Business First Family Business, Accounting, Finance, Investing, Marketing And Management
There’s certainly no shortage of advice out there when it comes to saving money on your business and reducing company expenditure, but when you’re struggling to keep your business expenses under control, nothing beats real life advice from entrepreneurs who’ve been in the same situation as you and came out the other end. We’ve put together some top tips from real business owners who are managing to be successful in an economy that’s often tough. Their ideas can help you cut costs and lower your overhead whilst still managing to reach your target market and successfully build your business.
Swap Traditional Advertising For Cheaper Alternatives
This move is a popular one amongst small businesses who want to have top advertising campaigns. Thanks to so many different options available in internet marketing and advertising today, it’s more than possible to significantly reduce traditional advertising costs whilst still being able to reach your customers. Public relations, inbound marketing, social media marketing, YouTube videos, and good SEO techniques are just some examples. You can leverage many of these successful strategies used by today’s small businesses to reduce advertising costs whilst still hitting their targets when it comes to results.
Embrace Telecommuting
What do you do if employees are essential to your company, or you don’t want to have to lay off any employees that are already working for you? Telecommuting can be an ideal solution for everybody involved. While telecommuting is not always possible for every company or employee, when it is, it can be a huge way to save money, not to mention that the option of working from home can do a lot to boost employee morale and increase productivity as a result. Hiring virtual employees rather than having them work from your office space can help you avoid ongoing office expenses, allowing you to focus on producing high quality work with minimum overheads.
Outsource As Much As Possible
Employees are often crucial for getting things done, but when you add up all the costs, it adds up. Many companies that used to avoid outsourcing are reconsidering. Costs such as office space, insurance and salaries, hiring even a small full-time team can quickly add up to make up a massive chunk of your business’s budget. Today, an increasing number of small businesses are ditching the idea of hiring full time staff members in favor of outsourcing jobs to other companies or independent freelancers instead. As a result, you’re only paying for the work that is completed and there’s no need to worry about covering costs for insurance, extra office space, or employee perks.
Shop Around
And finally, another common tip from successful small businesses is to always shop around for any services that you need. This could be whether you are looking to switch business gas supplier, are looking for a good deal on broadband for your company, or you need to take out a new insurance policy. Don’t just go with the first company that offers you a good price, and don’t stay loyal to the company you’re with as you could end up paying much more than is necessary.
Go Paperless
While many companies are attempting to lower their carbon footprint, you can also save costs by going paperless. This trend towards cutting down on waste and improving sustainability practices will also put some green in your pocket. In small ways, you can print double sided or pull up emails in meetings. On larger scales, you can automate customer billing and move your contracts into the cloud. There are always tasks to automate for small business. On top of that, you can utilize free collaborative tools to lower the number of stickies and notepads laying around the office. By going paperless, you can implement a “green” cost saving tactic.
These are just some of the strategies real life small businesses are using to keep costs low and productivity high. Swap out expensive advertising for organic growth. If you can outsource non-essential tasks, you can save some money on payroll. Next, allow your team to telecommute. Whenever negotiating with vendors, shop around so that you can get the best deal. Or, consider moving your company to go paperless and cut down on waste. All of these cost saving tactics will help your business get your finances right.
