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3 Reasons to Proceed With Your Startup Business Plans Amidst COVID-19
If you were going to start a business before COVID-19 hit, you may have chosen to put your startup plans on hold in hopes that the pandemic would be short-lived. But now that it’s been more than a year since COVID-19 became a reality, you may be thinking about whether you should finally proceed with your startup plans — or give up on your entrepreneurial dreams for the foreseeable future.
Below, Barefoot Faith Journey shares three reasons why you should move forward with your plans of starting a business during the pandemic, as well as some of the things you can do to turn your entrepreneurial dreams into a reality. Now, let’s dive in!
- Low-Cost Startup Loans
Starting a small business doesn’t come cheap, as standard startup costs include everything from web and marketing expenses to purchasing inventory, business equipment, licenses, and office space. You must factor in ongoing costs, including payroll, advertising, and insurance coverage. There’s also the cost of hiring specialists to oversee customer support, accounting, and human resources advisors you’ll need to consider. However, these professionals can be employed as freelancers rather than permanent employees to help you save on startup expenses.
But this is where grants and startup business loans come in. And thanks to the pandemic, many lenders are offering low-interest rates, making it the perfect time to finance a new business.
- Discounted Startup Equipment
According to USA Today, U.S. businesses, especially transportation, travel, bars, clothing retailers, spas, salons, and fitness studios, have taken a real hit since the pandemic began. And as unfortunate as this is, there are a few ways aspiring entrepreneurs can benefit from these business closures. For one, it provides new entrepreneurs access to discounted business equipment, office furniture, and other essential supplies.
When starting a small business during the pandemic, use websites like eBay to search for new, used, or refurbished inventory to find discounted equipment and supplies. You can also keep an eye out for businesses announcing their closure to purchase discounted equipment. Companies often advertise the sale of equipment to help recoup losses from closing down.
- Affordable Business Ownership Tools and Services
In addition to securing affordable startup business loans and purchasing discounted equipment and supplies from liquidating companies, an abundance of free or discounted business tools and services are available amidst COVID-19 — helping your startup capital to go even further.
A few of these affordable startup business tools and services include:
- Communication and collaboration apps. Whether interviewing potential employees or collaborating with your staff online, free or low-cost communications tools can help you run your business remotely successfully. The team at Tameday recommends free apps like Slack, Troop Messenger, Microsoft Teams, and Flock.
- Online business formation services. When it comes time to register a business name, you can choose to run your operation as a DBA (“doing business as”), which is beneficial as part of your marketing and branding strategy. A DBA name is a pseudonym for your registered, legal business name. Many business owners use it to avoid using their surname (if the business entity includes their name). An assumed name makes expansion easier for corporations, as creating an entirely new corporation is unnecessary. You can use ZenBusiness.com to simplify the registration process for a low cost.
- Online marketing tools. You can use free digital tools to reach your target audience and boost your online visibility without spending a fortune on professional marketing services. MobileMonkey recommends tools like Phantombuster, Zapier, HubSpot CRM, Ubersuggest, and Canva. But if you’d prefer to hire a professional to handle your marketing, you’ll save money if you look for a freelancer on Upwork, Fiverr, or Contently.
Don’t Wait to Start a Business.
If you’ve been waiting to launch your startup business, there’s no need to hold off any longer. With affordable interest rates on business loans, discounted startup equipment from liquidating companies, and free or low-cost business tools and services, the pandemic could be the perfect time to pursue your entrepreneurial goals!
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