As an entrepreneur, you are the architect and engineer of your business. However, building a great business plan isn't enough. You have to run it and make sure it grows and evolves.

Here are some ways to help you operate your business on a budget:

1. Use passion as your frontline tool

More and more start-up companies emerge from passion and advocacy of people. In every business conference I attend to, the guest speakers always remind the youth that you can monetize your hobby. It’s true. In fact, this even eliminates stress because you’re earning money in doing what you do best. But to make this work, you must believe in yourself and in your skills. The world least care if you’ve studied or mastered it in college. They’re after people who can manage their team of trusted employees, as they run the business.

2. Build a budget

Your daily, weekly, monthly or annual budget is equivalent to your team’s financial roadmap. It’s a tool to predict the future of the company, so you’ll know if you’re going to hit the target or you’re falling a bit behind. Remember, you aim for a balance sheet, so the computations must be accurate! There’s a myriad of expense management tools out there, most of them are easily downloadable on your laptop and mobile devices.

A successfully built and maintained budget increases your company’s profitability. This is an edge, especially when you’re applying for a loan, or attracting more investors.

3. Check your budget against your industry’s financial information and line your business to it.

It is inevitable to have low and peak sale seasons, which is why you have to cross check the value of your services with your suppliers and other competitors. This way, you can make necessary adjustments to your budget or services. Doing this helps you predict cash flow, hence you avoid surprising imbalances.

Moreover, it helps you determine the issues that need attention for you can take actionable steps for it. This gives you a greater sense of control to your own business, and not letting the business run your team.

4. Get searched and discussed using content marketing and SEO

Contrary to several beliefs, you cannot separate the two. SEO is highly technical and content marketing complies with it through keywords and written materials for the world wide web. Both are your long-term investments. Finding your business on the first page of Google or Bing leads to more site visits and conversions as well.

At the same time, social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are search engines as well. Social media profiles rank too in search engines, so put up nice, sharable content on your pages! A post may or may not affect your website's google rank, but if it can go viral, and you can get organic searches. It's a win-win situation at the end of the day.

5. Go for potential Cost Savers

Go paperless and cut the cost of the office expenses. You can pay bills online and scan documents instead of photocopying it. Consider buying discounted office supplies and furniture as well. For long term results, go for an energy efficient office. Search for office design inspirations online, and implement the design you think will ergonomically work for your space.

6. Consider working from Home.

If your company can’t afford an office yet, let your staff work from home, with flexible working hours. This is a revolutionising trend in the business industry which saves you money and makes employees productive. This is important for small businesses who need ‘advocate’ type of employees. The early years of a business are crucial, hence you need employees who believe in the brand.

Now the challenge is in building a home office that works for you. Working from home might sound heavenly but it can be a huge burn out too if your office doesn't aid in your productivity. 

Our Adelaide architects and draftsmen have encountered clients who want to renovate areas of their home and transform it into a home office. Some of the best places to have an office are the attic or a multipurpose room. If not, they suggest that you divide your living area and bedroom. 

7. Get connections (the right ones!)

There are a lot of ways to meet key people in your life, for your business. You can attend events and network yourself nicely into different circles of people. If there’s none at the moment, go online! Use LinkedIn and Google+ and follow the people you do business with online. Through these steps, the CEO or a director of a company becomes a person your customers can look up to.

There will always be ups and downs in the business. When this happens, remember why you started in the first place. Stay positive, take the right steps, and stay on the right track. Your legacy awaits. You can do it! Be the entrepreneur you’ve always dreamed of.

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Author Bio

Charlene Ara Gonzales from Superdraft Pty. Ltd., a company that provides affordable and quality architectural and drafting services in Australia