Spring Break is our favorite family time for road trips. That’s when we pick a destination, pack our bags, lock our home and literally hit the road. Yet before we even put foot to the pedal, there’s a thorough process of planning, reflection and elimination that takes place. An offer is made, and we all participate in defining whether what we can do together and for each other as a family is compelling enough for all of us. I love visiting museums, while the hubby enjoys long drives, and the kids will do pretty much anything that involves high-energy activities and some level of sugar intake. In a way, our Spring Break prep process is a lot like writing a business proposal. We make one or many offers outlining what we can do for each other, why we’re the best at doing it, and sell our arguments around in hopes of winning the best deal for everyone.
In the same way, writing a killer business proposal is about presenting an offer to your prospects demonstrating what you can do for them in and why you are the best person/company to do it. If you’re a business person or an entrepreneur, you may know how important business proposals are. They cement business deals and set the stage for profitability in your venture. However, they must also be persuasive, compelling and clear enough to elicit a vibrant “yes”.
Here are 5 tips to make use of when writing your next business proposal:
Identify your client’s needs
One of the three basic sections you must include in your business proposal is one about your client’s needs. Failing to have a clear and thorough understanding of what he/she needs will put you at a significant disadvantage. As such, the first section of your business proposal must answer the following questions, as related to what you can offer them:
What current challenge(s) does your client’s industry face?
What are the most acute of the obstacles faced by your client in their industry?
Ideally, you would have had prior discussions with your prospective clients, or researched them enough to gather related information, such as:
When the problem/challenge originally began
What has been done to remedy it before
How much help is needed to fix it
What they hope to achieve with your help
When they intend to have the project completed
The budget they have in mind
Offer a compelling solution
The second most important section of your business proposal revolves around the solution you are proposing, and why you are the best to provide it. In this section, you must outline the following:
How much you understand their need, based on your research, experience and even personal interest. This is where it’s useful to back up your arguments with applicable case studies, benchmarking and appropriate description of results you may have obtained before;
What you will do to fulfill their need, including a detailed action plan with steps you will implement. Make sure to be as clear as possible and explain how each step will add value to your client;
The results you will be able to get, and how these will tie in to the needs you have identified earlier in the report (refer to 1.)
Why you are the best persona/business to handle this job. This is the part where you decisively include what you can bring to the table and how your unique skills, experience, qualifications and even personality benefit them.
Be clear about the administrative details
A business proposal is not a business proposal unless it includes a strong and detailed administrative and logistical section. This is where you wrap up by including the conditions to your involvement in the project, namely:
Suggested timeline
Preliminary milestones of the project
Proposed Budget
Other terms and conditions such as project delivery, payment, etc…
Use the mirroring effect
Have you heard of the mirroring effect in psychology? It’s the behavior in which one individual subconsciously imitates the attitude, gestures, or speech pattern of another. This can lead to building rapport and connection with the other person. As you write your business proposal, you can use this powerful concept to your advantage.
Take some time to observe and reflect upon your client’s particular ways of expressing him/herself. In turn, use the same tone, words and phrases to address them in your business proposal. It’s also important to understand the emotional and cultural patterns they may be responding to, so as to include them in your writing as well. This will help you build a stronger connection with them.
Clarity and accuracy are key
Last but not least, you can increase your chances at having your business proposal stand out by making it as clear and accurate as possible. This includes:
Eliminating any jargon or overly technical terms that can lead to confusion
Using short and simple sentences and wording
Inserting visual aids such as charts, graphs and other presentations to make your proposal clearer and more appealing
Ensuring that your document is grammatically correct and free of misspellings
In conclusion, keep in mind that you are qualified to offer your solutions and services to this prospective client. Take advantage of this opportunity by crafting a thorough, clear and compelling proposal with these steps.
Now your turn: What has been your experience with business proposals?
For many of us, the dream career is a business to call your very own. Making the rules and doing it your way has a certain appeal to a large chunk of the population. Yet, when it comes to leaving Corporate America and creating our own path, deciding when the time is right and how to do it presents a dilemma to many.
Life in Corporate America can be a slog for the free spirits among us. Millions of people catch themselves daydreaming during their corporate jobs of a life of freedom – free of cubicles and boardrooms.
There are thousands of talented and brilliant minds working for the countless companies and firms out there. Why do so many of them stay when they hate their jobs? The answer is not so simple.
Living a life of freedom is alluring, but the realities and obligations of modern life are important, too. Leaving a cushy job with income stability and benefits is no easy task – they call it the “golden handcuffs” for a reason.
Many of us stay within the office walls to keep things stable at home. Regular income and a clear path forward through life are a comfort to most people. Being your own boss with all the responsibility and risk can be terrifying.
A career with a big company and consistently working in an office doesn’t come without risks though – downsizing, takeovers, bad bosses, and bad luck. Overall, it’s a “safer route” for most people, especially when they are afraid to break out on their own and risk failure at the helm as captain of the ship.
People are more comfortable working for an employer who lays out the path forward. Regular promotions, career plans, “progression,” and a clearer vision of the future are enticing to some. It’s all very hard to resist, and most of us never take the jump to strike out on our own.
Who’s Leaving and Why?
Thousands do leave Corporate America to become entrepreneurs every year – professionals of all incomes, career aspirations, and fields of expertise. Leaving the cubicle behind is a common thing today, especially given the opportunities in self-employment and a global online world.
Whether it’s basket-weaving, a hot new app, or a boutique firm to call your own, it is possible to follow your dreams and find success with a little luck and a lot of planning. You have to make sure you are prepared for all of the obstacles that are sure to come your way so that you can have a smooth transition into your new life.
Small and medium business ownership offers countless opportunities in America, the hub of capitalism. Modern technology offers a new way of doing business, and it’s often an advantage to be new, small, and sick of doing things the same as always.
It doesn’t matter what you do – there is an opportunity to shake things up and earn a good living in your industry or profession. The hardest part is finding the courage to jump and the right time to do it.
So You’re Inspired, But How Do You Make the Leap?
If you are serious about making a change away from Corporate America into the world of entrepreneurship and being your own boss, there are a few tips compiled below to help you along the way. Planning, timing, and execution are all important on your path out the door and onto the open road. The details make a difference.
It’s not a binary choice (like most things in life). There are many ways to make the transition from Corporate America to life on your own. Millions of Americans have two jobs including a self-owned business that operates outside of their regular nine-to-five.
You can always take it slow and do two things for a while. Once the passion project becomes a big hit, it gives you options instead of going all-or-nothing with your corporate career. It’s not always the right choice, but try not to frame the decision as two choices: stay or leave.
Conversely, if you’re really feeling inspired, then you could make the giant leap into full entrepreneurship. This is a lot more risky, but it’s also got the potential to be highly rewarding, especially if you need to get ahead with your idea.
What You Need to Start a Business
A big leap into the unknown is a scary thing for most people, but thought and planning makes all the difference. One of the most important traits in an entrepreneur is vision. You’ll need to have a path forward to get the ball rolling.
One of the most important things in any business venture is capital, or money. Seed financing, operating expenses, equipment leasing, office locations, registration, branding, licenses, inspections, and other startup costs are a regular shock to many entrepreneurs. It all takes cash to make it happen. It’s important to think about your finances early in the process.
There are a couple ways to make the finances work. The first one involves you paying out of pocket which is almost always very hard to do. Second, if you have an attractive idea, you could reach out to potential investors who are willing to contribute to your idea, though you may need to give up part of your business. Finally, small business financing from a bank or lender is the next step towards finding capital. Talk to outside professionals or find a mentor if you can. Don’t be afraid to ask stupid questions at this stage!
Needless to say, starting out as an entrepreneur is hard. After all, over 90 percent of startups fail, so you can assume that it will be hard. However, successfully starting a business is the epitome of the American dream. If you can make it as a legitimate business, then you stand to make your mark in the world.
Good luck!
Tom FIRE – Founder of FIREd Up Millenial blog
Tom Fire is a millennial Personal Finance blogger and the founder of FIRed UP Millenial blog. When he’s not working as an engineer, Tom shares his passion for financial independence on his blog. His hope is to achieve financial freedom by the age of 35.
If you ask many, if not most business owners, what the hardest part of running their business is, one of the most common answers you’ll get is around productivity. It’s not surprising, considering that running a business, or even a side hustle, requires keeping so many balls up in the air. Unlike a regular 9-to-5, we must set our own schedules, answer to ourselves, and in the beginning juggle the different aspects of running all the facets of the business, from accounting to marketing.
One of the biggest struggles I’ve had in my side hustle first, and business later, was to be and keep being productive. I would be appalled at how fast time would fly, and at how little I would accomplish in a day, as compared to the monumental task list I’d have going. It seemed I would never be done, yet the tasks would keep piling up on my list. “How could I ever get it all done?“, was the question I would constantly ask myself.
In order to be more productive, it’s crucial to find ways to make better use of the little time we have. Here are 12 tips for small business owners to improve their productivity:
Prioritize
Running a business or even simply being involved with a business also means having a long list of to-do’s. From getting clients to answering emails, there are a gazillion things to attend to in a business. However, you cannot possibly attend to them all. Which also means that you must prioritize your tasks and rank them by order of impact.
To Do: Identify the activities that are most impactful to your business. These may include income-producing activities, as well as content and client outreach activities, for instance. Prioritize these and ensure that you do spend an adequate amount of time on them.
Identify the income-producing activities
As passionate as you may be about your business, it’s still important for you to make money in it. A business that doesn’t make any money, or doesn’t have any money-making potential, is a hobby. While your business may not automatically make enough money right from the start, you must pinpoint those activities that have the potential to bring income to it.
To Do: List all the business activities that are income-producing, and devise ways to fit these in your schedule on a daily basis. Focus on these and devote time to them.
Identify the least desirable activities, and tackle them first or delegate them
There will be many activities in your business that you will not be particularly attracted to. Those are the tasks that make you want to get a root canal instead of devoting yourself to them. Pay particular attention to these, and make a conscious decision to either tackle them first or delegate them to someone competent enough to handle them.
To Do: Go through your list of to-do’s and pinpoint the tasks that you are reluctant to tackle. Decide whether to work on them first thing in the morning, or to delegate them.
Focus on one task
As business women especially, we may be inclined to multitask. However, studies have proven that multi-tasking reduces our productivity and efficiency. Learning to focus on one task makes us more effective, especially within our businesses.
To Do: Pick one single activity to focus on at a time, and do not switch your focus until you’re done. Establish a system of rewards for completing each task so you can motivate yourself even more.
Time yourself
There are so many things to address in a business that it can be easy to lose track of time. Make it a habit of timing yourself from activity to activity. Use tools like the Tomato Timer, based on the Pomodoro time management technique, for instance. Assessing how much time it takes you to finish given tasks will give you a better idea of how efficient you really are. It’s also a great basis to improve your productivity.
To Do: Use a timer method of your choice to keep track of how you spend your time in your business. Start keeping weekly timesheets and assessing your time management. Track your progress and reward yourself as you go.
Communicate with your team
If you work with a team, or even just collaborators, make sure that your communication is effective. It can be challenging to keep the lines of communication clear and open when running or growing a business. Use collaboration tools like Asana, Slack, or Google Docs, to streamline and clarify your communication.
To Do: Make it a habit to communicate frequently with your team. If you haven’t already, pick a collaboration tool to use within your team.
Lessen meetings
One of the biggest time-wasters in businesses is unproductive meetings. Learn to reduce the necessity of meetings by communicating more effectively and clarifying directions. Instead of constant meetings, opt for mini-huddles to keep in touch. Use technology to stay connected with your team without spending unnecessary time in meetings.
To Do: Reduce the amount of meetings you’re involved in. If it can be said in an email, it does not require a meeting.
Take breaks and exercise
Businesses require a lot out of us. Which also means that we can deplete ourselves in the process of creating, running and growing our businesses. This is why it’s crucial to replenish our reserves, whether mental, physical or spiritual. Make it a habit to exercise regularly and take breaks throughout your day. Having a spiritual practice also goes a long way in keeping you focused and productive.
To Do: Schedule time for exercise and breaks as you would business commitments. Learn to honor this time to care for yourself and come back re-energized.
Automate it
Thanks to technology, there are many tasks on your business to-do list that you can automate. From bank transfers to scheduling your social media posts, learn to streamline your activities by automating them whenever possible and effective.
To Do: Identify those tasks on your to-do list that can be efficiently and productively automated. Use the appropriate tools in order to run your business as smoothly and as effectively as possible.
Say NO
No is a complete sentence. It’s also one of the most potent success tools in business. Learn to recognize those requests and demands on your time that are not aligned with your business purpose, and say no to them. Saying no is a muscle you must learn to develop if you want to be successful as a business owner.
To Do:Get in the habit of saying no to at least one request per day, that is not aligned with your business purpose.
Break up with social media
Social media has too many business owners and entrepreneurs flaunting false artifices on social media, instead of actually building and growing their enterprise. While social media is a powerful business and marketing tool, it can also constitute a huge distraction. Learn to schedule your social media activities around your business needs and stick to this schedule.
To Do:Use tools such as Buffer to schedule your social media posts. You may also schedule some specific time intervals to maintain your social media involvement, instead of being on it all day.
Schedule email time
Email is a close contender to social media when it comes to being a huge business distraction. Schedule your email time as you would any other commitment, and stick to it. Make sure to maintain a clean inbox, and declutter your email subscriptions regularly.
To Do: Set some time on your daily schedule devoted exclusively to email. Keep away from email outside of this time. Get rid of any email subscriptions that are not aligned with your personal or business purpose as well. Anything you haven’t opened or read in the past six months is obviously not needed, so get rid of it.
While there’s a lot of noise around starting a business and entrepreneurship in general, no much gets said about the emotional side of starting a business. However, the very act of launching a business is first and foremost an emotional process. It requires faith and a level of mental stability that many of us may not necessarily have.
Very few entrepreneurs admit to the emotional roller-coaster that starting and running a business really is. In the age of “following your dreams” and the hyper-mediatized temptation of social media hustling, it can be easy to imagine that entrepreneurship is easy. After all, it’s just a matter of “following your passion and the money will come”, right? Wrong…
While entrepreneurship requires being adequately prepared with the appropriate tools and strategies, the emotional part of being an entrepreneur is often under-estimated. From sheer excitement, motivation to loneliness, sadness and even depression in many cases, many are the emotions that entrepreneurs face.
Here are a few ways to deal with the emotional side of entrepreneurship:
Have realistic expectations
Many entrepreneurs are also perfectionists. Which also means that many of us set very high and quite unrealistic expectations for ourselves and entrepreneurial journey. While these can provide a temporary high, they can also bring a certain level of disappointment in people.
Take time for self-care
Many entrepreneurs fail to care for themselves. As a result, the accumulated stress and fatigue end up affecting their emotional state. In our hustling, super-by society, self-care is very often underrated. Instead of stopping to reflect and observe a pause in order to replenish our mental, emotional, and spiritual. We tend to push, over-exhaust ourselves and in turn be even less effective at what you do.
Get a coach or accountability partner
Entrepreneurship can be a lonely and challenging process. It’s also a very emotional process, as it awakens parts of ourselves that we may have buried for a long time. From dealing with fear to facing emotions ranging from guilt to extreme excitement, there are many emotional pitfalls to the entrepreneurial journey. It’s exactly the reason why it’s so important to find a coach or accountability partner.
These are people who will challenge, motivate and inspire you, especially during those moments when you feel low. They are also those who will help you dig yourself out of the pit of emotional highs and lows that come with any entrepreneurial journeys.
Have a supportive circle
I’ve mentioned earlier that entrepreneurship can be a pretty lonely experience. It’s also one that many around you may not necessarily understand. After all, not everyone has an entrepreneur’s mindset, or understands the demands of creating a business.
This is why it’s crucial to surround yourself with people who can and are willing to support you. It also means that we owe it to ourselves to place some distance between us and those who may not be good for you during this part of your journey.
How do you deal with the emotional side of entrepreneurship?
The new GOP tax plan, also known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, is final as of December 2017. This sweeping reform of the U.S. Tax Code will affect your business, in more ways than you may realize. This major tax act is one of the most significant reforms for businesses and corporations, with the elimination of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) among other changes.
While this new legislation may result in a reduction of taxes for families and individuals, the changes may affect businesses in different ways. Here are a few of the ways that your business may be impacted:
If you’re a US corporation, you will benefit from a large tax cut
If your business is registered as a U.S. corporation, you’re in luck! The new tax reform actually grants a generous tax cut to corporations registered in the US. Instead of a maximum corporate tax rate of 35%, C corporations that are personal service corporations, such as legal and accounting firms for instance, will now have a 25% rate.
Note that personal service corporations are corporations performing services in the fields of health, engineering, accounting, architecture, actuarial science, consulting, performing arts, and law. This lower tax rate is particularly attractive for corporations because it will ultimately make them more profitable. It also is a great incentive for foreign businesses to move to the U.S.
The corporate AMT no longer exists!
Prior to this tax reform, the corporate Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) consisted of a 20% tax rate that applied in case a company’s tax credits resulted in the business’ effective tax rate dipping below that level. Under this new reform, the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) no longer exists.
Your corporation’s ability to deduct its interest expense is now limited
This new tax bill actually limits any corporation’s ability to deduct their interest expense up to 30% of their income. This also means that your firm may face more challenges when it comes to borrowing funds. It may also result in businesses issuing less bonds and buying back their stock.
There are new limits on deducting Net Operating Losses (NOL)
If your business’ expenses exceed its income, your business may incur a Net Operating Loss (NOL). Under the previous tax law, this Net Operating Loss would be carried back two years. This would result in a refund of the taxes paid in the past two years, in partiality or in their entirety.
The new tax regulation eliminates carrybacks of any Net Operating Loss. The only exception applies to small businesses in case of disaster and casualty losses. In addition, taxpayers would be able to deduct any Net Operating Loss (NOL) only up to 90% of the business’ taxable income.
Increase in Section 179 Personal Property Expensing
Prior to this new tax regulation, business owners may have been able to deduct up to $510,000 of personal property cost purchased and used for business in a single year. Now, this amount is increased to $5 million for property acquired and placed in service between 2018 and 2022.
If your business has depreciable assets, you can now deduct their cost in one year!
Instead of amortizing any depreciable assets your business may have over the course of several years, you can now take one deduction in one year! However, the depreciable equipment must be purchased after September 27, 2017 and before January 1, 2023.
In addition, this 100% bonus depreciation applies to both new and used property, whereas previously it was only available to new property only. The bonus depreciation for automobiles would reflect an increase from $8,000 to $16,000. However, you should note that depreciation may not be used for real property.
If you’re a pass-through service business making less than $315,000 per year, you may get a 20% deduction!
Pass-through businesses, including sole proprietorships, partnerships, and S corporations, now get a 20% deduction. This is a great benefit to small businesses, since such a deduction would lower your business’ taxable income. In turn, it will allow these businesses to reinvest any money saved back into the company’s operations.
However, this deduction only applies to service businesses making less than $315,000 per year. This is to avoid potential tax loophole, by limiting certain service-based businesses from taking advantage of lower taxable income.
No more taxes on your overseas profits
Prior to this new legislation, corporations engaged in business abroad were taxed on the profits they incurred in foreign territories. However, the new regulation includes a shift in what is known as the “territorial” tax structure. As a corporation, you may now have to retrieve profits previously held in foreign territories with a one-time tax of up to 15.5%.
Offering health insurance to your employees may cost you more!
This new tax regulation also results in the elimination of one of the major tenets of the Affordable Care Act. This requirement consisted in mandating all individuals to purchase health insurance. This also means that insurance premiums will more likely be raised by insurance companies. In return, your health insurance costs as related to your employees could skyrocket as well!
You may be able to choose between the accrual and cash method of accounting
Under this new tax reform, more businesses are now allowed to use the cash method of accounting instead of the accrual method of accounting. The cash accounting mandates that a business record income when it is received, and expenses when they’re paid. However, under the accrual method of accounting, both expenses and income are booked when owed, as opposed to when they’re received or paid.
As of now, businesses with average revenues of $25 million or less are exempted from using the accrual method of accounting, which is a $5 million increase from the prior tax law.
Your employees’ withholdings will change!
Considering the standard tax deduction has actually doubled and personal exemptions have been eliminated, what you withhold from your employees’ paychecks will need to be modified. Additionally, any bonus, commission or supplemental wages are now subject to automatic withholdings of up to 28%. This is a 3% increase from the original 25% rate. However, these changes will not be in effect until 2018.
Watch those employee perks!
Prior to this tax regulation, businesses were able to deduct the cost of food and beverage provided to employees. However, only 50% of these costs are now allowed to be deducted. Additionally, please also note that this provision is only effective until 2025. After this date, you may no longer be able to deduct any of these expenses.
Other deductions and credits for your business will no longer exist
The new tax law also eliminates the following deductions and credits:
Deduction for domestic production activities
Local lobbying expenses deduction
Childcare tax credit provided by employers
Historic structures Rehabilitation Tax Credit
Work Opportunity Tax Credit
Credit for access to disabled individuals
While these changes will only take effect at the start of 2018, it will most likely take a few months for corporations and businesses to implement the related changes. Considering that many businesses have already set their budgets and outlined their growth plans for the new year, this may also result in significant delays.
You get on your phone to quickly check what’s going on on Facebook before you move on to more important things; then what was supposed to be just a 10-15 minute activity turns out to be 30 minutes, then an hour, then 2 hours…We’ve probably all been there and done that…and I am preaching to myself here!
Social media is a MUST today for any entrepreneur, wannabe entrepreneur, professional just looking for resources, or for anyone who wants to meet new people, keep in touch with friends and reconnect with long lost ones!
However, as much as it is important, it can also turn out (and often does) to be detrimental to us, as it reduces our focus on important things and affects our productivity. When is the last time you read a post and decided to go trough all the comments to read people’s opinions on the matter being discussed? How often have you found yourself spending more time scrolling through your Facebook wall on your phone at work than you’re supposed to (And you’re probably not even allowed to use social media at work 😊)? The same goes on for other social media platforms (i.e., Instagram, Twitter…even LinkedIn); when is the last time you decided to read a book before bedtime and ended up spending more time on your phone than on the book?
It is obvious that as much as we need social media, it can end up using up so much of your time, and preventing us from reaching our goals. Thankfully, there are ways to avoid being trapped by all the social media madness and still make a good use out of it.
Here are 5 ways to take advantage of social media without letting social media take advantage of you:
Determine how much time you spend on social media each day
Spend a day tracking how much you use social media for non-work related activities; use a notebook to write down every single time you log in to a social media platform and when you log off. Do that from the time you wake up in the morning to the time you go to bed at night. I am pretty sure you’ll be surprised by the result you get; but that’s okay. Before you can solve a problem, you must admit there is one!
Determine how much time you need to spend on social media each day
Based on your result from 1), see by how much you can realistically reduce the amount of time you spend on social media. Of course, this will depend on the type of work you do; but for someone who does not use social media for any work-related activities, this time should be limited. It should feel like a challenge but an achievable goal at the same time! Listen, you don’t have to comment on that post right away, participate in all the ongoing discussions, go through all your friends’ walls to see what’s going on in their lives; the same things will still be there if you take a break and come back later! Or if you come back tomorrow!
Set an alarm
This may sound a little crazy, but if you are really determined and disciplined, it works. If you decided that you’d only spend a total of 2 hours on social media a day, stick to it! You’ll be proud of yourself. Some people may choose to do the whole 2 hours at night when they get home from work, others may choose to spread their time throughout the day; but whatever you do, set the alarm to remind yourself when your time is up. And when the alarm goes off, just stop!
Use your time on social media efficiently
This will help you stick to your allotted time for the day, but it is also good for your sanity because you don’t need to read/watch everything that is on social media! When you log in, spend a little bit of time on your profile to see if there is anything important you should be aware of, then focus on those pages/groups you follow on a regular basis. Finally, use the rest of your time as you wish.
Limit your accessibility to social media platforms
You may need to delete all social media apps from your smartphone and only access the platforms from your computer. This will most likely limit your usage as it will require more work on your part (Yes, logging in and off each time you want to get on Facebook/Instagram is really hard these days 😊!).
Hopefully, these small tips help! Please feel free to share any other tips you have!
With Love,
Huguette
Huguette Essoh Latte
Bio: Huguette is a God-fearing woman, a wife, a mom, a daughter, a sister and a friend. She is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) by trade and an entrepreneur in the making. When she is not working, she enjoys reading, spending time with her family and walking by one of the beautiful lakes of Minnesota where she resides, when the weather permits.
If you’ve been dreaming of starting your own business, or have already started, whether through a side hustle or full-fledged business, there are ways to do it at a low cost or even for free. One of the biggest obstacles for many to start a business consists in the initial investment that is sometimes required.
When I first started out hustling on the side through my blog, I didn’t have much money to devote to it. At the time, I had little babies, a full-time job and bills piling up every month. I wasn’t yet making any money through blogging, so the thought of investing money into it would often frustrate me. However, I was fortunate to have access to mentors and resources who pointed me to free tools you can use to start and grow your business virtually for free.
Here are 7 areas in which you can start and increase your business impact for literally no (or very little) money:
To make a business plan
There are many sources of free business plans out there. Here are a few:
There are a number of free website builders available online. However, many of these options may include the company’s branding on the site, which may take away from your own branding. Consider investing in your own domain name and some form of inexpensive hosting.
Managing your day-to-day activities also means to be as productive as possible. Here are a few tools to help you as you manage your business on a daily basis:
