Another post about money ... lol
Self funding a business is not easy but it is possible. The proper term is "boot-strapping" which is basically saving your pennies and sponsoring your own business; you are the investor. For me it meant buying domains, hosting website, clothing, technologies, hardware and advertisement.
Investing money is a happy but sad moment, you are creating your dreams but you are also hurting your wallet. However, I thought I was making the smartest decisions with my money... I was wrong (again.)
Remember a couple post ago when I said nothing is free? Well if you don't know, the checkouts or purchase part of buying things online aren't free. You have to integrate a "sign up" or "bill form" and pay for the ability to have it charge a persons credit or debit card.
Obviously being a new business owner, I had no idea this was not free but I needed it for my site. I ended up getting sent a coupon to have a discount on a bill form. I was so excited, I knew I needed to have the form, I immediately bought it. Yes! I saved so much money and I got to have the form right? NO!
I purchased the form last year and it wasn't until last week that I realized I can get a free payment system.... great. But I do not want you to make the same mistake or spend extra money you do not need.Hundred of dollars were wasted on an something I can do for free. Now the neatness of having an checkout with credit card information is so convenient but it is not necessary. Here is my fix.
You can charge people through "free" applications like venmo, paypal, square cash and other payment services. You can easily add a link to your businesses paypal, venmo or other app. Yes this will not be as smooth as having a credit card checkout, but as a small business it can save you a lot of money.
First you have to choose what app you want to use. No app is 100% security proof, sadly. When looking for a safe app, I saw so many lawsuits and stories about fraud or losing money with every app. Your safest bet is to immediately transfer funds from the app into you business bank account, that way you know it's not sitting in the app for long and it is a little safer (although banks don't have the best reputation.)
Now it's time to be professional with your app. Yes although it is an app and may seem juvenile, you still want to appear professional. Create a new account with whatever app you choose (if you already have a personal account, make another one) and make sure the username is your business name or some variation of it. Hook it up to your business email and bank account and leave your personal information out. Except for the standard mailing address and your name; you do not want your account to look like its for personal use. After you create an account, keep track of all the money that goes in and out of the app. Keep track of everything when someone buys s, when you transfer money to your bank account and when you use money for business purposes. This will also help you know your finances when file taxes later.
Now that I am using an app for purchases, I will be saving so much money when someone buys a plan. As my business grows I will soon go back to a cleaner credit card check out in the future. Think short term and long term for your billing form. If you can afford the credit card integration do it, but if you can't save your coins !
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