The Forgotten Cost of Starting a Business
Starting a business can be a trying experience that many give up before they even get started. After the initial idea many other things must be considered. After the your big idea what happens next could be a voyage to disaster, success or just nowhere. Everything from business plans for the bank, the perfect location and supply chains come into the picture.
No matter what the venture I think the services aspect is one that a lot of people forget about. What are the services aspect of a business? When you think about it every business has supporting services such as accounting, IT, marketing, and cleaning. You could do much of this yourself if but it can be overwhelming. Eventually to grow your business you need to have help. It makes sense to begin to think about what services you should hire out, so you can keep your business focus.
Recently I had a friend who started a software consulting firm with an office in the New York City area. He thought it would be a low cost way of starting his business with his experience in the software engineering field. Since there was no need for inventory he thought it was a low cost business to start-up. After the usual fees for setting up a LLC and business permits the real bills started to come in.
His first forgotten cost was the real estate agent that found him his office space. Next came the installation of many services that make up the necessities of the modern business. Of course I’m talking about running water, electricity, and his broadband Internet service. Before he could move in he needed a New York City office cleaning service to come to make the place presentable and keep it that way. Even a small office has need of dusting and vacuuming to keep things presentable.
So when you think about starting a business don’t forget about the cost of other services that you will need to help you open the door of your business.