Evernote to manage your workload and tasks, Hootsuite to manage your company's social media pages, NearU to look for working spaces nearby, and much more.
Additionally, look to leverage open source software and applications. Content management systems for your website such as Joomla, Wordpress and Drupal are all built on open source technology, meaning you can get away with setting up your website for next to nothing.
More from DesignCrowd: 9 Ways to Grow Your Business Online
5. Leverage Staff Feedback
Similar to ‘screen testing' movies and TV shows. If you've got a product going out, get your staff to use it and offer feedback. Great for staff learning and involvement and gives you some indication before your product/service hits the marketplace. This can be especially effective in a virtual office, where remote team members can test the product in various environments and provide diverse insights.
6. Swap Services With A Client
If you can't afford something, you could consider doing some work for a client and getting them to provide a free service for you in return. E.g. free printing of your marketing flyers, free designs etc. Coordinating these kinds of exchanges can be made much easier with workflow management software, helping you track tasks, deadlines, and deliverables on both sides to ensure a smooth and professional barter process.
7. Try design makers
If you can't afford to hire a designer or use a crowdsourcing service like DesignCrowd, try 'design maker' tools like BrandCrowd's logo builder or GoDaddy's website builder. These are generally a bit cheaper to get started!
By Josephine Sabin, marketing manager at DesignCrowd, a design crowdsourcing marketplace. This post was originally published on Koshie's Business Builders Blog, Yahoo Small Business.
Written by Jo Sabin on Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Jo Sabin is Head of Designer Community at DesignCrowd. She's led the company's public relations and social media programs since 2012. With more than ten years' experience working with Australian and international tech startups in the creative industries, Jo has been instrumental in meeting DesignCrowd's objectives in Australia and abroad. Get in touch via Twitter.
