7 Killer Ways To Save Up For Your Start-Up

Credit: Raymond Sam

If you want to get your start-up idea off the ground, but you’re not financially stable enough to risk an attempt, then it’s time to look at your budget and see how you can save money. There are a lot of funding options out there today such as Kickstarter and good old investments from family, friends, and investment funds, but that typically won’t be enough to cover all of your early expenses.

So how can you make up for that extra slack or fund it all yourself? Here are a few ways that you can save money to fund your dream start-up company.

Develop Your Game Plan

To begin, start by outlining your game plan. Firstly, establish your goal, whether you prefer working from home or renting a separate workspace. Opting to run the startup business from home can save a significant amount of money. Simply create a dedicated working room in your house, organize, and de-clutter household items that you don’t need frequently, and consider stashing them in a storage facility. You can find all the information and learn all you need to know about self-storage here. Once the room is de-cluttered, proceed to set up your designated workspace, and you are good to go. Also, take some time to research the purchases you will need to make, like office supplies and types of furniture you might need. This way, you can estimate your expenses for the first six months or so. However, this can vary from industry to industry as someone selling coffee won’t have the same start-up costs as an icbc injury lawyer.

Once you understand how much you need to save up, it’s time to figure out available ways to fund your start-up, including a week by week savings plan to get your idea off the ground. This takes us to the next step.

Pick Up Extra Revenue Streams

You need to pick up extra revenue streams to pad your savings account. There are a number of awesome ways to find extra work through freelancing. If you have a specialty such as writing, graphic design, web design, or something else there are hundreds of well paying jobs out there on sites like Freelancer and Upwork. If you don’t have anything you feel comfortable doing, there’s always easy work like data entry.

If freelancing just isn’t your thing, consider hitting up craigslist ads to help people move, find part-time work as a barista, or with a local group in your area.

Keep Your Day Job…For Now

Jumping straight into your start-up is rarely a good idea, so while you’re in the process of launching your start-up keep the day job. Work on your start-up in the evenings and on the weekends. This will be an exhausting period of your life, but it will be well worth the extra effort. This is also a good way to gauge how viable your product or services are in the market. If you pick up early traction with consumer interest, you can rest more comfortably before the big launch.

Move Back Home With Mom And Pops

This one never sounds fun, but it works. You’ll be able to drastically cut your expenses by moving back home with your parents so that you can funnel a lot more money directly into savings. This isn’t going to be something permanent, so don’t approach it like it is. Focus on saving your money and it might be kind of nice to spend some good ole quality time with them again.

So you can make a serious go of it, see if you can set up a small office space in a spare room, or in your old (now new again) bedroom, to give yourself a designated space to do your work. Finding the best Furniture for your office is important as you need to be comfortable and alert to help fuel your output. You don’t have to have the full kitted out office, you can start with a desk and work your way up. It is important that you put effort into this so you drive forward with your work and can focus on the tasks at hand. Before you know it you may have an actual office building to do your business from, or a home office that provides you with everything you require.

Sell What You Can Part With

Follow the art of minimalism and part with everything you don’t need to save up big chunks of money at a time. Do you need a couch? Probably not. Are there any instruments lying around that you haven’t touched in five years and have no idea how to play? Sell them. Selling your things can actually be a pretty freeing experience too. It’s not quite as bad as it seems.

Cut Back & Budget Yourself

Even the little things add up big overtime. Sure, it’s not as effective upfront as selling your furniture, but it pays off after a few months. When you no longer buy a Starbucks coffee every day or eat out for lunch because you pack your own, you’ll save money every single day. After a month, those savings will turn into hundreds of dollars that you can use to buy something your start-up needs.

Choose A Co-Founder

Don’t do this alone if you can avoid it. Take some time and choose a co-founder wisely and they’ll help you to split start-up costs by pitching in too. It’s fun to have someone to bounce ideas off of and someone who will work together with you on this passion project. Don’t rush into finding a co-founder though, you want this person to be as dedicated to this start-up idea as you are.

Launching a start-up is a game of risk and it’s best done with a little extra padding in your bank account. By following these tips you’ll be able to save a lot more money to launch the company of your dreams.