Simple Ways to Save Your Business Money
With any business, there are a great number of expenses that are often overlooked or underestimated. Many businesses that go bust don’t fail due to lack of custom or a poor business plan. They fail because all of the costs weren’t considered at the outset. Sitting down and working out where you can save money is never a waste of time.
Outsource
As hard as one might try, no business owner can do everything by themselves. Before you even open your doors, there are countless tasks that need doing so it is likely you will want to hire staff relatively early on.
Also, as the “boss”, your time is likely to be worth quite a bit. You need to focus on making money and driving your business forward, instead of wasting those billable hours trying to book your own travel.
We recommend that, rather than spend time and money taking on staff, you outsource to a ‘pay by the hour’ company. There are a lot of companies that offer a bespoke freelance service, that you can utilise to help you out when you need them, and obviously avoid spending a penny when you don’t need the assistance.
Here at Double You, we offer a Virtual Assistant service and the reason we do this is because we understand that a good Personal Assistant can make or break a company – and this is a way that a professional and experienced assistant can be affordable to all companies.
Work experience
Taking on staff as ‘work experience’ is a great way to get an extra pair of hands to help which will not cost you any money and you’re also giving something back to the community. You can take someone on for the summer, or for as long as 6 months, depending on the course that they are doing and the stage of their education.
If you have a bit of extra time to give some training and guidance, you can end up with a great resource that may even look to you for permanent employment once they graduate. The benefit here is, you have already trialed this person – you should have an idea as to whether they are reliable, they know your company and as they are a recent graduate will expect a lower salary than others in the market.
Internships and apprentices are another great option; however these do cost money – albeit not as much as a permanent member of staff.
Free marketing
Pay-per-click, display adverts, telemarketing and other traditional marketing methods are great and will work to boost your business, if there is cash to pay for them.
However, in the early days you can drastically reduce your marketing spend by using some of the free marketing methods that are out there. Here are some of the methods we utilise with our clients to help them grow without a marketing budget.
- Social media marketing is one of the easiest ways to get your name out there. Research what other companies similar to you are doing on social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) and figure out a plan that speaks to your target audience.
- Ask your happy clients to share a testimonial on their social channels. A good testimonial is priceless. If a satisfied customer is willing to tell everyone they know that you’re their go-to you’re going to start getting noticed.
- Speak at a professional conference. Present to a live audience at a relevant seminar ad you are putting your ideas and your company in the spot light.
- Write a guest blog or share your own blog on a page that already has a strong following. Make sure it is relevant to your industry.
- List your business with online directories. Research who is out there and put your name and details down with them. Also, joining business communities that offer free networking is always a good move in the early stages of a business.
Remote offices
A great way to save money is to avoid paying rent! Instead of sourcing and paying for an office, it may be worth setting up a home office or working from ‘hot spots’. You will save a massive amount of money in bills and up-keep, plus you’re cutting down on an office commute which saves on travel costs AND is good for the environment. Win, Win.
If you are in a position to work remotely, but need an occasional desk or meeting room, there are a whole host of places that offer a bespoke service that you can utilise, only ever paying for what you use.
One of our favourites is the We Work office. Subscriptions start at about £35 per month and give you somewhere professional to work at a desk or use a meeting room. You would be more than happy to have clients see one of these spaces and it makes for a wonderful representation of your business and is as flexible as you need.
Also, for the working nomad that travels from client office to client office, here is a website that our director spends most of her time on. It is called Work From and so far we are all loving it. We have only used the London locations, but it has been wonderful and hasn’t failed us so far. Some of the places have been real gems, particularly the coffee shops and it is great to add a bit of variety to your working day, while keeping you plugged in and efficient.
Barter and haggle
It may sound strange, but you can make savings by talking to people and haggling. Always ask for a ‘best price’ quote. Enquire as to whether your supplier has an early payment discount, or if they will give money off for upfront payments. Many people will offer a more than reasonable discount to get the funds in their bank quickly.
You may also find, depending on what you do, you can offer a service exchange instead of paying up cash. This is particularly relevant if you use other start-ups or small businesses as your main suppliers. You will usually find that a few hours dedicated to a bit of client work will cost you less than the invoice would.