If you’re an entrepreneur with a young startup, you’ll know what it’s like to run things on a shoestring budget. There are a lot of things you’d like for your startup, but think you don’t have the funds for. Eventually you’ll have to find investors if you want your business to grow and thrive. The good news is that there’s a whole world of freelance talent that can help propel you towards investment. And, it’s not as expensive as you’d think.

Hiring permanent staff or getting an agency in will blow your budget in one fell swoop. Instead, consider hiring a freelancer to help get your startup off the ground. Hiring a freelancer will help you to run your business at the lowest overheads.

A lot of first time entrepreneurs have a go at trying to do everything themselves to save costs. You’re not an expert at everything and you’ll just end up burning yourself out. Plus it’s very, VERY noticeable when a logo or website etc hasn’t been done by a professional. Is this the message you want to be sending out to investors? A half-baked brand doesn’t inspire confidence. Concentrate on what you do best, and hire freelancers to do the rest.

How can freelancers help me find investors?

1. Design:

Design is a great place to invest your money when you’re trying to get a startup off the ground. First impressions count in this game. Don’t cut any corners here – hire a professional freelancer. Your company needs to look professional in order to inspire confidence in yourself as a leader and your business. It’s imperative that you can stand out from the crowd. Investors are bombarded with new startups every day and the market is saturated. If you have great design and branding, this will help you to be the one they remember.

2. Pitch Decks

If you want to find investors, you’re going to need a pitch deck to send out to VCs and angels. This is often the first and only contact an investor will have with your product or company, so it’s really important. Even if your business idea is the best thing since sliced bread, a badly designed investment deck will turn potential investors off in seconds. You need to be sure you get your message across in a clear and concise manner. Only a professional freelance designer can help you do this and bring you one step closer to that lucrative investment.

3. Website

Having a company website is pretty much a given these days, and the last thing you want it to be is one of those templated or free websites. This will not give a good impression of your business. The good news is there are plenty of professional freelance web designers who will build you a fantastic company website. In many cases web designers are sensitive to an early stage startup’s budget restrictions, and may offer a discount package.

4. Apps

Apps are one of those things that many entrepreneurs consider to be extremely expensive and time consuming to make. This is not always the case. Depending on what you need your app to do, advances in technology mean that freelance coders can put together an app for you pretty quickly and for less money than you originally thought.

5. Email newsletters

Creating and maintaining an email newsletter list is a great way to grow your initial audience. But, each newsletter needs to contain new and exciting content. Before you know it, this task will become a priority and will take up a large segment of your time. If you get your newsletters wrong, the numbers on your subscriber list will start dropping like flies.

Email newsletters are an artform in themselves. Concocting subject lines requires expert technique, and placement of CTAs is a fine art. A freelance specialist can help you craft the right newsletters, day after day, month after month, to keep your audience engaged and converting into customers.

6. Videos

Freelancers can take care of all your video needs too. From video pitches for startup competitions, explainer videos to product walkthroughs – the possibilities are endless.

7. Photography

If you have a great product, you need great photography to show it off. As with logos and design, amateur photos are instantly recognisable and will give your product a bad vibe. Freelance photographers know all about angles, light and equipment and they’ll make your product look truly awesome.

8. Social Media

Freelancers can offer many different levels of service when it comes to your social media channels. They can run the show entirely for you, taking care of finding content, scheduling posts and analytics. Or, they can create custom visual content packages for you to use across your social media channels. These usually contain a mix of images, gifs/animation or video, for you to use in any way you like on your networks.

9. Business cards

The old fashioned printed business card is not dead yet. As an entrepreneur, it’s really important to get networking as soon as you can. And to do this properly, you’ll need a good business card. Again, eye-catching, memorable design is key here. Everyone who’s ever been to a networking event before will know you get hundreds of cards thrust into your hand – make sure yours stands out from the pack by hiring a professional freelancer to do the job.

10. Blogging and writing

Blogging is a great way to drive traffic to your website and to state your claim as an expert in your field. But, it can be time consuming. And, writing long articles is not everyone’s cup of tea. The last thing you want are articles that are hard to read or badly written. It gets even harder when you throw SEM into the mix. So, turn to a professional freelance blogger who can create articles on topics that your audience are interested in.

A freelance writer can also help you put together your elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is a 30 second pitch, intended to be either spoken or written, that will explain your business and convince someone to invest. It’s an essential marketing tool that you’ll use time and again. A freelancer will provide a fresh pair of eyes and really help you nail home your argument.