Signs of an Amateur Entrepreneur

One of my business connections Brandon Uttley from Charlotte has written a great article about not looking professional as a small business startup.  It’s really just 7 basic steps that don’t cost much money at all.  For the cash strapped I will show you how inexpensive it is to implement these steps.

1. No e-mail – This should be included for free with the website, but on it’s own it should be no more than $10/year for the domain (yourcompany.com) and about $5/month for the hosting.
2. No website – I can get someone setup with a WordPress based website for about $250 that will look professional and be editable.  Hosting (which includes e-mail) should be no more than $5/month.  If you are paying more you are getting additional service to help manage it.
3. No plan – This is free, just takes your time.
4. Work from home – Regus has multiple offices across the nation and you can rent meeting rooms for $12/hour or virtual offices for as little as $49/month.  Standard offices from $199/month.  Getting an LLC should cost between $100 – $200 depending on the state.
5. No business phone – Vonage is about $30/month and you can read more about it on my post here.  You can get bundles from your ISP for around the same price.
6. No logo – I have seen local and online companies charge from $99 to design a logo.  I would recommend discussing this (either on the phone or in person) with a professional to make sure you have an appropriate design.  Ultimately the less changes you make to the logo, the less expensive it will be.  So go to your designer with a clear concise idea and be prepared to take their advice.
7. No business card – This is also a networking mistake as I discussed earlier and business cards can be found online for about $40 for 500 high quality cards.

Total: You are looking at about $970/year to get started (not including office situation).  Prorated per month you are looking at about $80/month.  If that amount scares you then perhaps being an entrepreneur isn’t the right thing for you.

Follow the link below to read the original article.

Telltale Signs of An Entrepreneur by Brandon Uttley.