Marketing your start up business
If done correctly, marketing your start up business does not have to be as expensive as you think. Common sense can go a long ways in terms of saving you money. I have seen start up businesses hire expensive marketing firms only to end up giving all their money to the marketing firm instead of putting it into their businesses product.
First of all, the best marketing is word of mouth. Therefore, invest in your product or service and make sure it is worthy of your price. Check your competition and make sure you have a better product and a better price.
Next, figure out how people find your business. These days people underestimate the power of internet marketing. More and more people are turning to the internet for what they used to find in the Yellow Pages. Make sure you take advantage of free services like Google Local Business Directory and Craigslist. A good, well formatted website design will also help your search engine ranking for specific search phrases. For instance, if you have an architecture firm that specializes in restaurant design, then dedicate a page to restaurant design and consult a qualified website designer to help you target those keywords. Typically you can find good freelance website designers for a fraction of the price of a firm.
Business Branding is also overlooked but extremely important. People need to be able to recognize your firm. Therefore when they need you service they will remember you. A good logo design will help in this area because many people are visual and remembering the logo will often times trigger the memory.