The MacGyver Approach to Starting an Insurance Business

Quick Tips on How to Preserve Your Seed Cash

Back in the 1980s, a popular television show named MacGyver gave rise to a whole new term. MacGyver’s ability to extricate himself from life-or-death situations by making something out of practically nothing led to the use of his name as a verb. As in, “I locked myself out of the house, but I managed to MacGyver a paper clip onto a Popsicle stick with some chewing gum and use it to unlock a window so I could get in.”

Entrepreneurs who are starting their own insurance business could learn a lot from MacGyver. Because while starting a business can be expensive, there are things you can do to severely reduce costs without reducing your ability to do the work or service your clients properly. Here are a few ideas on how to MacGyver your money to make it go farther.

Opt for Used Computers

Yes, everyone loves a bright, shiny new PC with all its bells and whistles. The thing is, most small business owners really don’t need all that processing power for their insurance agency. Take a look at what you want the computer to do. If you’re planning to use it with basic office applications such as word processors and spreadsheets, to send and receive e-mail, and surf the Internet, a used or refurbished PC will likely work just fine.

You can purchase used or refurbished computers online for as little as $99. Many of these are units that have come off-lease from large corporations, so you know they should have the core capabilities and speed you need.

If you need to share files or resources with one or more co-workers, you can build simple file and print sharing networks with used wireless routers or low-cost devices available at local retailers — as long as you have a little MacGyver in you to put the network together. As a bonus, by purchasing used technology you’ll also be helping the environment by keeping those PCs out of landfills.

Stick with Mobile Phones

Mobile phones and PDAs are rapidly displacing the old land line phones among consumers. In fact, the latest figures show that roughly 20 percent of all American households are wireless-only. Now the technology exists to move business phones in the same direction.

Virtual phone services for small businesses, like insurance agencies, allow you to overlay an entire business phone system on top of any working phone number — including a mobile number. When you sign up for a virtual phone service you are assigned a phone number, which will become your “business” number. The service provides business-oriented features such as an auto-attendant to greet callers and direct them to the right people, the ability to assign extensions to different people in the company, voicemail, smart call forwarding and more. Calls to the business phone service number go to the service provider, and then are routed to the phones you identify as being part of your phone system.

Each of the extensions can be forwarded to your employees’ own mobile and/or home phones, saving on the cost of phone equipment. All of this functionality comes for a monthly fee that’s often less than the price of one land line — and with no added cost for equipment or technicians to run it. As for your personal mobile phone becoming your business phone, not to worry. Your old mobile number will still work too, so it’s easy to distinguish between business and personal calls.

Skip Office Space

The first two ideas enable this third one. There is something thrilling about having an actual office to go to; nothing says “legitimate” like an office. But if you’re trying to conserve cash, consider some thrifty alternatives.

An obvious one is to have everyone work from home. There’s no cost for the space, and you can use an online service to store and share documents, creating a de facto network for the organization. You’ll also save on many of the things you don’t think of at first, such as office furniture, a common copier and more.

If you feel you personally need an office that’s separate from your home, see if you can sublet space from another company. You can also look into common office space — where several organizations share resources, such as a common lobby, conference rooms and admin support while occupying different offices. Often they come equipped with furniture and office equipment. Shop around a little and you may find a great bargain.

Shopping around also applies to traditional office space. The down economy has created a lot it. Nationally, a little more than 13 percent of office space is unoccupied. In some regions, the figure is almost double that.

Beat the Odds

The key to MacGyver’s genius (and popularity) was how creative his solutions were. He didn’t have James Bond’s Q Branch creating devices for him. He simply improvised using whatever he thought would work.

Most small businesses fail within the first year because their spending outpaces their income. The best way to beat those odds is to keep spending to a minimum. With creativity and help from the right technology, you can MacGyver together an office that is both fully functional and economical. And one that will serve as a launching pad for when the economy gets better.