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The most important part of starting
a web design business, apart from seeking clients
and securing projects, is cashflow. This is why its especially
important to limit your initial spendings when you first
get started. It's easy to get carried away buying fancy
office furniture and a new laptop. Before you rush out and
swipe your credit card in a frenzy of spending, stop and
think about what you need, as opposed to what you want.
Okay, you’re ready to get started. So what tools do
you need to commence operationsNew office furniture, a new
computer or laptop. How about a nice suit and tie and a
shiny new 22 inch monitorHang on a minute. Slow down.
Before you start compiling a big list of stuff that you
want, stop for a moment and think about what you really
need. You might think that you need a great deal of stuff
to get started, but the reality is, when first starting
out in business, less is more. Especially if money is a
concern. You will need to improvise. You’ll need to
do without. You will need to be aware of your spendings,
and be sure to not spend carelessly, otherwise you can seriously
jeapordize your business.
When I first started my business, I sat down and wrote a
complete list of items that I thought I needed in order
to make my business a success and more professional.
My list looked something like this.
• Laptop
• Desktop computer
• Mobile phone, handsfree unit for my car, along with
charger and monthly plan
• Fax machine
• Printer
• Wireless broadband
• Digital camera
• Large desk and new office chair
• Desklamp
• Stationery, including paper, pens, staplers, notebooks,
calendars, etc
• Air conditioning unit for my office
• Cordless phones
• Software, including operating systems
• Miscellaneous items such as powerboards, cabling
and other odds and ends.
This was going to be an expensive exercise indeed! Ill have
to pay for all of this equipment before I even make a dollar!
If you have a list like this, or you have something similar
in mind, beware. You may be headed for complete financial
disaster. This is a common scenario for anyone new to business.
They overspend on non essentials. This can result in high
stress levels, especially if you are under loan obligations
and you find it difficult at first to source paying clients.
My advice is to do with only exactly what you need to get
the job done. Thankfully, due to receiving good advice from
a business mentor, I ended up starting my business with
the bare essentials. I did away with that list and began
thinking about what I needed as opposed to what I wanted.
My new list and the actual equipment that I began with when
I first started.
• My old Pentium 2 133 running 256 Mb ram with a 10Gb
hard drive
• A second hand mobile phone given to me by my mother
• Windows 98
• A notepad and some old pens laying about the house
• An old fold out sewing desk and a cheap $30 office
chair
• 64k Dial up internet access – yes dial up!
• A lot of determination – FREE!
Whilst this doesn’t exactly sound like much of a professional
business, it did get me started for next to nothing. In
fact I started with what I already had, and did away completely
with my “wish” list. The tools I had were adequate
enough to get the job done.
Now obviously my concern was meeting with clients. I certainly
didn’t look professional stuck in my back bedroom,
sitting at an old sewing desk in my pyjamas. I surely wouldn’t
secure any work looking like that. I did however work around
it, and effectively too. Instead of meeting with clients
at home, I would meet with them at local cafes to discuss
proposals and project requests. This then meant that I could
focus on securing work, landing projects and creating income
for the business, which in turn I could then reinvest into
the business, allowing me to upgrade my computer or buy
a new office chair.
Over time, I ended up with everything on my original list, it
just meant going without initially at the start.
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