nb: collaborative post
There are two known ways that you can build a business that is profitable. One of the first ways is to increase how much you sell. Simple, right? The more you sell, the more money you will make. However, this is usually the only aspect of business that gets the most consideration. Increasing sales can be all well and good, but more often than not, it isn’t always going to be under your control. That is why you should also consider another aspect of building a profitable business, and that is cutting costs and saving money. When you cut costs, spend less money, and ultimately, help the bottom line of your business, you can be on the way to building a profitable business.
Saving money or cutting costs shouldn’t mean laying off staff or reducing how effectively your business can run, or impacting the customer experience. But looking for some of the right ways to save can and does help. Here are some things to think about, and some areas where saving money can help your business.
Do your own content marketing
When you don’t have too much money to spend, it can mean that you look at what you can do yourself. Even though some things will take up some of your time to get done, things like content marketing are important for your marketing efforts, but can be easily done in-house. You can find some experts in the industry through the networks that you have, and you could ask them some questions via email, or perhaps on the phone or by a video call. Then you could turn that interview into some great content for your website or blog. If you’re not too confident with the writing aspect of things, then you could think about curating some articles that are relevant to what you do, and then add in your own comments on them, with what you do or don’t disagree with.
Renegotiate with suppliers
Just as you have with any junk drawer in your home, you can collect things that you don’t actually need anymore. Having a bit of a deep dive into some of your operational business expenses can help, as it will show you where you are spending the most money, and it can help you to find some money too. If there are suppliers that you no longer use, or ones that you have used for so long, that it is time to renegotiate, then it is time to give them a call. You never know what you will get just by asking, so it is definitely something to consider.
In some instances, shopping for products or the things that you use for your business can be better off done as a wholesale. This means you will buy in bulk, but will save more money overall. If you are looking for car cleaning products for wholesale, for example, then you will save more money shopping that way, rather than shopping for each individual product. So shop around, negotiate rates, and you’ll be able to save money in a number of ways.
Cancel recurring services
We can all carry on paying for things that we are no longer using. It can be easy to forget about them, or pay for something that we had forgotten to cancel after the trial period. Although these things can be small costs, over the course of a year they can really add up and take a chunk out of your budget. So the best thing to do is to go through your statements with a fine tooth-comb, in order to really check what is being spent and where, and if there are some chunks of money that can easily be cancelled to save in the future. A couple of clicks or calls later, and then you could be saving quite a bit.
Automate taxes
Automation can be a good thing for many businesses (unless you get to the point where you’re paying for things to be automated, that no longer need to be automated)! However, something like taxes will always be a factor for business, so why not automate to save yourself some time and some money? This can be done using specific software, or something that can be done with an accountant. When you don’t need to think about it, and it is being taken care of elsewhere, in a more tax-efficient way, then you can use the time to do the tasks that will really help you to grow the business.
Buy second-hand equipment
Should we say this a little louder for the people at the back? This is something that so many businesses don’t do, but you can save a lot of money by buying things like copiers, printers, furniture, computer equipment, and so on, when it is bought second-hand. Look for authentic resellers for things like computers, but you can easily find good second-hand office furniture at places online, including social media sites, and auction sites.
Outsource non-essential functions
Outsourcing is a great way to cut down costs in business. When you have employees, who are properly employed, whether full-time or part-time, you have other costs that come along with that. Will they need a computer of their own and office space? How about a uniform? Things like holiday pay need to be considered, as well as things like sickness pay and even insurance contributions in some cases. So unless a full or part-time employee is needed, then you should outsource. When you outsource you only pay for the job that they have been specifically hired to do. Plus, more often than not, they work from home and use their own equipment and materials, so you just pay a flat fee for the work. You will be using experts in their field too, which can be better than an all-rounder employee, as you’ll have someone who knows exactly what they are doing.
Is there anything else that you would add to the list? What areas do you save money in for your business?