Starting a Company on a Shoe-String Budget

A lot of people never start businesses because they believe they don't have enough money to do so. Unfortunately, these same people don't realize that many of the world's most successful companies were started on a shoe-string budget by an entrepreneur with limited resources. Below is a list of tips to help you save money when you're first starting a company:

• Manage your finances in MS Excel, not Quickbooks.
  
• Manage your contacts in MS Outlook, not ACT.
  
• Get free legal and accounting advice from law/business students or lawyers/accountants who are willing to do pro-bono (free) work.
  
• Look for and join organizations that support youth entrepreneurs and small business owners.
  
• Hire unpaid interns and make their job exciting.
  
• Partner with somebody instead of paying them.
  
• Use credit cards.
  
• Get free, professional advice from SCORE, Teachers, and Professors.
  
• Get investments from family and friends.
  
• Find organizations who incubate startup companies or companies who might have office space that might be willing to let an aspiring entrepreneur use it. Perhaps, your school will let you use their copy machines and phone lines.
  
• Swap services with a company instead of paying them.
  
• Learn how to do graphic design and web design yourself. If you have these two skills, the startup costs of every business you have in the future will be dramatically reduced.