You need less than you think

Do you really need ten people or will two or three do for now?

Do you really need $500,000 or is $50,000 (or $5,000) enough for now?

Do you really need six months or can you make something in two?

Do you really need a big office or can you share office space (or work from

home) for a while?

Do you really need a warehouse or can you rent a small storage space (or use

your garage or basement) or outsource it completely?

Do you really need to buy advertising and hire a PR firm or are there other ways

to get noticed?

Do you really need to build a factory or can you hire someone else to

manufacture your products?

Do you really need an accountant or can you use Quicken and do it yourself?

Do you really need an IT department or can you outsource it?

Do you really need a full-time support person or can you handle inquiries on

your own?

Do you really need to open a retail store or can you sell your product online?

Do you really need fancy business cards, letterhead, and brochures or can you

forego that stuff?

You get the point. Maybe eventually you'll need to go the bigger, more expensive

route, but not right now.

There's nothing wrong with being frugal. When we launched our first product,

we did it on the cheap. We didn't get our own office; we shared space with

another company. We didn't get a bank of servers; we had only one. We didn't

advertise; we promoted by sharing our experiences online. We didn't hire

someone to answer customer e-mails; the company founder answered them

himself. And everything worked out just fine.

Great companies start in garages all the time. Yours can too.