As a reminder, I started building keshty in public because:
- Most of us don’t come from a long line of entrepreneurs (me included)
- I wanted to equip minority misfits with tools to scale their own impact
- HENCE, I needed to live transparently (no BS) through my own journey
👋🏼 it’s me, hi
HI MISFITS!
The season’s here in full force, folks: London’s lights are on, our pathetic (and charming) fake tree is up and both Mariah Carey + Terry’s Chocolate Orange have made their annual resurgence from hibernation.
It’s also the most wonderful time of the year to spread cheer through a whole host of viruses. Couldn’t even tell ya which I have the privilege of enjoying while writing this episode to you.
like, 60% of us right now, allegedly
We’re mixing it up this week with another mini episode because your fab feedback called for it. This one’s on how much it actually costs to start a biz up, where I’ll share a few schools of thought + keshty’s transparent, no BS start up expenses.
I’m still playing around with the cadence of mini vs full episodes (e.g. last week’s), so thoughts are continuously welcome. As a quick note:
Mini episodes: 3-5 minute read; consists of a hello from me + the meat
Full episodes: 10-12 minute read; consists of hello, the meat (in detail, including no bs takeaways), tool of the week and advice from another minority misfit
FYI: I’ll drop the same poll you get in a long episode at the end of minis too, so no feedback goes missed.
💰 how much do I need to save?
Let’s get one thing straight: there’s NO RULE BOOK how much a founder should save before diving in. A million opinions MAYBE - but no secret, tried or tested formula.
If you only take one thing away from today’s episode, let it be this: you need to save WHATEVER will make you (1) approach your business with a balanced risk appetite and (2) sleep at night.
varied schools of thought:
founder prototype | view on startup costs | total costs |
|---|---|---|
first time founder | all you need is a laptop and a dream | the laptop for now, a VC round later |
linkedin sis | all you need is a laptop and a dream. join my course for £10k and I’ll show you how in 2 weeks | the laptop, and £10k |
linkedin bro | the best time to start was yesterday. the next best time to start is today | the cost of quitting your job and going all in, aka YOLO |
your mate born into generational wealth | whatever it takes | beyond our wildest dreams |
exited or seasoned founder | bootstrap first, then either continue or take capital | the laptop, and maybe a couple grand from their last exit |
me (and probably others like me) | bootstrap forever | significantly lower than revenue forever |
Obvs these are a bit tongue and cheek, but money is an overly serious topic so let’s lighten it up with a laugh or two first, amirite?
consider your long-term goal:
When I was at EdTech giant, Multiverse, I learned firsthand about the magic and misery that comes with being VC-backed. There’s an astronomically high level of pace and quality VC demands.
I’d encourage anyone hyper-ambitious to experience a VC-backed business at least once in their life. But it’s not how I wanted to build a solo services biz, so I won’t dive too deep into various ways to fund your business here.
If you want a comfortable salary doing work you love with people you rate - and most importantly, being your own boss - your goal above everything is sustainability.
The goal is to survive, NOT be shiny. You need enough coming in to:
pay yourself a living wage
cover time off (holidays, sick pay etc.)
pay ongoing taxes, outgoings and payroll (if applicable)
keshty’s startup costs:
I saved for 9 months of runway and invested £5k flat into keshty’s startup costs. These were figures that personally helped me sleep at night (yours might differ).
It was important to:
only use money I already had
continue paying rent and bills alongside the hubby*
avoid touching emergency / misc funds already set aside
*it helps to have a partner on a stable salary who can cover both parties; but if (like me) you need to feel you’re contributing, then factor this into your planning.
Here’s how I broke it down:
1. product costs (rounded to nearest £):
product | purpose | cost (for first year) |
|---|---|---|
register keshty on Companies House and get a company holding address | £38 | |
domain name | £14 | |
first year legal subscription | £95 | |
website and 1 year of Gsuite | £204 | |
professional indemnity insurance | £168 | |
business bank account (*fyi: this specific link gets you a free card if you sign up!) | £45 | |
accounting (integrates with Wise) | £90 | |
total | - | £654 |
2. services
service | cost |
|---|---|
accounting | £183 (to start up / book-keep only) |
brand assets | £400 (one off) |
business coaching | £2997 (one off) |
community + workspace | £472 (covered 4 months) |
total | £4052 |
*prices vary based on their individual client / need and may have changed now, so I’m just showing an overall total here!
3. free stuff (have upgrade options for £):
free product | purpose |
|---|---|
task and client management | |
password management | |
scheduling (only 1 live event type) | |
meeting recording (*fyi: this specific link gets you a free month of premium!) | |
relationship building, marketing and lead generation | |
video recording | |
writing | |
video conferencing (only 40 min calls) |
*fyi: I already had (1) a laptop and (2) canva personal, so these weren’t factored into my startup costs!
looking ahead
If you do the math(s) from 1 + 2 above, I spent £4706 on startup costs and had £293 remaining. I used this exclusively for work-related travel (e.g. trains / tube).
Since keshty’s generated revenue, I’ve increased my outgoings on this list - but not by a lot. I upgraded both Calendly and Zoom. That’s pretty much it.
I’ve used the rest to pay myself a living wage, put money aside in my pension, pay HMRC an arm and a leg for existing, and of course, keep some in the business.
TLDR: there’s LOADS of advice out there on how much you should save before diving into your business - but ultimately, you’ll need to do what’s best for you and your circumstances.
PS: if you’re keen to bootstrap, I enjoy learning most from how Andreas Jonsson and Melissa Kwan built their incredible businesses.
I hope you found this mini episode on all things startup costs helpful. Remember if you have any questions, thoughts or personal input on this topic, I’m only ever an email away!
never stop misfit-ing,
neds x
