How To Reduce Your Business Expenses

Be it a large brick-and-mortar store or a small e-commerce start-up, a business needs money for its operations irrespective of its size. Though every business has its own set of expenses which need to be dealt with in a strategic manner, the task is much more difficult for entrepreneurs or small business owners who dare to dream ‘big’ with their ‘shoestring budgets’.

While it is impossible to eliminate all essential costs for running your business operations, you can actually reduce them to a great extent by making smarter choices with some simple penny-pinching tips. So, here are a slew of simple yet surefire ideas to help you decide on exactly where to put your funds, thereby giving your bottom line a significant boost. Check them out:

1. Embrace Technology

When looking for ways to reduce expenses in business, technology can help you the most. Running teleconferences, using remote desktop applications, letting employees telecommute, making payments online – there are plenty of ways to embrace the power of technology for seeing cost savings. The more you make use of technology, the more you are able to value your hard-earned penny while advancing your business at the same time.

2. Choose Free Software

You can be a little wiser with technology and cut back on your expenditure even more by choosing free and open source software over the paid and premium ones. Invest in purchasing and/or upgrading only those applications, which are absolute necessary for your business. Otherwise, pick limited versions, trial versions, or freeware to keep the affair under budget.

3. Get Rid Of Landline

Your landlines can eat up your budget like anything. It is always a good idea to ditch your traditional telephone lines and opt for the best suitable contemporary choices, such as cell phone, virtual phone system, VoIP (voice over IP), etc. in order to step up communication in your small business.

4. Say ‘NO’ To Prints

Printing can cause unnecessary costs to your business. Just calculate the overall printing expenditure by taking into account the costs of papers, ink cartridges, storage spaces, electricity, and so on, and you will understand how it adds up to your budget. It is pretty easy to reduce such recurring expenses by printing less and digitizing all your paperwork with proper backups and security layers in place.

5. Limit Postal Mails

Sending postal mail for conveying simple messages to your customers or vendors can turn out to be very expensive for your start-up. Instead of spending in those mail supplies comprising papers, envelops, stamps, etc., switch to email (electronic mails) and experience a huge difference in your business expenses, plus you can turn your emails into an email marketing channel for your business.

6. Try Online Marketing

When it comes to marketing a small business, nothing can be better than going online. Internet marketing (aka digital marketing )is one of the most fast-paced channels with potential to deliver excellent results at minimal business costs. Hence, joining the bandwagon actually guarantees greater savings than traditional marketing techniques.

7. Advertise Strategically

Your advertising efforts are probably costing you an arm and a leg, and it is time to put a stop to it. Be strategic as well as innovative to garner low-cost attention for your business. Try piggyback advertising, split advertising costs, leverage POP (point-of-purchase) opportunities, include your website URL everywhere – leave no stone unturned to spread the word in a budget-friendly way and stay assured to get more bang for the buck.

8. Avoid ‘Brand New’ Items

Used, refurbished, and recycled items can help you save thousands of dollars in your small business. Such equipment or tools are found to be just as good and useful as new ones when purchased carefully, though you are often offered those at big, fat discounts rather than high retail prices.

9. Consider Bartering

Bartering is a popular way to cut business expenses and stretch the budget. You can swap your own goods or services with others for those your business require and stay away from cash outlays easily. Whether you join a commercial barter exchange or hire a commissioned barter, a successful bartering arrangement will save you a lot of money.

10. Hire interns And Freelancers

Hiring interns is a great way to avail free or low-cost resources without bearing the costs of recruitment. It is also beneficial to outsource your short-term jobs to freelancers or independent contractors rather than paying hefty amounts to full-time staff as remunerations along with all applicable benefits.

While these tips will help you develop the right mindset for making smart financial decisions, it is also essential that you have a robust business budget in place. Stick to your budget planning and follow these cost-cutting ideas religiously to scrimp and save. It will definitely pay you!