Entrepreneur Hax

Entrepreneur Hax (more than facebook)

by the ADHD Accountant – Krid

Starting a business is hard. And it isn’t cheap. But that doesn’t mean that it has to be so costly. Especially at the beginning. There are a lot of resources out there that you may not be aware of that can help to cut back on where you need to put cash in on, or before, day one.

One of the first impressions that a lot of people might have of your business is the website and the email that you use for it. Gmail is very popular for a lot of businesses as it offers a free ecosystem which seems a bit easier to use than Microsoft and has very little stigma. Microsoft Outlook accounts are similarly furnished. Neither provides you a domain however, and the number of available account names decreases daily.

No matter what you do you will need to store files, create documents and spreadsheets, and deal with the minutia of running a business. Good news! You have a lot of options here, too! You don’t need brand new computers with expensive subscriptions.

What are some of the replacements and what are some low-cost alternatives?

Do I need a domain?

Domains: You can get your domain from a number of sources. You do NOT need to get a hosting site. Register4Less, GoDaddy, and others, can offer you a privacy options and annual subscriptions. .ca, .net, .com; pick the right domain name and lock it in. This should cost you $20-$30 (ish, prices may vary) per year at most and even if you don’t take advantage of all of the things a domain can provide, you have it locked in for later.

Emails: Google $10 (ish, prices may vary) and Microsoft $6 (ish, prices may vary) both offer email hosting options at a monthly cost on an annual subscription. Both work. Both offer some scaleability. Both will work on most devices, browsers, and are fairly robust.

There are others, IONOS and Bluehost are examples, but honestly as a small business tool you are most likely going to be using Microsoft or Google resources (or both if you do what I do) so the less platform diversification the easier your life will probably be.

Why have a custom email? Two reasons. One, they appear slightly more professional. And two, they allow you to manage different communication channels! Business goes here, personal goes here. Comingling is usually messy…

Web Pages: Do you need a web page?! Probably not. A lot of domain registries will allow a small landing page, and many would be happy to charge for more. Google Sites, however, lets you do it for free. Is it brilliant?! No. But if you want something that you can point to for people who don’t use Facebook, or Instagram, or whatever the app of the week is, you can always point them here for free!

What does this mean?! It means that at less than $200 (ish, prices may vary) per year you can have a custom website and unique email that says, in a subtle way, I’m not just some startup operating a free Google email on Facebook. It says that you have some time and money in the game. You’re “Level 2.” You are more probably legit. Like I said, it’s subtle. Your Facebook account might be where you point your domain to, but you still HAVE that domain.

What about office tools?

Both Google and Microsoft number among the free online tools categories. They offer simplified writing and spreadsheet cloud-based tools that can do a lot. For free. This includes cloud storage and varied apps to access on almost any device you’re likely to own. Want to know a secret? You can use both, and even multiples of each! And, you have a few other applications that you can incorporate to take it to the next level.

Let me be honest with you… I am biased. As a professional accountant I am a user and proponent of MS Excel. I prefer to use applications for their capabilities and their power. Word, PowerPoint; these paid applications are significantly more capable than their cloud counterparts. And Microsoft products are the business standard. Just like a .pdf, people want and expect things that work in predictable ways and perform as expected with familiar functionality. The cloud-based apps can fake it. But there is another tool that I use. Open Office. I prefer Libre, by the way.

What is Open Office?! It is an application suite that takes us back to how MS Office used to be, before it became Office 365, or whatever it is today. Open Sourced and “free,” you can install it on your computer and save files as .docx, .xlsx, and others. It will print to .pdf on most pc’s, and it can do one thing that Microsoft and Google don’t really seem to do – it will edit .pdf’s!

Is it as good as Adobe? Microsoft? Google? No… and, yes! Excel is a beast; it has more power and capability than most people know about, let alone need to use. Office Calc does most of what Excel does - and does it for free! Word allows you to automate and build in references; there are many tools in it that enable all kinds of creativity and expression. Office Writer gets pretty close! Is it an AI powered .pdf generator that can encrypt and create forms from few simple clicks?! No, not even close. Office Draw does let you make changes, however, to a .pdf that Acrobat wants you to pay over $20 (ish, prices may vary) a month for. And, if you really like it, you can donate a few dollars to the project.

What do I do? Use them all.

I have a Google account to manage my Google Site, and the attached forms I need for it. It also has some cloud storage that I can use to “archive” business records that are taking up space in my Microsoft account.

I have a Microsoft account to manage my emails (yes, I also have MS 365 for all the app power!!!) and to be the primary storage and working cloud for my business.

I have a .ca domain because this is a “local” Canadian business with privacy enabled to block Whois requests from getting my data directly.

I have Libre Open Office because I don’t want to pay for another Acrobat account that I barely use or need, and I recommend Open Office to clients, and want to be able to work with them and their files natively (though they could use .docx and .xlsx saved files).

<< END SONG: MARK ROGERS – EXCEL FUNC >>