I want to budget for web utilization, but how do I get the money to pay for it?

I would like to discuss the use of a website, but I don’t know anyone around me who is familiar with it. What should I do?

“First, we recommend that you use the Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s “Expert Dispatch” and other services to get objective advice from an outside expert.”
If you do not have anyone close at hand to consult, we recommend that you first use the “Expert Dispatch” service of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry to get objective advice from an expert for free. Our company can also assist you as an expert. Since the use of the Web is also related to management, it is very important to first create an environment in which you can hear a frank outside opinion.

I want to create a website, but the cost is too high, can I use the subsidy?

“Subsidies such as the Small Business Sustainability Grant are available. If adopted, two-thirds of the cost may be subsidized.”
Yes, there are subsidies available for website creation, such as the Small Business Sustainability Grant. You will need to create a business plan with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, but if adopted, up to two-thirds of the cost may be subsidized. We offer a plan that allows you to cancel your application in the event that the grant is not approved, so you can try to apply without risk.

There are very inexpensive website design companies that charge “zero yen for the initial cost,” but are they safe?

“Caution is advised. Long-term contracts, low quality, and the risk of proprietary systems may be “cheap or bad.”
Be wary of cheap contractors who are far off the market. In many cases, long-term contracts result in high costs, additional costs for renewals, and low quality that does not attract customers. Proper work requires a reasonable cost. Otherwise, the results may be cut corners or disappointing, and is not recommended.

Not having someone close by to consult, not being able to create a system, not being able to turn around funds. .. We hear from sole proprietors and small and micro businesses that their problems are endless.

• No opportunity or timing to find out about the web.
• Even in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and corporate associations I belong to, the topic is not discussed much and there is no one who knows much about it.
• Even if we go to seminars, etc., we can’t imagine what we can do.

is because it is related to management and other matters, and even if you consult with the tax accountant or accountant you are asking, they will only refer you to a specialist.

Of course, there is no one among the employees who can move… Such cases are very common.

We recommend that you proceed in this way for such companies.

1. The first goal is “to be able to keep an outside eye on things.”

First, it is very important for small micro businesses and sole proprietors to have an outside eye as a candid advisor.

1.1. We recommend that you first consult with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (we can also help you).

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry offers free consultations with knowledgeable experts through “Expert Dispatch” and other programs. We recommend that you consult with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry as soon as possible, as slots are limited. If you don’t make it in time, it will be the following year.

Also, even if you are not an expert, our consultants are often helpful and courteous in giving you advice. It is a good idea to expose everything and consult with us.

1.2. There are various subsidies, do you know about them?

Various grants are awarded each year to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

For example, the “Monodzukuri subsidy” and the “Small business sustainability subsidy” are well-known.

In Tokyo, there is a subsidy dedicated to website creation, although it is not expensive.

For example, the ” Small Business Sustainability Grant ” includes the following

• Work together with the Chamber of Commerce, Chamber of Commerce, etc. to create a business plan
• Items related to sales channel expansion, such as flyer creation, website creation, etc., are eligible.
• Up to 500,000 yen (1,000,000 yen if job growth or overseas expansion is involved), with two-thirds of the expenses spent returned later.

For example, if you spend 500,000 yen for consulting and website creation, you will get back about 330,000 yen later.

You can get something worth 500,000 yen for 170,000 yen in real terms. This small business sustainability subsidy does not require that many sheets of business plans, so if you consult with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and make one, 60-70% of them will pass.

…

These subsidies should be used by all means. Please contact the Chamber of Commerce and Industry as soon as possible, as they will end when the budget runs out. Or, please contact us for more information.

1.3. If you are worried that the subsidy will not be approved…

It would be nice if 100% of the grants were approved, but of course there is a screening process, and depending on the chamber of commerce, the approval rate is 50-70%. If you have budgeted 500,000 yen and it does not pass, you will have to pay an unexpected expense.

In order to avoid such risks, for example, we accept “submit a quotation, if the quotation is accepted, we will accept the production order, if not, we will cancel the order.

This would eliminate the risk of failure to pass.

There are not always many services that offer this kind of support.

Also, creating a “business plan”is a very positive thing, even if you fail. In that sense, we recommend it.

2. Beware! The internet world is “cheap or bad”.

In the online world, for example, website development also varies in price. Some are very inexpensive. There are cheap companies that are far off the market, such as those with an initial cost of 0 yen or as little as 100,000 yen.

2.1. Examples of dangerous cases

These things are dangerous. The most common are

• In fact, a three-year contract is required, and 30,000 yen is needed every month, totaling 1,080,000 yen. Since the initial cost is zero yen, the resulting website is of low quality in total, although the top page is somewhat viewable. There is no way you can update it yourself, so if you ask them to update it, you will have to pay a lot of extra costs…
• The company claims that it uses a proprietary system so that it is easy and you can update the information by yourself, but the company is no longer in business and the system has been shut down or left unattended. However, the company lost control of the business and the system was either shut down or abandoned. I am afraid of proprietary systems.
• A part-time job, fresh out of school, was made to create and deliver a slightly customized version of the template. No marketing or sales is considered other than the look and feel of the page, so it’s not a page that sells.
• I asked a friend of mine to do it for me because he said he would do it cheaply, even though it was a one-sided job, but it was not completed even after two years.

This is the case. We regularly receive transfer requests from these places.

2.2. Considering the cost of labor, I can see that some price is necessary

If you hire one employee, the company will need to pay about 400,000 yen even if the monthly salary is 250,000 yen, if insurance premiums are included.

Then, a simple calculation shows that

• If a production company has 10 employees, labor costs will run about 4 million yen by itself, and about 6 million yen each month if you consider more senior positions. Even a small company should spend about 3 million yen.
• If a company has 10 employees, the number of jobs that can be produced per month is limited to 2-3 per person per month, assuming that a proper strategy is in place to attract customers. In reality, it is impossible to operate at full capacity, so assuming a 70% utilization rate, 10 x 2.5 x 0.7 = about 18 jobs.
• If the production cost is 100,000 yen for 18 cases, sales are 1,800,000 yen. If there are 50 continuing customers and the monthly fee is 20,000 yen, the total is 1,000,000 yen, or 2,800,000 yen.
• Considering labor costs, that alone is a deficit, and if you consider other expenses, even more so…

This is the case.

Will a website created by a company that is structurally in the red really be a decent one? Would you buy a product sold in a supermarket that is in the red? They would not buy it. It is the same thing.

To do the job properly, the appropriate cost, the “right cost,” is necessary.

2.3. What happens if the cost falls below a reasonable cost…

What happens when the cost is less than reasonable is basically a situation of “cutting corners” or “paying too much when you realize you paid too much,” as has been the problem in the construction and remodeling industry and in the funeral industry.

For example.

• Delivered with a “kintaro candy” design that is only a slight modification of another site’s design, or the design is amateurish.
• No thought is given to attracting and managing customers, so it does not lead to inquiries, etc. at all.
• If you try to make a small modification, they charge you every step of the way, and it takes a lot of time.
• It doesn’t include any of the features you need now (mobile support, loading speed, social support…)
• (Today’s rental servers cost only 1,000 yen a month and are very good).

Such as. We have to generate revenue elsewhere to do this, so this is what we do.

In the case of construction, for example, “materials written in the specifications are cheaper”, “only two coats are applied to an exterior wall where three coats are required”, “no detailed matching”, “priority is given to ease of construction, not to ease of use”, and so on.

It is a waste of time. Some people cry for a new website while paying the cost at this time.

3. Sometimes you don’t know unless someone points it out to you.

However, I am sure that some of you do not know whether it is good or bad in the first place. You may not even know what you should base your decision on.

The website is left as it is because no one says, “That website is no good at all. (Fundamentally, you need someone to tell you that your website is no good at all.) Since there is no one to tell you that you should update your website, it remains the same.

So, if you want to somehow step out to utilize the Web as much as possible, it is important how to “catch the people who will check it out”.

3.1. However, web consulting is not cheap (and too cheap is dangerous).

You may have thought, “That means I should get a web consultant.” You may be thinking, “That means I have to get a Web consultant, right? Certainly, there is nothing better than having a Web consultant.

However, as written in the ” Concept of Reasonable Costs for Web Consulting and Fee Rates,” this will cost from 50,000 to 450,000 yen per month if you ask for a normal service. In addition, inexpensive places that charge around 30,000 yen may only offer a 60-minute consultation every month (again, every month).

In this,

• In the former case, the cost is too expensive to begin with.
• The latter also has too long a consultation span to deal with the rapidly changing situation of small businesses.

It is.

So what should we do?

3.2. First, reduce internal expenses by introducing IT, etc., and review sales promotions to come up with a budget.

The first step is to come up with a budget. To do this, we will look for places where we can cut current expenses.

Cell phone bills can also be reduced now (e.g., by switching to a low-cost line). IT tools can also greatly reduce office-related expenses.

For example, online ordering printing companies are very inexpensive compared to existing printing companies. Some even offer to do the posting for you. This alone can often reduce the cost of DMs and flyers by as much as 30%.

Also, there are many areas around the computer that can be reduced. The computer itself is also cheaper. The computer itself is also cheaper if it is an online direct sales model rather than a manufacturer’s model found in electronics stores. Software can be greatly reduced if you are using Office.

The latest version of Office, which would normally cost 30,000 yen to 50,000 yen per person if purchased individually, can now be used for only 1,000 yen per month using Office365, which allows installation on five PCs per person for a monthly fee.

3.3. Concrete images

There are many other means of reduction.

If you do this, you can surprisingly turn out about 100,000 yen per month (I have actual experience).

• Consult with the Chamber of Commerce, free of charge, and make a plan (1-2 months)
• Create the website properly in the third month and spend 400,000 yen for four months as delivery in two months.
• You can sign up for our consulting services for 50,000 yen per month starting the following month, and save the remaining 50,000 yen or use it for your studies.
• While repeating improvements together, we will develop the person in charge within the company and obtain knowledge to utilize it in-house.
• If you have any problems, consult us. We offer unlimited consultations.

In this way, after six months of creating a website, the world changes considerably.

And if sales come out of that, the profit generated from the bottom will go straight to profit. You could reinvest that to strengthen your website and advertise. Then you will be on track.

3.4. Don’t rush, but take your time to stretch!

Let’s take our time and work together first from the perspective of business maintenance rather than business expansion.

We can consult with you on the initial cost reduction part of the project.

You may think it is difficult to use IT tools that you don’t know much about the Web, but you have to do it.

We will support you properly. Your success or failure depends on your efforts. We will take the helm, so why don’t you join us?

Please contact us. We are proud to be a run-in temple for small and medium-sized businesses (SMB ).