The Business of Doing Business

I seem to have fallen off the frugal veggie planet! I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted. I've been spending my time organizing my yoga classes and getting all the business of officially starting a business in place. I'm delighted to report it has been an extremely frugal process with very minimal cash outlay.

Here's a few things I learned along the way:

• Getting a DBA is easy, inexpensive ($45 in my county) and will make your life a whole lot easier in the long run.
• Getting a PO box is also relatively inexpensive ($60/year in my area, apparently it varies by area) and a lot less creepy than having your home address show up all around town.
• A website is a must but it can be very affordable (My total so far is $29.86 which covers the next three months. After that I'm looking at a monthly expense of $12.94 to maintain the website) and easy to put together. Many people I knew recommended yahoo's small business service to set up a website and, having used it, I would recommend it as well.
• You can fit 2 sheets of paper plus 6 business cards in a size 10 envelope and still use a first class stamp.
• There are a ton of ways to advertise your business for free. Craigslist, press releases in local papers, local yahoo groups and enlisting the help of friends who live locally are just a few ideas.

In other frugal news, I've finally decided its time to do something about the ever growing collection of AFOs Kyle has. (It's not really a collection but he did get his first brace when he was about 2, he outgrows about one a year and he's 8 1/2. Just for the record, the little plastic buggers cost about $1500 because they have to be custom made. Thankfully our insurance covers it!) I've found an agency in Georgia that refurbishes them and distibutes them at no charge to needy people in Mexico. Now all I need is a box big enough to put them all in. BTW, if you're wondering why I'm not keeping my donation local, apparently they can't be used domestically because of health laws.

I'm off to find a box...