invest wisely for new growth but don't lumber yourslef with things you may not be able to afford later down the line.
A good website, carefully chosen www.name, and email addresses give you that professional image even for a small startup company at minimal cost.
You dont need to spend a fortune on web site design to get a working, sensible response driven site that brings in enquiries by web form and phone. If your business is as a trades person, get your van or vehicle sign written and produce some sign boards to promote your work locally. Even small A5 or A5 flyers will get your name out there if you can distribute them locally; Vistaprint do cheap A6 full colour postcards to put in shop windows etc at minimal cost.
Market yourself with inexpensive, but well designed and inexpensive full colour quality cards, stationery and flyers. Buy as many as you can afford, ( eg 5000 flyers £75 , but 10,000 only £10 more) but start out in the first instance with small numbers (100s) from Vistaprint.
Keep careful control on your spending in the early years and dont be fooled by offers of expensive advertising that doesnt reach your expected audience directly. Dont be fooled by image building or social media claims that are unrealistic- having 30,000 followers on twitter and Facebook wont keep you in business- but a small classified ad or local business directory listing which brings in a few orders will.
Embrace technology and IT and seek out no-cost or low cost solutions to everyday problems eg Sage Free Invoicing is a great example of professional quality software to perform invoicing and business planning tasks at no cost.
Allow your business to grow but dont get carried away with apparent success or rapid growth - invest wisely for new growth but dont lumber yourself with things you may not be able to afford later down the line...
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