One of the key issues to keep operating a business during the first months, while crediting and start generating income, is properly administer economic resources.
But beware! Saving does not mean sacrificing your business. Andrés Rodríguez, president of Young Entrepreneurs of Mexico AC (Jemac), said that with good planning of your initial capital can raise your productivity and devote more resources to areas that really need it.
So if you want to take a steady pace and with less money, take note of these seven tips. If you invest wisely, avoid spending more than necessary.
1. A Virtual Office
If you need a place to receive important calls and correspondence, presentations, or have meetings with potential clients but do not want to spend much, this is the ideal choice.
“A virtual office is preferred for an entrepreneur or a business that is about to start, since being less expensive than traditional economic resources to orient most important issues,” says Fred Matos, Chief Operating Officer (CEO) The Crexents, estadouni-dense a company dedicated to renting virtual offices with a presence in Mexico.
Amongst the services you are hiring a private and exclusive phone number for you, an assistant, receiving and forwarding telephone calls, plus an address to which you can send your correspondence. Even, depending on the package you hire, you can make use of a boardroom or an office for certain hours a month.
And best of all is the price, as a virtual office can cost from $ 600 per month. As you see, is a considerable saving, if we take into account that in Mexico City to rent a furnished office with services included can cost on average $ 20,000 a month.
2. IP Communication
Two years ago, Jorge Vivas was associated with two of his former colleagues to mount an undergraduate graphic design agency. After months of struggling to get clients started to grow its portfolio. “Fortunately we managed projects not only in Mexico but in other cities of the Republic,” he says.
“But we spent too much on phone calls, both local and long-distance. In a month we pay more than $ 2,500 of your phone only for talking with our customers outside the city, “says Vivas.
At that time decided to seek an alternative means of communication that allowed them to reduce costs and found in IP telephony (which is done via the internet). Today, his monthly payment for calls does not exceed $ 600.
“This service reduces from 20% to 60% and telephone charges, because depending on the package that is hired by a single monthly payment you can have unlimited local and long-distance calling. Even cell phone minutes to call, “said Mario de la Garza, manager of marketing for Alestra.
However, no more than 10% of enterprises in Mexico has hired IP telephony services, primarily due to ignorance. “People think it is more expensive than a traditional line or the call quality is poor. IP telephony has the same quality as fixed lines and is much cheaper, “he explains.
By hiring the service, you get a local number to make and receive calls. All you need is Internet connection speed.
Skype is also another resource that enables you to save on long-distance calls. “It allowed us to reduce by 80% the cost of calls outside the City,” stresses Cristina Zarza, commercial director of Zaber, a school that provides customized computer courses.
3. Free Software
Today technology plays an important role in the development and growth of any enterprise, whether large, small, or newly established. “When you start, investment in technology should be according to your needs. You have to ask for a ‘tailor-made’ and only invest in what is a priority for your business, “advises Rodriguez, Jemac.
“Today there are lots of online software that can be freely downloaded. This is a great advantage for companies and entrepreneurs start, they often do not have the capital to make a big investment in technology, “said Jorge Molina, director of Enterprise Products to Mexico from Google.
As an example, you can find packages on-line business service called Google Apps, which includes a platform for custom domain email, word processing, spreadsheet and even software to make presentations.
Please note that for home users is no cost for businesses and the price is the U.S. $ 50 per user per year. “Using free software helps you when you start your business because you do not have enough money to buy the original licenses of the programs you need,” said Bramble, of Zaber.
4. low-cost Advertisement
If the quality of your services is more than excellent, you have in your hands a powerful instrument of the promotion will not cost you any money, they are the word of mouth recommendations. However, for input that you can focus on attracting a particular market segment need to invest in advertising.
At present this is not necessarily synonymous with large outlays of money. Because there is the Internet.
The easiest ways to position your brand online are social networks like Facebook, MySpace, Hi5, and Twitter, where you can find users from all parts of the Republic (and world) with different tastes and interests. So it will be easier to segment your bid.
“Once you decide to start a campaign on social networking that takes into account not only write about” my brand is better. ” If you do, the network of users simply ignore you, “advises Vida Red 2.0 Project leader Gaudelli MCW, consultant in advertising, media, and public relations.
He adds: “If you analyze the conversations of the community and your brand can bring something to the collective knowledge or public attractions links, people will become increasingly interested in what you say and will recommend among your acquaintances.”
For example, if you opened a bakery and have much to say about your business or you are a specialist in some kind of bread, you can create a blog (a free option is Blogger or WordPress) where you share your experience and advice, and even includes some videos about techniques and recipes.
Another way to start online advertising campaigns, albeit with a slightly larger investment is investing in ads related to searches. To do this, you must choose some keywords that make reference to your product or service. “For example, if you sell digital cameras, shopping those two words. So when someone puts in the search for ‘digital cameras’, your ad will appear highlighted in the first search results or in the sidebar of the window, “says Luis Arteaga, manager of Google AdWords online for Mexico.
“It’s very economical, as you decide how much you invest. Just pay the times’ users to click on your ad and you can set how many times you want to appear in searches during the day. So you control your costs, “says Arteaga.
Furthermore, do not hesitate to take account of print advertising. Search media with a segment of readers saddos interested in your product or service, and ask for their discount packages or specific sections such as classifieds.
5. Green Ideas
This is undoubtedly one of the most simple to conduct, for without a huge investment will have the ability to generate large savings in the long term. “Start by changing your regular light bulbs for savers,” advises Rodrigo Villar, director of New Ventures Business Accelerator Mexico.
Considers that these foci spend up to 50% less energy than an incandescent bulb. And also last up to 10 times more. Therefore, although the unit price is slightly higher than in the case of a normal bulb, in the end, you’ll spend less
Another tip is to reduce the number of prints and copies and use both sides of the leaves. And if you use recycled paper, the better. Some 5,000 sheets of letter-size bond paper recycling Xerox cost $ 399, while the same amount of equal quality brand “extra white” has to pay $ 469.
Try your computer or electronic equipment are low electricity consumption, from monitors to the air conditioning. When you buy, you can identify by the label “Energy”, which ensures maximum efficiency in energy consumption.
If you already have the equipment and want to exchange them for low-power devices, the Trust Fund for Electric Energy Saving (FIDE) has a financing program for micro and small businesses looking to upgrade.
“The minimum amount of funding is $ 15,000 and the maximum depends on the ability to pay and the financial conditions of the company, with terms up to 36 months at an interest rate of 12.5% per annum on outstanding balances,” says David Cedillo, Manager of Micro and Small Enterprise FIDE.
The private elementary school Heroes of the Revolution in the State of Mexico appealed to FIDE for funding to change all the lighting equipment and installation for conventional high-efficiency equipment. With this action, we managed to save electricity in the payment of U.S. $ 8.230 per year.
6. Equipment Leasing
This financial scheme allows you to purchase all the machinery and equipment needed, from office furniture to large machinery for a factory, with an option for you or not the owner. All leased assets can be used in exchange for a down payment and monthly payments.
There are two types of leasing in the Mexican market: financial and pure. In the first, you’ll have to settle the total price of the goods you purchased in a given time and costs or interest as the landlord determines. This option enables you to be the owner of the goods that you are using after the time agreed in the contract.
You can use the leasing when you have an interest in being at the forefront because, as in lease and pay an initial amount of das monthly payments. The difference is that after a while, you can change the new one is hired for the same pay until you are doing.
For example, if your office needs 10 computers and chooses the leasing scheme, the landlord will provide the equipment you need. The total price of the 10 teams will be added and the total interest you divide it into certain months. At the end of the agreed time, you pay a symbolically allow you to own these computers.
However, if you opt for leasing, the procedure is the same as in finance, but with the difference that the end of the agreed time you can choose the option to renew your whole team. So, for the same payment you were doing you have all your new computers.
7. Outsourcing
It is increasingly common among companies around the world, to get the staff they need-so, resort to outsourcing rather than hiring staff.
“Outsourcing is an option that will save you a lot of resources when you start your business because you spend all your effort into daily operations of your business without having to worry about other areas,” said Rodrigo Arevalo, New Business Analyst Ventures Mexico.
There are companies, like Manpower, which is dedicated to the placement of personnel. You hire your service and they are responsible for the selection and hiring of employees you need, without having to invest in the human resources area.
Alternatively, if you need vendors to arrive at an agreement with them so that their salary is only the commission on products to sell. This will not have to give a basic salary and mo-tivarás to reach and exceed their goals.
