Start Up Costs And Materials For A Business
Lets start looking at some of the things you may need to purchase in the early stages of your business. One of the main reasons a business will be so attractive to the would be entrepreneur, is its low initial start-up investment.
The list was made with the assumption that you already own a computer and all the hardware and software necessary to connect to the internet and send and receive E-mail. Other than your monthly online charges, as you will see from the list, you really won't to spend much, if anything!
Research material.
Anytime you take on a new venture, whether it be a business or a hobby, it's always a good idea to learn as much as you possibly can about this new interest of yours. This means you should read books, instructional literature, magazines and anything else related to your new area of interest. You can purchase these items or better yet, make a trip to the
local library for information about online services!
Expected cost: $0-$100.00
Registration, licensing, permits.
You may need to do some form of registration to make your business legal. As suggested earlier, check with your local officials to find out exactly what is necessary in your area. Don't make the mistake of waiting until it's too late. Do this relatively early in your business start-up period so
you won't need to worry about it later.
Expected cost: $0-$200.00
Basic office supplies.
You certainly can spend a lot of money here, but don't. Just start with the very basics. Pens, pencils, paper, business size envelopes, and a good notebook should get you started
in the beginning. You can purchase other larger office supplies on an as needed basis. Not included in this basic needs list is shipping supplies. These don't need to be purchased until you've actually sold your product. You should look into prices though, to get a rough idea on the cost.
Expected cost: $0-$20.00
You should open a business checking account sooner or later to keep all of your business transactions separate from your personal finances. It is important to have your business name on your checks to keep a professional image. You should open this account once you have chosen a name and registered your new business.
Expected cost: $0-$50.00
Office equipment.
Most people can probably get by without purchasing any office equipment at all. I started with an old card table with folding legs. The point is, don't go out and buy anything until you absolutely need it.
Expected cost: $0
Printer
If you don't already have a printer connected to your pc, you should think about getting one. You'll eventually need to print a letter to a customer or envelopes or even sales Receipt. Although you don't need to have one right away, consider the time it will save you in the long run. Anyway, here's a few things to consider before you purchase.
There are basically three types available. Listed in order from low price range to high, they are the dot matrix, the inkjet and the laser printer. Of course the laser printer produces the best quality printing at the highest speeds, however you pay dearly for this performance. The low cost dot matrix type printers print at a decent speed, however, the quality is generally not as good as the other two.
After much research, I would recommend an ink jet printer for someone just starting a home based business. The prices are sensible and the printing quality is more than adequate.
All three types come in black or color. In the average
prices listed below for each type of printer, the lower
cost reflects black and the higher cost reflects the color models.
Dot matrix printer: $100 to $300
Inkjet printer: $175 to $500
Laser printer: $325 to $2000 or more
Software
You should think about getting a good word processing or desktop publishing software on your computer. There are many available in the market ranging from $ 0 to $900.
If you don't already have something similar, be sure the one you purchase has the ability to do labels and comes with free technical support. Another very helpful type of software to have is a mail list or address list program. You can keep a running customer list and keep track of product ship
dates, amounts paid, E-mail addresses and other pertinent information. It is also very helpful when offering new products to existing customers.
The only thing I failed to mention in the list of start up items is something that you can't purchase...space. Of course you are going to need some space to set up a mini office type of environment. A spare room, a basement or even
a card table should suffice in the start up period of your business.
Once your business starts to grow, you will begin to require more space, so try to plan accordingly in the beginning if at all possible.
It's also a good idea to pick a place where you can get as much privacy as possible. I know from experience however that sometimes this is virtually impossible in some
households. Anyway, try to pick a good place at the start since it is very difficult to move everything once you have settled in.
That just about does it for start up materials. You will
probably come across a few things here and there but there won't be many surprises now that you've read this fairly extensive start-up list. As you can see, you shouldn't need to purchase much to get started. Actually, most people won't need to buy a single thing!
However, if you do need to
get a few of the items listed, don't do it all at once!
There's no reason to put yourself in the poorhouse before you
have a chance to sell a single thing.
Take your time in acquiring everything you decide to get.