When you run your own small business, every day is an operational tightrope walk. While you’re aware that some of your profits need to be invested back into your business to facilitate growth and ensure that you keep on giving your customers the same great service they’ve come to expect, it also behoves you to save. After all, spend just a little too much and you can end up with serious cash flow problems which could prove crippling to your small business and land you in a quagmire of debt.
Whatever the nature of your business, it’s more than likely that there are more than a few ways in which you can save money without compromising the quality of the products and services you offer or having to let a single employee go. Here are just a few ideas to get you started…
Never buy what you can make
Of course, your time is a valuable commodity, but for those of expertise, buying something that you can put together yourself may be a valuable time-saving exercise but it can eat into your profit margins which in turn can eat into your cash flow. Everything from making your own lunches to building your own PCs can be a valuable money-saving exercise. It’s simply a case of balancing the value of your time with your disposable income. Also, if you must buy, always try and buy used.
Make use of freelancers
You know you need a digital presence but does that mean you need to go to a big prestigious digital marketing or web development company? While investing in these areas can certainly yield results, it’s not always advisable for small businesses and startups to shear off a huge chunk of their profits to an agency no matter how enticing the promises they make may seem.
Your best bet when starting out is to make use of freelancers who will do a great job at a fraction of the price. Then, when you have a little more disposable income behind you, by all means, head to a digital agency.
Here are some great places to find freelancers. By the way, if you’re looking for an SEO boost but don’t fancy hiring an agency, here are some useful ways to do it!
Work in the cloud
While it’s likely that even the smallest of businesses will have IT needs, you can waste a small fortune by investing in expensive servers which, while powerful, can plunge your operation into chaos when something goes wrong or eat into your profits with expensive maintenance and upgrades. A lot of this cost can be circumvented when you take your IT solutions to the cloud. Cloud-based solutions including accounting are invariably more cost-effective and low maintenance than servers. What’s more, upgrades are free and automatic, saving you both downtime and money.
Don’t be afraid to barter
If you have suppliers, it’s likely that they are small businesses just like yours. They appreciate your situation and if you have a good relationship with them may be amenable to bartering. Most of the time, a supplier will be happy to take a hit on their margin if it means maintaining a happy customer.
No matter what the nature of your business, it’s more than likely that you have a wealth of ways in which you can save money!
