Saving Money in your Startup

The best way to save money so that you create a sustainable business is not to spend it. Avoid the following wasteful spending practices and you will build capital quicker:

1. Spending on advertising, signage, brochure, designer website. Rather use every resource you have to create awareness of your product, there are plenty of cost free methods around including marketing to friends and their friends via social media and email. Design your own website using www.wozaonline.co.za. We did, for Beautiful Bracelets and have had many compliments on it!
2. Don't waste money on business cards, customised stationery, designer logo's (design it yourself). All these things initially can be printed on your own computer, for very little. If you're using an internet cafe/Postnet, you can print a few as needed to save costs once you have a template. Get free templates from MSWord or Publisher,, or go online to www.avery.com or www.redfern.co.za to create your own labels, business cards, invoices. Stationery in South Africa for any of these templates is available from Waltons, and you could more than halve your costs at the early stages of your business by going this route. At some point, as your reach expands, it becomes cost effective to use a dedicated printing service, but initially, doing it yourself, you can print a few of each as required..
3. Expensive office suites. Rather work from home. In my first business, I justified having expensive offices in an upmarket business area, it nearly put me under in the first year. The justification to myself was the image it projected to clients, but quite frankly, I usually met them at their offices, not mine, and eventually to save costs for a season I moved to work from home. That initial outlay of 2 years' office rental would have been a great capital injection to take the business to the next level after 2 years, instead of which it took longer to establish that business.
4. Luxury Company car. Definitely a way to eat into your cash. 
5. Bank charges. In South Africa Bank Charges are still too high. I would recommend any startup in South Africa to bank with Capitec (no fees). Shop around, negotiate the best deal for your business if at all possible.
6. Data. Although we believe and hope these costs will come down rapidly within the next year or two, data charges are high. You have no choice over in an online business, at Beautiful Bracelets we reduce our "spend" on data by making use from time to time of the unlimited free wireless data at Cappucino's, Midrand. They know all about how to create loyal customers!
7. Phone calls. Expensive in South Africa, even for local calls.Use text/SMS and for calls, use Viber (smartphone app) or Skype.