Expenses Incurred So Far

Expenses Incurred So Far

I wanted to share some of the expenses I've incurred on my business journey as a guide for you and your early budgeting.   

Costs I believe you will need to incur to launch a website similar to mine include:   

• Legal costs for a Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Website Terms of Use (I spent $1066, which included a 12-month membership for legal advice)   
• Website and course platform (I spent $633.49 for three months on Kajabi before seeing a special offer for a 'Kickstart' plan below the 'Basic' plan I was on, which I signed up for $963.16 for 12 months. Kajabi is an all-in-one solution and covers website building, email marketing and product delivery, including podcasts, courses and coaching).   
• Business name registration (I spent $180.97)   
• Canva (I spent $165 for a 12-month membership)   
• Domains (I have spent $175.85 so far, which has included renewals and holding multiple domains - .com, .com.au and .au for Alison O'Sullivan and Enriched Mamas)   

So to launch your business, I believe you should budget $2K - $2.5K at a minimum. You could pay Kajabi (or another platform provider) by the month to bring this down (although they offer large discounts if you pay annually). I wasn't prepared to launch my website without having all my legal policies. 

Additional costs I have incurred up until this point that you may also consider include:   

• Coaching and courses  
• Miscellaneous costs such as books and templates (I purchased a font and an email footer template from Etsy)   
• Photos (will vary depending on how many images you purchase and the package you negotiate and may also include the costs of hair and make-up)   
• Business cards (can be purchased cheaply through Canva)   
• Equipment (recording equipment, lighting, microphones, whiteboards, props etc.)   

Future upcoming costs that are on my radar include:  

• Additional legal policies to cover coaching agreements, e-commerce terms and conditions and registering a company as they are needed  
• Otter ($8.33USD/month) for video accessibility  
• Loom ($8USD/month) for video recording  
• Shopify ($29USD/month) for sales cart capability  
• Facebook Ads (at your discretion)  
• Click Funnels ($97USD/month) for sales pipelines  
• Additional costs may arise for a more advanced Kajabi plan when more products (e.g. courses) are required.  

Note that I haven't had to pay for Grammarly (my husband has a subscription), and my Canva subscription has covered my stock photos. I have also been given an Audible subscription, light, microphone and whiteboard as gifts at Christmas and for my birthdays.  

Though still a significant investment, I believe it is incredible you and I can build a business so quickly and easily online nowadays, saving the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars required by brick-and-mortar-type ventures.