5 Things New Entrepreneurs Should Get for Free

Startup Sunday

In the last few weeks, two close friends decided to launch their own businesses. (Maybe it's something in the water?) My first piece of advice: don't pay for anything you can get for free.

As a new entrepreneur, I was shocked by how many valuable services and products were available for free. I love getting things for free -- but it has to be something good. (None of those trinkets at conferences or online freebies that require you to disclose your email address, date of birth and first boyfriend's middle name.)

We all know the failure rate for new businesses is depressingly high, largely because of cash flow problems. It pays to be cheap when you're starting out -- at least in the areas where it doesn't negatively impact your customers -- until you see some real cash flowing in. Next week I'll blog about the five things that are worth paying for; but this week it's the five things new entrepreneurs should get for free.

Free Web Site Design

Most of the entrepreneurs I've encountered recently are launching one-woman or one-man shops, offering professional services such as writing, legal work, translation or consulting. There is no reason on earth to pay thousands of dollars for a custom-made Web site, when there are perfectly good free software platforms that are user friendly and intuitive.

I built my own Web site for free -- twice -- on the blogging platforms blogger.com and typepad.com. The same price is available at wordpress.com. And I am hardly a technological whiz kid. It just took a little trial and error (and some very friendly help desk staff) to get the sites looking the way I wanted. There was no cost to start the site or for continued hosting, which is just the setup I wanted two years ago when I had no idea whether I could make a living as an independent writer and editor.

There are plenty of other services out there for putting up a Web site quickly and without any financial commitment. As a bonus, when I want to change the site, I can do it myself immediately, without having to pay a Web developer and then wait.

Free Web Site Hosting

But wait, you say, I don't want a Web site whose url starts with "blogspot" or "typepad" or the brand of some other free service. That makes me look too small-time. I want a custom domain name that has the name of my business -- so I have to pay for Web hosting, right?

Not true. If you want a custom domain name, you can pay for the domain name and then direct the url toward the free site you built -- without having to pay anyone for Web hosting. That's what I've done for both my professional writing site and CurrentMom.

Obviously, if your startup business is software-oriented or you're offering extensive services and products through your Web site, you may not be able to live with the limitations of the free Web design and hosting services out there. (Here are CurrentMom, we are quickly outgrowing our free site.) But if all you need is an "About" page, contact information, work samples and a few testimonials, you don't need to pay for a site directly out of the gate. After all, our neighborhood mother's helpers were able to launch a free site on their own, and they're only 11.

Get Business Cards for Free

Another no-brainer: order business cards for free. A friend who launched her own business a few years ago spent oodles of time -- and money -- working with a graphic designer to get her business cards and letterhead stationary just right, but never landed a single paying client. She could've had the same result and saved thousands of dollars by ordering business cards from Vista Print or another of the many services that offer them for free.

Typically, you can choose from a wide selection of designs and input your contact information. Make sure to proofread carefully before you place the order, and enjoy!

One reason I recommend getting the first lot of business cards for free: it gives you a chance to test out the design and focus of your business. I ended up ordering three sets of business cards in the first two years, each with slightly different information and tagline as the core of my business evolved. In fact, I'm about ready for version 4.0.

E-Mail Marketing

Clearly, I'm a fan of iterative business growth. That is, you try something and if it works, do it again. If it doesn't work, change your methods. You'll learn more to guarantee the success of your business through real-world experience than the best-researched business plan could tell you.

Nowhere is this more applicable than e-mail marketing. CurrentMom has a weekly newsletter. (Please sign up!) It allows me to easily track which headlines and phrases catch readers' attention -- and which land like a lead balloon.

You can get a free e-mail marketing account from services like Mail Chimp if you have fewer than 500 subscribers. Or, sign up for a free trial from companies like Constant Contact or iContact.

Depending on the type of business, you'll likely outgrow the initial free account, but by using the free services, you gain a much better understanding of your needs and uses for email marketing. You'll make a more informed decision when you are ready to make a long-term financial commitment.

Checking Account

Again, it depends on the type of entrepreneur you are, but for many it's almost criminal to pay for a business checking account. There are so many free business checking accounts available.

In fact, I didn't even open a business bank account until this year. The two years of real-world experience gave me a much better feel for what I wanted in a banking relationship, not to mention a firm grasp on the business name, purpose and other details that are a real hassle to change if your initial business focus shifts.

Test Before You Buy

All this advice boils down to the same principle: test before you make a big investment of time or money. For me, it meant launching my business in three days, to make sure I could attract enough paying clients to support my family. For you, it could mean extensive market research or a small-scale alpha test of your product or service before you roll it out to the masses.

As entrepreneurs, we believe in ourselves and our business so intensely that it's easy to assume the money we throw into starting up will be quickly repaid. It's also, quite frankly, more fun and less scary to design letterhead, decorate office space and dream about your bright future than to do the hard work of bringing in revenue.

Don't put off revenue building. The long-term success of your venture depends more on your ability to last through the start-up phase than how snazzy your version 1.0 Web site looks. That staying power can be greatly enhanced if you get some key services and products for free at the beginning.

Photo credit: Jesslee Cuizon via Flickr

Comments

[Kirrily Wilson]

I have to say your page was extremely helpful & very interesting, i do however have one question if possible ? A friend has just started his own online business & was advised to start a blog (which he's done on here) my question about this is, how do we get traffic to this blog ? Apart from word of mouth to family & friends, we're at a complete loss as to how to do it. Any advice or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thankyou

[AJ]

Some great advice here. When you're starting out you definitely need to get as much as you can free, when the free offerings are an acceptable or even good substitution for the paid option.

There are some great web design and business card options available for free, just make sure that they represent your company well... otherwise investing a bit to get a more professional product might be worthwhile.

[Katherine]

Kirrily -- It's one of the great questions of our age: how to get traffic to your blog. I would say: 1) have something useful to say 2) blog regularly 3) use good SEO practices -- which is an entire field in and of itself.

Most importantly, be clear on your motivation for blogging. See my earlier post on the topic: http://www.currentmom.com/currentmom/2009/11/why-are-you-blogging-money-or-selfexpression.html

AJ -- I do agree with you. Actually, one of my points for next week is that it's worth paying to create a strong visual brand that resonates with customers. (Not to give away too much of next week's post!) My point this week is that many new entrepreneurs get carried away with cards and letterhead and office space and forget the most important step: generating revenue.

[robin gonzales]

great article and tips, great site as well! thanks for sharing!