The internet is awash with stories about entrepreneurs who started off small before they hit the big time. It is inspiring to read these accounts to motivate you to achieve the same success, but where do you start? What can you do to save money in your business, so that your income exceeds your expenditure? Here are some tips to show you how you can save money to increase your bottom line.
Office space
Before you sign on the dotted line for a lease for business premises, you need to evaluate whether you can work from home. For some industries this will not be a feasible option, but the money that you can save from running your business from home is phenomenal. If you can’t manage, have a look at alternatives. Other small companies may be willing to let you rent some desk space from them for a small fee. If you don’t ask, you don’t get, and you may be surprised about the level of support small business owners are willing to give fellow entrepreneurs.
Office equipment
You may want the latest versions of desktops or laptops, but while your business is young, older models will suffice. You don’t need to have the latest technology at your fingertips, new equipment costs a lot of money that you would be better placed spending elsewhere. It is worth spending time to source good used options. If this doesn’t appeal consider leasing – you then have the possibility of being able to negotiate good rates and take comfort knowing that if something should go wrong with it, you may have a maintenance clause in your agreement – always ask about this before signing!
Budget
How can you save money if you are unaware of the parameters within which you need to work? You need to review the money you have available against the business-critical costs that you incur. You need to minimise the risk of having unexpected costs that are necessary to continue growing your business. For example, you can take advantage of monthly payment plans for your web design needs that will incorporate the setup costs as well as ongoing support – this is one way to keep your website up and running fault free while controlling your budget.
Outsource
It feels counterintuitive to outsource tasks to other parties, but you can save yourself an inordinate amount of time, energy and money from outsourcing work to other professionals. Unless you have the adequate skills to complete a job to a professional standard, it can be a false economy to attempt tasks yourself, and you will benefit from their expertise. For example, employing a bookkeeper a day a month to do your accounts, or hiring a virtual assistant to make sure that all customer calls are answered, and messages taken.
Negotiate
You need to conserve the money that you have in the pot, and one way to protect your money is by getting into the habit of negotiating. You need to develop your communication skills! You can obviously negotiate the price of products from suppliers, but you can also negotiate the payment terms, or a date that they agree to review their prices once you have proved yourself to be a loyal customer. You can also use negotiation to defer payments so that you can be more certain of your cash flow situation.
Website
One of the most important tools a new business can use to generate business is a good website. However, often websites come with large set up costs. Thats no longer the case! MonthlyWeb allow small businesses to get a professionally designed & built website from a small monthly cost!
It is hard work starting a business, that is a fact, but your main goal is making profit and so you should be continually looking for ways that you can tweak your business model and make savings to help you succeed.