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Many people have spent more than one sleepless night thinking about the potential costs of starting a new business. Small business owners tend to focus on a couple of things: first, on how much money they are going to make and how much profit their business will generate; and second, on how they are going to expand and get new machinery and electronics to boost their production and office equipment.

While that is all well and good, if new business owners don't keep their cashflow on a tight leash, it's possible that they will end up losing out regardless of what their profit figures show. To help with the liquidity issue, here's some advice on how to build an effective and inexpensive infrastructure that can get your business up and running but keep the costs low.

Cheap Infrastructure

A common obstacle to inexpensive infrastructure is focusing on all the little things that you think you absolutely need to get your business up and running. Most times, however, you really need much less than you think you do (tip: if you are thinking about the ten different kinds of laser labels you'll be getting for your packaging, odds are, you are doing it wrong). The goal is to get production going while maintaining cashflow and maximum flexibility. Make sure you:

1. Never buy stock or supplies before you are absolutely certain that you will need to use them.

This includes filling your basement with shelves and storage boxes and buying enough filing cabinets to keep the records of a small city. Any unused stock is not only useless but is, in fact, absorbing potential profit. By the same token, you should maximise the output of any investment that you do make for your business:

2. Find equipment that can perform multiple functions to cut costs.

Sometimes, it's hard to find something that will take care of several needs at once without compromising quality or consistency. At other times, the baseline products are so expensive that even getting the basics can compromise your budget. If that happens, you can try to:

3. Figure out if it's better to lease certain equipment rather than buying it outright.

When you make a purchase, your investment puts you at a loss that you hope will be paid back (and more) over time – time being the important word. Leasing certain equipment can be a low-risk solution, allowing new businesses access to expensive equipment. This means businesses can start building a clientele without worrying about maintenance costs or committing a big part of the initial budget.

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Get the minimum amount of infrastructure that can produce the essential elements of your product or service. Avoid making vanity purchases that are not vital: if you can avoid getting something and still deliver your product in a timely fashion, chances are you can skip getting it for the time being. That being said:

4. Don't be afraid to make an expensive investment when it is vital to your business plan.

Think about the labels that we mentioned before – sometimes, getting 10 different kinds of labels is vital to your business (when you are trying to market a high-end product, for instance, presentation is very important). Failing to get the essential infrastructure up and running can be detrimental to the way your business will operate on a day-to-day basis. Figure out your bottom line and stick to your budget to produce a better cashflow. Once you do, you will have the flexibility you need to adapt and overcome the problems that can plague new businesses.