As a fledgling entrepreneur with a new brand, one of the biggest obstacles is money. How am I supposed to build a brand with little to no cash flow? Do you know how much marketing costs? It’s not cheap!
Breathe easy, my friend. Building your brand on a budget is easier than you might think. For starters, many business programs and enterprises provide entry-level memberships at little to no cost that allow you to grow into higher levels as your business starts to gain momentum.
Here are some other areas where you can start building your brand without breaking the bank.
Crowdsourcing
Crowdsourcing is one of the leading business models of companies around the world. Businesses take the collective intelligence and services of a group (like a crowd, maybe?) and piece out different needs to the collective whole or individuals, depending on the need. This works wonders for companies like Netflix, Amazon, Wikipedia, and more.
The caution is because of the ease-of-access via Internet today, there’s no guarantee who is on the other end of your requests. If you’re going to use crowdsourcing as part of your startup, do your research. Know who is doing what you’re asking of them.
Incubators
Crowdsourcing. Incubators. It feels like I’m just making up these terms. I promise you, I’m not. Business incubators are designed to help new startups succeed. Some incubator organizations have actual physical locations and success coaches to help entrepreneurs get traction and eventually momentum in their new startups. As with crowdsourcing, be wise, do your research, and ask fantastic questions when considering them.
Networking
Many business networks like BNI, BMA, and AMA require an annual membership, which isn’t cheap ($300-500), but they also allow newcomers to visit at least twice before asking for a membership commitment. Scour for their next happy hour or free networking event and go prepared. (Also, keep in mind these tips about networking!)
Collaborate
Are you just starting as an entrepreneur? Awesome! Find another new entrepreneur who compliments your needs and who could use your own services. Talk about trading services to help each other.
Find an expert and offer to help
For example if you’re starting as an independent graphic designer, find a more experienced graphic designer and ask them if they have any work they don’t want to do. You’d be amazed at how many requests come across an independent’s inbox that makes them chuckle.
Volunteer
Does a local charity, non-profit, church, youth organization, or community center need help with their next event? Offer your services for free. It gives you a chance for trial and error, get your name out there, and get feedback about whether this is the best niche for you.
Start with templates
Some of the top website providers, like WordPress, offer templates at no cost. I’d recommend paying the small fee ($20) to have a custom URL address for your website. Nobody likes going to franksconstruction.websiteproviderforfree.com. This is a worthy investment. Templates are great to start out, but the goal is growing into a more customized experience in the future.
If you’re ready to make the plunge with a self-hosted WordPress site, Michael Hyatt has done a fantastic job with this video, “Launch a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog in 20 Minutes or Less!”
Accounting
There are many accounting programs available on a small budget. The important decision is whether you want to be cloud-based (info stored online) or PC-based (info stored on your computer). I strongly recommend being cloud-based. Here are some of the top resources I’ve found for online accounting programs.
Marketing
Hubspot is doing a fantastic job of creating marketing insight and how-to’s for startups. Do yourself a favor and pour over their resources. They provide a world of inbound marketing advice capable of rocket launching your new venture.
Create and share killer content
This is one of the fastest ways to grow your brand: sharing great content. This could be stories, articles, quotes, findings, questions, anything highly valuable to your target audience. Find it and share it. Share why it’s important and what your thoughts are on it.
It also means you create killer content. Blog, post, tweet, comment, share your original thoughts and why you do what you do. What makes your brand valuable to others? The stronger your original content, the more people will see you as an information source for their needs.
Speaking of blogging, that’s a perfect place to start…
