Whenever you are faced with small budgets (a really common situation for entrepreneurs), you need to save as much money as possible. That is a given and one thing that every entrepreneur needs to go through with a startup.
The manager that does not have experience will usually miss out on many different opportunities that are available. With this in mind, let us take a quick look at 12 really easy ways to save money. All the extra cash that you gain can be transformed into profit or investment budget.
1. Offering Free Expert Advice
This is something that is not obvious for many but it is a truly wonderful way to save money because of the fact that you will reduce the advertising needs that the company has. You can teach classes, appear as a speaker or write articles about interesting industry topics for local newspapers. Alternatively, you can use cheap posting opportunities in order to reach a much wider audience than with regular advertising methods.
We need to understand that not all advertising opportunities cost a lot of money. In many situations it is a very good idea to offer something for free. This makes you stand out and will help you to establish yourself as an authority figure. Such a presence can be huge for your business.
2. Alternative Online Store Options
If you do not have the budget to start a regular online store, how about eBay or even services like Yahoo! Auctions? Various websites offer you the possibility of selling products without you having to buy something.
3. Join Niched Communities
Find those newsgroups where your audience hangs out and join. You do not necessarily need to do that in order to generate business. You can also learn various things about subjects of interest. In addition, make sure that you join communities that talk about small business management. You never know when you learn more about how you can increase your profits.
4. Use Recycled Printer Cartridges
Unless you run a print shop, there is no reason why you should not buy recycled cartridges. They are so much cheaper. Also, it is possible to refill cartridges a few times to save even more.
5. Use Free Software
You do not need to buy expensive software. There are various options that are available and that you can consider. Just head over to Download.com and see what is available. You can choose freeware or trial periods in order to save a lot of money.
6. Purchase Used Equipment
Not everything needs to be new in your office. When you buy equipment that is used, you can easily save even 60% of your investment money as you buy copiers, furniture and computer equipment. Alternatively, look at auctions to see if you can find some great deals on used equipment.
7. Buy Business Insurance
This is one thing that many managers forget. See if you can find some discounts through the trade association that you are a part of. Various group insurance deals are available. Go through risk assessment so that you can see exactly what you need. In this way, if anything bad happens, you are perfectly covered.
8. Raising Deductibles
When you raise your deductibles, it is a guarantee that premiums are lowered. It is something that may seem bad because deductibles would need to be paid but statistics show that you do save a lot of money even in this scenario.
9. Temporary Employees For Business Surges
You do not need to hire extra staff on a full time basis if you just get some business surges. In this case you can save money by simply hiring temporary employees. When you do this, you manage to only pay for the work that is actually done. You no longer pay for people that do not work and sit idle.
10. Consider Commission Driven Sales
If you hire sales representatives, you need to deal with salaries, training costs, incentives, expenses, fringe benefits, overhead costs and a lot more. With this in mind, it is a really good idea to contract an independent sales representative that is just paid on a commission. This helps you to save money and the efficiency of the sales department is not affected.
11. Never Forget About Tax Deductions
There are many different things that can be listed as tax deductions. You can list off a part of the mortgage interest or the rent as business expenses. In addition, it is also possible to deduct some home maintenance expenses together with service costs like lawn are and house cleaning. Always contact an accountant and see exactly what could be deducted. You will love the amounts that you can save for your business when you do that. This is one fact that a lot of people forget about.
12. Credit Comparisons And Cash Advances
With cash advances everything is quite simple. You should avoid them as much as possible. They are just not good for business. With credit options, it is a good idea to always keep your eyes open for all available options. For instance, in the event that you keep ending up with an unpaid balance at the end of the day, shopping for new cards that have lower interest rates is a great way to save money. Remember that many credit card companies end up reducing interest rates or waive annual fees in the event that you just ask.
These 12 ideas will help you to save a lot more money than what you thought would be possible. That is a guarantee. However, remember that there are also many other things that you can do in order to get more cash for your company. Your startup will be able to evolve faster, which is definitely something that you want.
Tell us about your experience with your startup business. How did you handle expenses and how did you manage to save money? Was there something that you did and that saved you a lot of money? If so, we want to hear about it.
