If you run a business, chances are you are always looking for new ways to cut down on your operating costs. After all, it is often easier to boost your bottom line by saving money than it is to make money, but too often, the things you have to do to save money, such as getting rid of staff, are very painful and not at all easy to achieve. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be that way! Here are some pretty painless things you can do to cut down on your operation coasts today:
Track Prices and Purchase in Bulk
A great way to save money on things like printer ink, computers, electronic equipment, and well pretty much anything that you may need to run your business really, is to track prices and then buy in bulk when significant discounts are offered – and they are always offered eventually! Obviously, you sometimes need stuff when you need it and you can’t wait for a better price, but most of the time, it is perfectly possible to do this and you’ll be amazed by just how much it could save you.
Team Up to Bulk Buy with Other Businesses
Another way to take advantage of lower prices is to team up with other businesses in your neighorhood when it comes to purchasing office essential and the like. Quite often, the more stuff you buy, the cheaper each unit becomes, but it’s hard to take advantage of this when you’re running a small business or startup, which is where other companies in a similar position come in. Ask and around, sing the benefits, and you’re sure to have some takers.
Take a DIY Approach to Your Content
Okay, so if this is going to take up way too much if your time, then it probably isn’t a good idea because the cost of your time has a monetary value. But if you think you can handle it, creating your own content is a great way to save a lot of money without messing up your business. The easiest way to do this is by simply interviewing people in yours or related industries and publishing those interviews, that way, you don’t have to be very creative, but you do get lots of valuable content, and it will not take you nearly as long as writing your own unique content, but of course, if you can and do write well and quickly, go ahead and do something a bit more traditional.
Advertise on Social Media
If you’re a small business or startup and you need the publicity to get things off the ground, but you need to cut down your operating costs as much as possible, social media is your best friend. If you set up profiles on all of the major platforms like Instagram and Facebook, you can use content to effectively sell your business for free. Of course, a little paid advertising would certainly be beneficial for you, but if you know your target audience and you create content that appeals to them, the amount of money you’ll need to spend on paid advertising should be far less than it would be without social media.
Use Warehouse Services
Warehouse services like those offered by Jayde Transport, where the company will store your products for you AND distribute them on your behalf is a good way of saving money on your operating costs because you do not need to spend lots of money on your own warehouse space and because they typically charge a more competitive fee when you use several of their services all rolled into one. It’s convenient and it saves money, so you should definitely be looking into it.
Renegotiate with Suppliers
If you’ve been with your suppliers for a long time, both you and they have probably become complacent and in your case, that could be costing you a lot of money. You see, if you agreed on a specific rate 5 years ago and you’re still paying that rate now, but you’ve been a good customer in all of that time, you have power. The suppliers won’t want to see a good customer going elsewhere, so if you call them up and tell them you’re thinking of switching for a better price, there is a very good chance they will shave some money off your costs going forward. Give it a go – you might just be pleasantly surprised!
Rent Seldom Used Equipment
If you own any expensive equipment that you do need occassionally, but which is rarely in operation, consider selling it on and renting it when you do need it in the future. Obviously, if you are a huge company with money to spare, it would perhaps be pointless to do this, but if you’re a small business that could use a cash injection, it’s a great solution that will not impact your business negatively at all really.
Switch Utility Companies
It’s never been easier to find and switch to more affordable utility companies for your busienss. Doing so can take as little as a few minutes and it could easily save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars each year. Pretty painless, I’m sure you’ll agree?
Switch Things Off
It always makes me shake my head when I walk past office blocks and stores after busienss only to see that all of the lights, and probably lots of the equipment like computers and printers have been left on overnight. This can add several hundred dollars to the average electricity bill and it isn’t doing the environment any favors either. Yes, it might look better at night, but if you can switch everything but the essentials off, you will save money more painlessly than just about anything else you could do.
Outsource Anything that Isn’t Essential
Thanks to the internet, remote working is experienceing a boom because it has never been easier to achieve. This is good news if you want to save money because instead of having to pay lots of salaries and benefits, you can outsource non-essential work to freelancers, saving both time and money.
Time to start saving less!