When you’re getting your startup off the ground, there is no shortage of people telling you ways to spend your money. You spend ten minutes browsing the internet for something for your small business and your laptop is haunted with ads for products that you ‘have to have’ to build your business. True, there are great ways to spend your money if you want your startup to be successful, but what about startup budgeting? Here are 5 great ways to save money with your startup.

Bring Your Own Equipment

One of the best ways to help with startup budgeting is to eliminate as much communal equipment as you can. You do not need to provide your sales team with cell phones. Google Voice allows you to port a second phone number onto your smartphone.

Instead of supplying your staff with computers, have them use their own laptops in the office. You can incentivize your employees by sharing costs for repairs or upgrades. You could even offer to pay for part of their equipment.

Look for Free

There is a ton of digital software you will rely on as a business owner. The internet can provide everything from accounting software to in-office communications – to more industry-specific services. Many digital products out there will offer a free trial and then charge you after that. But for every product you pay for, there is usually a free version somewhere out there. Do your homework before you agree to pay for anything. Facebook groups are a great resource to find the best free software within your industry.

Ditch the Printer

This may sound obvious but stop printing so much. Paper isn’t exactly expensive, but toner sure is. Wasting ink and paper needlessly on documents that can just as easily remain digital crushes your bottom line. Apps like Adobe’s ‘Fill and Sign’ and Scanner Pro can help you stay away from the office supply store.

Outsource

Staffing can take up huge chunks of your startup’s budget. You need sharp, experienced professionals that care about your businesses’ success. Consider taking the a la carte approach to your staff. Graphic design is essential for small businesses that want to promote their brand. Why pay an in-house graphic design team a competitive salary and benefits?

Instead, consider Penji, a subscription-based unlimited graphic design company. If you need a flyer, an image for social media, or even a logo – Penji’s team does impressive work with a quick turnaround at a fraction of the cost of hiring your own design department.

What about HR? Bambee is a subscription service that handles all your human resources needs. They help with everything from compliance to staff training and terminations so that you don’t have to.

Hire a Virtual Assistant to handle all the boring stuff. Outsource Access can take over all your admin work, manage your social media, organize and maintain your calendar and your emails. Small business owners count their spare time in minutes. Don’t waste valuable time on the minutia.

Everyone’s least favorite part of running a business is accounting. There are many accounting services out there. We recommend Escalon for small businesses and startups. Escalon fully integrates into whatever system you are already running. They manage cash flow, bookkeeping, invoices, and end-of-year reports. Their reports are transparent and easy to understand

Incentivize Success

An advantage of being a small business owner is that you have a keen sense of your staff’s abilities. They are not a small cog in your giant organization. Oftentimes, they sit right across the room from you. A disadvantage of being a small business owner is you can’t always offer your staff the salary you would like to. Instead, you can offer reward-based incentives based on their production. This is a great way to recognize your employees’ value while not spending money on poor performers. If your staff contributes to your businesses’ success, pay them accordingly.

Work from Home

Do you need all that office space? COVID has opened the world’s eyes to the ease of remote work. Studies have shown that working from home does not hamper productivity. Your staff is more motivated when working in their own space. With services like Zoom and Slack, staying connected with your staff from afar is easy. Host virtual meetings, share ideas and save on rent and gas. This is startup budgeting made easy.

Do you want to try a Design Pickle alternative? Graphic design has evolved to serve a wider market. Unlimited graphic design subscriptions are popular amongst entrepreneurs, small businesses, and even corporate giants. The model is simple: you pay a flat monthly rate every month and get access to unlimited graphic design help. It’s a great option for companies that have consistent design needs, but don’t have the budget to pay for an in-house designer or the time to manage freelancers.

We went ahead and ranked some of the top unlimited graphic design companies in the industry. You can see the full list here.

If you’re looking for a Design Pickle alternative, these are the top 15 companies to put your money on.

1. Penji

The first company on the list probably won’t surprise most people. Penji is one of the biggest unlimited graphic design providers in the industry and has consistently received positive reviews for their work. For a Design Pickle alternative, Penji offers much more for a lot less.

We signed up for both companies and did a complete breakdown and comparison of Design Pickle vs Penji. Check out the article to see how Penji and Design Pickle stack against each other.

Why we recommend:
– Designers are matched to your project based on their skillset and your needs
– Offers logo designs, illustrations, and UX/UI
– Responsive and quick customer support
– Has the most design categories for you to select from
– Advanced custom client dashboard for communication and project storage

Price: $399 – $899/m

2. Design Doctor

Another Design Pickle alternative that’s been making waves is Design Doctor. The company offers the same perks and benefits as both Design Pickle and Penji, with more competitive pricing. They offer web and app design in their mid and higher tiers. So, if you’re a business who needs a new website or want to redesign an existing one, Design Doctor can complete the project to your brand standard.

Why we recommend:
– Competitive pricing.
– Skilled designers.
– The company offers a wide variety of design choices.

Price: $329 – $899/m

3. Lead Pixels

Lead Pixels is a high-end competitor to Design Pickle. Their plans start higher than just about everyone on this list, however, unlike others on this list, their team is US and Canada-based. Their premium pricing also comes with a claim of high tier designers. This is a great option for those who are on a serious time crunch and cannot go through a dozen rounds of revisions. While pricey, project turnaround is very prompt.

Why we recommend:
– US and Canada-based team
– Fewer revisions

Price: $1499 – $4999/m

4. Kapa99

Kapa99 is another Design Pickle alternative making the list. Their signature brand is consistency. They also offer 2 graphic designers instead of just 1. This ensures that there is no confusion in the communication between you and the designer.

One drawback of Kapa99 is that they’re one of the few companies on this list that uses Trello for managing projects. If you’re familiar with Trello, Asana, Jira, or other similar online project management software, then you’ll be fine. If not, they may not be the best fit for you. Third-party software may be offputing for some.

Why we recommend:
– 2 project managers
– Great if you prefer using Trello

Price: $399/m

5. Manypixels

Manypixels is a newcomer in the unlimited graphic design space and also offers a similar service to Design Pickle at a comparable price. One interesting benefit is that the company can also design 2-3 second GIFs. This can be useful if animated GIFs are something you frequently need for your social media campaigns. Not just for fun.

Why we recommend:
– Have their own online platform for communication and storing files
– Animated GIFs are a part of the package

Price: $399 – $549/m

6. Kimp

One of the more interestingly branded Design Pickle alternatives on the list is Kimp. Their website is cohesive and sports a monkey as their mascot.

Kimp offers unlimited graphic design, however, their team model is interesting. They claim to offer a project manager and 3 designers to work with you. However, similar to Kapa99, Kimp also utilizes Trello for managing projects, which also means they share the same complexity if you’re not familiar with the platform.

Why we recommend:
– Work with a custom team that they create for you
– Great if you prefer managing projects on Trello

Price: $389 – $789/m

7. Dark Roast

Dark Roast is also a new name in the unlimited graphic design space from Canada. The company charges significantly more than most other companies on the list except for Lead Pixel. At $949 per month, it’s a pricier subscription.

Their portfolio looks great and Dark Roast features their own proprietary platform for you to submit and manage projects. While the location of their designers could not be confirmed, they claim to be able to have the same benefits as a creative agency.

Why we recommend:
– Great portfolio
– Claims to replace agencies

Price: $1199/m

8. Delesign

Delesign has been around since 2017 according to their website. The graphic design provider offers some of the best value for $499/m. For the same price as many others on the list, Delesign also offers 2D animation videos. We’re not sure of the quality, length, or requirements, but this is still a great bonus to have. Unlike their competitors on this list, Delesign doesn’t offer a higher-tier for their graphic design offering. Their highest-tier is the $499 package that includes both graphic design and 2D videos.

Why we recommend:
– 2D animation videos are included in the package
– Custom client portal

Price: $349 – $499/m

9. Limitless Design

Quite possibly the cheapest one on the list, but with one caveat. Limitless Design‘s base price is just $179/m, but you only get 4 graphic design requests per month instead of unlimited. This may be a great value if that’s all you usually need anyway. Their truly unlimited design plan costs $299, which is the cheapest on the list.

Why we recommend:
– Lowest cost
– Great if you do not need too many graphics completed per month

Price: $179 – $299/m

10. Tucan Go

In addition to providing graphic design, Tucan Go touts its environmental impact and offers a wide selection of services such as marketing, web development, photography & video, and even hosting.

However, these services are NOT all a part of one plan. Each service has its own pricing structure and treated as independent memberships. So you’ll need multiple subscriptions if you want more than just their unlimited graphic design offering.

Why we recommend:
– Offers multiple categories of creative work
– You can choose the type of services based on need

Price: $390 – $780/m (Graphic Design plan)