It’s not in the best interests of any business to spend more money it has to. Here are a few ways to massively reduce your business’s overheads.
Use Free Communications Services
The internet makes it easier than ever before to stay in contact with people. Think about all the various groups of people your business needs to communicate with each week. Firstly, there’s the customers who might have problems or queries to discuss with you. Then there’s the suppliers, your business associates and anyone else who you need to stay in touch with.
If you’re using a conventional phone line to do most of this communicating, you’re going to be spending a lot of money when you don’t need to be. Make email, instant messaging and Skype your main form of communication. Yes, you’ll still need a phone line, but use it less so that you can cut down on communications costs.
Downsize the Office
One of the biggest expenditures that comes with operating a small business is the cost of renting a premises. The size and quality of your office should be relative to the size of your business though. If you’re running a small business with relatively small profits, you don’t want to be throwing money away on a huge office space.
So, why not downsize your office and save some money in the process? Renting a smaller office in a less desirable location could cut your overheads dramatically. And it won’t necessarily have a negative impact on your employees either. You could have some of them work from home and stay in contact via the internet during working hours.
Outsource Tasks
Some business owners are still a little afraid of the idea of outsourcing. It means handing over some of your control to an external company, and this can be a little unnerving to begin with. But the benefits that outsourcing will bring to your business will soon put your mind at ease.
Outsourcing allows you to cut down on your HR bill, and it’s much cheaper than hiring expert staff members internally. There are hundreds of different options open to you when outsourcing. Find the weakest area in the business and make that one the department that you outsource. So, if you’re weak on procurement, contact IESA and let them look after it instead.
Rent Equipment
All businesses require the use of different types of equipment depending on what kind of sector your business operates in. But buying all that equipment can turn out to be incredibly expensive if you’re not looking after the costs. You could shop around or buy second-hand, but I’d recommend renting equipment rather than buying it.
Renting lowers your capital investment, and it also requires less commitment. You can switch to different equipment easily without having to sustain a huge financial loss. This means that you can upgrade to the latest models that are released. And you simply couldn’t do that if you were buying rather than renting.
Reducing your overheads is a good target to have whether your business is if in good shape or bad, so put these ideas into action.
