I told you a while back about how I started a small online business with three close friends. Even though we’re scattered all over the US (in four states and three time zones spanning both coasts) we’ve found a way to make it work. We launched TheTravelingJournal.com a couple of months ago to help other long distance friends stay connected in a unique way. We started our own Traveling Journal nearly ten years ago and it’s really been the glue that’s held our friendship together. We launched this small business on a shoestring budget getting everything from packing tape to a toll-free phone number for free. I recently wrote a post for Design Sponge about some of the freebies that I’ve scored. But here’s a breakdown of how we really saved a lot of money on our small business.
We started conservatively with inventory. Inventory can cost big bucks. We bought our product from artists and started out small so we could get a better idea of which products people liked, and what didn’t sell before investing in more. I also looked for local artists to work with so I wouldn’t have to add additional costs for shipping.
We used each other’s strengths. Because there are four of us we were all able to bring strengths and connections to the group. We used our connections to get free photography, a great deal on web design and free promotion. Since one partner had the resources to create promotional videos, she did that for free which would have cost us thousands of dollars had we hired someone to do that.
We used free resources. I lay out a lot of the free resources we used in the post on Design Sponge, but these included free a toll-free number, free phone conferencing and a free shopping cart.
Do you have any examples of great freebies you scored or ways you save a lot of money on your small business? We’d love to hear them!