Is your budget keeping you awake at night? Trust us, we’ve been there too and it’s not pretty. Whether you’re looking to hack off one percent or one fifth of your budget, these five key strategies will not only cut down your expenses, but also make you a better business owner.
Embrace the digital age.
Email is a beautiful thing. Only mail your customers when you absolutely have to. Otherwise, just don’t.
The internet has also made telecommuting more viable. Beyond the fact that many workers love telecommuting, it also saves your company a bundle in energy costs. When you can, encourage telecommuting.
Get to know your neighbors.
It’s always wise to collaborate with other companies, and crucial for smaller businesses. There are so many ways that collaborating with your neighborhood businesses will help you that we need to list them. Here it goes.
Share advertising costs.
Try jointly promoting events or buying ad space with other like-minded businesses. You could also try to co-mingle mailings with other smaller buyers to get discounts available to larger mailers.
Buy in bulk with other companies.
This is a bit of a no-brainer. You get cheaper stuff when you buy in bulk, but can’t afford to buy in bulk unless you’re a big company or order with others. So, do the latter!
Share office space.
If you don’t need all of your current office space, share your office space and in doing so, significantly reduce your rent costs.
Get insurance deals from your local trade association.
They often offer significantly reduced rates on all kinds of insurance that you could take advantage of.
Barter. If you want to move goods out that are slow to sell, try bartering with other businesses for stuff you need. Also, the National Association of Trade Exchanges (NATE) can assist you in exchanging products.
Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate.
Expenses often add up from the slow, accruing costs of disadvantageous agreements. If you take the time to look through your contracts and insurance plans one by one and negotiate for better deals, you will save an enormous amount of money. For example you can ask for lower credit card APRs, raise the deductible on your insurance.
Try to get a better tax rate with the community authorities.
Older businesses often have lower taxes than newer businesses. If you negotiate with your local business authorities, they can lower your tax rates. If your office is home based, make sure you’re getting all the tax deductions available to you.
See if you can get discounts from suppliers if you pay early.
Not all will grant such discounts, but many will. Check over your vendors. Make sure you’re getting the best deal, and if not, seek other suppliers.
Manage more efficiently.
First, see if you can outsource some of the tasks that are currently being filled by employees. It’s cheaper to hire people on a project or freelance basis rather than manage employees with a lot of dead time or lack of expertise in a specific area. Also, cross train employees. This way employees can cover for each other when they are sick. It will also save you a lot of money and headaches when a position becomes vacant. In fact, every time a position becomes vacant is a time to reassess your workplan: perhaps your team members and/or freelancers can share the last employee’s duties.
Buy recycled items.
Instead of buying new, buy as much of your office furniture and supplies used. Also go green with recycled printer cartridges and compact fluorescent lighting: it’s good for the environment and your wallet.
What do you do to cut costs? Share with us in the comments below.
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