It can be so easy to get carried away during the initial phases of setting up your own business, but it’s vital that you keep your head. Many new company owners waste thousands that they haven’t earnt yet on illogical expenses, so here are just a handful that you should avoid.

1. Extravagant “image” purchases

The last thing you should be spending your money on is a fancy suit or designer watch; you can certainly get a smart-looking, good quality suit to match whatever your budget is. As long as you look professional, your client won’t know or care where your clothes are from. You’re much better off investing this money in an accountant, legal advice or something else to add value to your offering.

2. A company car

This is another luxury item that many business owners think is an essential. While it’s true that the kind of car your turn up in to a client meeting can have an impact on their impression of you, it doesn’t have to cost you the price of a brand new, top-of-the-line car. Stick to something a few years old that’s economical for your day-to-day activity, but when you have that all-important appointment with a potential customer for a pitch, hire a new car for the day to make a lasting impact.

3. Your own fleet of delivery vehicles

Similar to the concept of a hire car, you don’t have to spend a fortune on credit just to buy some delivery vehicles. In all honesty, these may not even get used for the first few weeks while you build up your orders, so they’ll be sat not earning you any money. For the first year or so, establish good links with delivery and courier companies, such as www.palletanywhere.co.uk, who ship to UK and Ireland just as quickly and easily as the house down the street.

4. Too many staff members

Everyone wants to have the best team to help grow their business, but when you first set up, you could dig yourself a hole by over-hiring. Play it smart and be sure to only hire the positions that will be crucial to you on a daily basis. For example, if you need branding designing and a website creating, these elements of your business will sit there indefinitely once completed, so simply outsource this to a contractor for an agreed project period only.

5. Buying “followers”

Finally, social media can be one of the fastest and cheapest ways to give your new business a serious boost, but keep away from organisations that sell you followers. You want to build an audience of useful contacts organically and engage with genuine customers; not only will these followers provide you with nothing but a number, but if your pages lack content, real customers will be turned off by your obvious attempts to boost figures.

For more advice one which expenses to invest or avoid, click here. If you have any advice of your own, leave us a comment.