Business
5 Mistakes When Spending On Your Business
Published
6 years agoon
A new coffee maker for the break room, new company car or educational courses seem like practical purchases for your business. But do you really need them? When you’re operating on a small budget, spending on things like these can be disastrous for your business. Let’s take a look at common spending mistakes entrepreneurs make that lead them to financial mishaps. If you’re facing economic difficulties, stay away from these business spending mistakes.
1. Buying To Impress
The thought of buying new electronics, furniture and marketing products to impress your clients and investors sounds appealing to many businessmen. But don’t just open your checkbook yet. Spending to impress is a bad idea because you’re not in business to impress other people. You’re in business to make a profit. Spending is an expense to your business. Instead of spending to impress, spend money to make more money. You don’t need the latest electronics or new furniture. If you need to buy new equipment, get the essentials and make money with that. When you are truly profitable, then you can move up in bling.
2. Spending on Untargeted Marketing
Spending a lot of money on general advertising is not efficient and effective. Untargeted marketing is expensive because it does not bring in the most number of potential clients. For example, spending money on a billboard might make it seem like you’re being visible. However, you are also visible to a lot of irrelevant people. Instead of spending on general untargeted marketing, focus on targeted marketing platforms like Google AdWords and Facebook because they can bring in clients who are more likely to buy your product or service. They are also more cost-effective compared to general advertising like newspapers and billboards.
3. Attending Expensive Conferences
Conferences can give you the opportunity not only to learn what’s new in the industry but also to network and hobnob with people who can be beneficial to your organization. However, it is easy to be overly enthusiastic and go overboard. The trick is not to attend every conference and seminar. It’s better to choose your events wisely by defining your networking purpose before attending an event. Instead of paying for expensive conferences, talk to industry leaders. Take them out to lunch or coffee and soak up what they have to say and learn as much as you can. This is a one-on-one opportunity you seldom get when you’re in a conference.
4. Spending on Cheap Products and Service
One of the best ways to increase profit margins and keeping costs low is by looking for the cheapest available materials or service. However, this plan can also backfire on you especially if the product or service is low quality. In fact, you can end up spending more. For example, you find 2 products that will speed up your manufacturing process greatly. Product A costs less than Product B so you are naturally tempted to buy Product A. However, you fail to recognize that Product B is a trusted brand, is made with high quality materials and comes with a warranty which means it can probably last longer. If you buy Product A, you might end up buying a new one after a couple of years and end up paying the same amount. In this case, Product A ended up costing you more money. When it comes to cheap, make sure that it is made with quality materials and not the cheapest price tag.
5. Not Keeping A Record Of Your Expenses
If you don’t keep track of how much you spend, you’re not controlling cash. Not keeping track of spending is one of the most common business mistakes novice entrepreneurs commit. It’s true that running a business takes a lot of time and many businessmen don’t have the time to record all their business expenses. But keeping track is important and should be something you do every day. If you can’t do it every single day, set aside a specific day of the week to track your expenses for that time period. When you control your cash flow you know where you are spending your money and can come up with ideas how to minimize expenses. Segregating expenses by department can make the chore easier for you.
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Business
Top 10 Free and Paid eCommerce Tools for 2025
Published
9 minutes agoon
September 18, 2025By
Skylar LeeStarting an eCommerce business is no easy feat. You have to think about sales, marketing, customer service, invoicing, and inventory all at once. Some platforms may offer those, but you need other eCommerce tools to make life easier and automate your processes. But which are the best ones? I’ve compiled a list of the best ones here.
1. Shopify
Type: eCommerce platform
Any eCommerce tools list would simply be incomplete without the mention of Shopify. After all, Shopify is one of the leading eCommerce platforms of all time. The eCommerce platform makes it easy for new eCommerce businesses to set up shop in no time. They have a bunch of tools to keep any eCommerce business around, such as branding, point of sales, email marketing, and payment tools.
With Shopify, you don’t have to create a website immediately if you don’t need it yet. If you want to start small, Shopify has a Starter plan where you can reach customers via social media or messaging apps.
Pricing:
Starter (social and messaging apps only) – $5/mo
Basic – $29/mo
Shopify – $79/mo
Advanced – $299/mo
2. Veeqo
Type: Inventory and logistics
Even though Shopify has everything you need to get your business ready from launch to your first sale, you can integrate tools into the platform, such as Veeqo. Veeqo is a logistics company helping eCommerce businesses with inventory and shipping.
You don’t have to worry about keeping track of all your products manually. With Veeqo, you can rest easy knowing they automate your stock every time there’s a sale. Plus, with shipping, you’ll have lowered rates on known logistics businesses, such as DHL and UPS. In addition, you can automate shipping processes.
Pricing: Veeqo Free, $250 per month for Veeqo Priority
3. SurveyMonkey
Type: Survey
One eCommerce tool that you should use is a survey. This helps you get a pulse of what’s going on with your customers, and one of the survey tools you should use for your eCommerce business is SurveyMonkey.
With SurveyMonkey, you’ll also know what your customers think of your products, aside from the reviews they give. Surveys will provide you with more input, and you’ll learn how to improve your products and how you can interact with your customers better. But it’s not just a tool for your customers. You can also ask your employees how they can improve your eCommerce business.
Pricing:
Team Advantage – $25/user/month
Team Premier – $75/user/month
Enterprise – Contact sales
4. Wave
Type: Accounting and Invoicing
Most eCommerce platforms will have their own payment portal. But if you want an all-around easy-to-use small business financial service software, Wave is one of the best eCommerce tools to use. They have these nifty features:
- Invoicing
- Payments
- Accounting
- Banking
- Payroll
- Advisors
With Wave, you don’t need an accountant. Wave helps you with your taxes, bookkeeping, and billing. And if you still need financial help, advisors are ready to help you learn more about finance terms or concepts. Plus, Wave is free to use for their Invoicing, Accounting, and Bookkeeping features. Or, you can even hire a bookkeeper to do all the work for you.
Here’s the pricing for their Payments, Payroll, and Advisors features:
Payments: 2.9% + $0.60/ transaction (AMEX: $3.4% + $0.60/transaction)
Bank payments: 1%/transaction
Payroll: Tax service states – $40/mo; Self service – $20/mo
Advisors: Bookkeeping support – $149/mo; Coaching – $379/mo
5. Rewind
Type: Data protection
Any business with a website should know that they need to back up their data. After all, you can put it right back up anytime if outages or something unexpected happens to your website. And if you don’t want to lose your data, Rewind is one of the best eCommerce tools out there.
Rewind can help eCommerce businesses protect their business from any downtime with their daily backup. If you have integrated a 3rd party app into your website, but it’s not doing you any good, you can just rewind and get back to the last time you didn’t install it. Plus, they ensure your data is secure from any attacks.
Pricing: Starts at $45/mo
6. Zendesk
Type: Customer service
Zendesk is one of the best customer service tools of all time, with more than 100,000 brands and users helping customers with their concerns. The customer service tool will help eCommerce businesses connect with customers through email, phone, or live chat.
Pricing: Starts at $19 per agent per month, billed annually
7. Jungle Scout
Type: Marketing
If you need a marketing and keyword research tool made for online sellers, Jungle Scout is one of the best eCommerce tools to use. This tool is for Amazon sellers, but you can still use this for your online store anywhere. You can grow your traffic with their keyword research feature, optimize listings, and get more reviews for your site.
They also have an inventory management feature. Plus, Amazon sellers can get more out of the tool with their finances and ads features.
Pricing: Starts at $29/month
8. Copysmith
Type: SEO/Marketing
Are you having trouble creating product descriptions for all of your items? Don’t fret, Copysmith is an AI writing tool to help you create a copy in minutes. It can be difficult trying to come up with persuasive copy that will get people to click add to cart.
With Copysmith, you’ll have an AI assistant giving suggestions from the keywords you provided. From there, you can choose from the best copy and add it to your website. Plus, they ensure that the copy is search engine optimized, so customers can visit your online store and get more traffic. In addition, you can also create bulk product descriptions for SKUs.
Pricing: Starts at $19 per month
9. MailChimp
Type: Marketing
MailChimp is best known for email marketing. But it has grown into an all-around marketing platform for any business. They have a comprehensive email marketing platform, allowing businesses to segment their audience, reach more, and analyze open and conversion rates.
Aside from email marketing, MailChimp allows businesses to create optimized landing pages and social media ads and send printed postcards.
Pricing: Free plan available, paid plans start at $13 per month
10. Google Analytics
Type: Analytics
Any entrepreneur or seller needs to keep track of their online business. And if you want to know how your online store ranks on one of the widely used search engines, you can use Google Analytics.
Most eCommerce platforms will have analytics, but Google Analytics can help you with your marketing, and you’ll know how to reach more customers. Plus, you can run ads with their Google Ads and Search Ads 360 features and get access to the Google Search Console.
Pricing: Starts for free
These eCommerce tools have proven their worth and helped other eCommerce businesses thrive in their own niche. Plus, they have also provided immense value and eased the minds of new and existing eCommerce businesses.
Business
What’s the Best Website to Get a Graphic Designer in 2025?
Published
3 hours agoon
September 18, 2025Great design makes your business shine. But when there are so many sites out there it’s hard to discern who to get your graphic design from. This article will outline the best graphic design hire websites in 2025 along with what they offer and their advantages and disadvantages so you can make an informed choice.
#1 Penji – Best for Unlimited Graphic Design
Ranked number one is Penji simply for its unlimited graphic design subscription. You pay a flat rate per month and can request as many designs as you’d like.
Pros:
- Unlimited requests and revisions
- Fast turnaround (24-48 hours)
- Flat rate pricing means no surprises
- Team of professional designers at your service
Cons:
- Not suitable for anyone who only needs one small project
- Monthly subscription fee could feel expensive for one-off users
Penji is ideal if you’re seeking out graphic design outsourcing services and want to avoid freelancers and fickle situations in the future.
#2 Design Pickle – Best for Business Support
Design Pickle operates similarly to Penji with a subscription option that’s favored among businesses needing frequent graphics.
Pros:
- Unlimited design requests and revisions
- Flat monthly fee
- Designers dedicated exclusively to your projects over time
Cons:
- Turnaround time depends on how busy designers are with other projects
- Pricing is higher than other options if you’re not going to use the service frequently
This works well for business owners who are in need of constant support—but not necessarily the extensive offerings that Penji provides.
#3 Toptal – Best for Higher End Talent
Toptal makes its mark by connecting you with top-quality freelance designers. If quality is your priority and money isn’t an issue, this is the best site.
Pros:
- vetted, top-tier designers
- Pay as you go, or employ long-term.
- Ideal for difficult design tasks that demand long-term engagement.
Cons:
- Significantly higher than all other options.
- Not ideal for smaller projects or finances.
Best for those who prioritize top-tier talent above cost reductions.
#4 Dribbble: Best for Creative Portfolios
Dribbble is a community where designers can share their work. You can look through portfolios and contact the people whose work you admire.
Pros:
- Access to the specialized creators.
- Ideal for style discovery or inspiration.
- Communicate directly with designers before hiring.
Cons:
- No fixed-price service
- Quality ranges by creator—some might be available, others might not
- Takes a lot of time to research potential hires since they’re not all guaranteed availability or skill level
This is best for those who want to see portfolios created by potential candidates and match styles with their needs.
Conclusion
No matter which site you choose in 2025, you’ll find benefits from each. Go with Dribbble if you want creative freedom in hiring, Toptal if you’re looking for exclusive freelancers, and Design Pickle if you’re seeking ongoing support. But if you want consistent, affordable, unlimited graphic design without any guessing—Penji is number one. Visit penj.co today to streamline design for your business.
Business
What’s the Best Subscription Creative Service Agency in 2025?
Published
7 hours agoon
September 17, 2025This year, we’ve witnessed how creative work moves at breakneck speed. We see brands launching faster, content increasing, and competition becoming more fierce. This is the reason subscription creative services are multiplying by the second. They are proven beneficial to businesses. But how do you choose? We compiled this short list of the best subscription creative services to help you decide.
1. Penji
Hands down, the best subscription creative service, Penji, has been making waves in the design niche since 2017. It offers a diverse range of innovative services, including web and app design, social media graphics, logo design, custom illustrations, and more. Its unlimited graphic design business model lets you send requests for as many designs as you want a month for a flat rate.
2. Reel Unlimited
For small businesses and startups, Reel Unlimited is the best subscription creative service for you. They can craft graphics, websites, and video content for you with fast delivery and unlimited revisions. You can avail of its 7-day free trial to determine if this is the right fit for your brand.
3. Designity
Taking pride in its hybrid business model, Designity combines freelance talent with creative direction. This is the ideal subscription creative service for businesses seeking strategic design leadership. It provides branding, web design, UX/UI, and a range of other marketing materials for your brand.
4. Superside
Next is Superside. This is the best subscription creative service for brands that require enterprise-level work. It has a focus on collaboration and scalability, making it the most suitable graphic design partner for large teams and global businesses.
5. NoLimit Creatives
Last but not least, NoLimit Creatives, the design service that offers both graphic and video design with flexible plans. It is most suited for agencies and eCommerce businesses. It provides a wide range of creative services, which include online ads, social media graphics, product packaging, and video editing.