Looking to boost your bottom line? On a tight budget? Here are four savvy ways that your small business can save big on business expenses:
Reduce Business Expenses
Take a hard look at your regular business expenses. You may find that there are some areas where you can save. A simple way to reduce your day-to-day business expenses is to use service providers and vendors that will easily allow you to scale your business without charging more. One service provider that does not increase fees as your business scales is T-Mobile.
The carrier offers an unlimited talk, text and data plan as part of its T-Mobile One plan for business owners and entrepreneurs, allowing your business to communicate with customers, clients, and co-workers whenever necessary without overages or outrageous fees. And, as your business expands, you can rest-assured that T-Mobile will offer the same fixed rates, minus hidden fees or changing taxes, which in turn helps to reduce your business expenses long term.
Outsource When Necessary and Lower Your Business Expenses
While you can’t get work done without employees, employee costs like office space, salaries and even insurance can eat up a big chunk of a business’s budget. Take a note from companies like Pascale Communications. The owner of the PR firm, Georgette Pascale, keeps costs low by keeping her in-house, full-time employees to a minimum, and when she needs something done that her regular staff can’t cover, Pascale looks to contractors.
Consider Pascal’s approach and apply it to your own business. There is an unlimited amount of tools out there that can connect you to talented freelancers and contractors in a variety of different industries. Start with Freelancer.com for Web designers, wordsmiths, copywriters and skilled photographers. Business owners can browse potential hires by rate, ensuring that they stay within budget. Use this same approach when looking to hire business consultants, too.
Think Telecommuting
Although this isn’t a money-saving solution for all businesses, or for all employees, practicing telecommuting can save some companies cash. Going virtual can save your company money on office space and operational costs.
Recent studies have even shown that telecommuting can boost productivity and job satisfaction, resulting in less stress and reduced turnover. U.S. News & World Report citing census data reports that 17 percent of the workforce telecommutes at least one day per week. And studies conducted by researchers at Penn State have found that telecommuting, in addition to improving productivity and job satisfaction, also positively impacts relationships with supervisors.
Implement telecommuting by starting small and offering your employees the chance to work from home one or two days per week. If all goes well, you’ll soon be on your way to cutting operational costs.
Consider the Cloud
Brian Rashid, writing for Forbes online, says that for low, yearly payments, data can be hosted in a cloud storage solution, a practice that can help your business avoid the costs of expensive hardware and upkeep. The cloud isn’t just for the storage of files and documents either. You can save money on software, too, by making the switch. Cloud-based software like PayCycle, Staffmate, and SalesForce are often more affordable as they only require annual payment. What are you waiting for? Reduce your costs concerning data storage and consider the cloud.
