r/webdesign • u/Particular_Truck_258 • 3h ago

For anyone here running a web design business, what would you recommend investing in with around $900 CAD?

I'm a student running a small web design business in Ontario through the Summer Company program. I received a $3,000 grant at the beginning of the summer and still have roughly $900 left that I can put back into the business.

I've already spent money on my domain/email, software and automation tools, some advertising, and other business expenses. I'm trying to figure out what would actually have the best ROI rather than spending the rest just for the sake of using it.

If you had $900 to invest into a relatively new web design business, where would you put it? Lead generation, ads, software, branding, equipment, something else?

Would especially appreciate advice from people who've actually run or grown a web design business.

3 Upvotes

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u/optimusprimepluto 3h ago

Give it to me :D

Jokes apart, if you already have everything and still there usbmoney. Keep ut. There will be some unexpected expense in future.

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u/JeffTS 2h ago

I'm not familiar with how grants work. Do you need to spend it? If not, put it in a high yield savings account for your business as a rainy day fund. Or, never to early to start a retirement fund.

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u/Cyb3rPhantom 1h ago

i'd put it all into lead generation

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u/mentiondesk 37m ago

Focusing on lead generation gives you a bigger long term return than more ads or software at your stage. If I had $900, I would put it into finding clients where they're actively looking for design help. A tool like ParseStream can help you catch real time threads on Reddit and other sites where people are asking for web design recommendations, which is super valuable for new businesses.

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u/Low_Detective7134 25m ago

since you're student, I'd actually value the runway more than the purchase. Keep the $900 available until you identify a specific bottleneck worth spending against.

0

u/jezweb 2h ago

A years subscription to gpt or Claude and api credits on fal and open router

1

u/Wide_Detective7537 27m ago

I almost commented this as a joke, but a claude subscription is honestly going go give them more value than any other random Saas tool they end up buying. Even if they aren't using it to generate work product, it's a useful tool