Thinking Big, Starting Small: 5 Ways for Small Businesses to Save Money

Running a small business is no cheap venture, so business owners are always looking for ways to save money. Saving money is especially important when you’re just starting up a business since there’s no guarantee that you’re going to immediately make a profit. Even if you’ve been in business for a while, trying out these tips can also help make a huge difference in your finances. Here are five things to try to cut down some of your business expenses.

#1: Go Green

Yes, it’s true that becoming more environmentally friendly will help you save money, and if your business operates in a physical location, there are several ways you can reduce your carbon footprint— as well as reducing some daily expenses. Keep all of your electronic devices and appliances on a smart power strip that will reduce the amount of energy when they’re not in use. You can also switch to energy-efficient appliances that naturally use less energy— all reducing your monthly utility costs. Also, make small changes such as printing on both sides of the paper, or go paperless altogether if you can. These may seem like very small steps, but the impact is greater in the long run.

#2: Turn to Low-Cost Marketing Strategies

While digital marketing strategies such as PPC (pay per click) are proven to be successful forms of marketing, they tend to cost you a lot more than other strategies that are just as effective. Instead, focus on SEO (search engine optimization) techniques that naturally bring potential customers to your website versus paying every time someone clicks on your ad. Also, look to inbound marketing, which works with your potential customers rather than against them. Instead of having pop-up ads placed on blogs, create your own blog for your website and use SEO techniques to get your blog and website to rank higher on search engines.

#3: Consider Offshoring

Depending on what type of business you are in, you can benefit greatly from relocating some of your business operations to another country. There are many advantages to offshoring, such as reducing your costs and maximizing your profits, but there are also downsides associated with offshoring. It can be difficult to have part of your business operations being performed in a foreign country where there are language and cultural differences, as well as time zone differences.

#4: Hire Interns

Another way to cut costs and still get things done is to hire interns. This can be paid or unpaid, depending on how much money you need to save, and you can still have work getting done without spending the same amount as you do on your full-time employees. Your full-time employees can focus on their normal work duties while you have some extra help from your interns. Interns understand that they don’t get the same benefits as full-time employees, but instead, they gain valuable experience to take with them in the future.

#5: Outsource as Much as You Can

In addition to interns, you can also choose to outsource the most tedious parts of your business, such as HR (Human Resources) and accounting/billing/payroll/etc. Many small business owners are wary of outsourcing parts of their business, but outsourcing has its benefits. Having your employees perform tedious tasks takes them away from their primary duties, and your interns may not be experienced enough to handle such tasks. Instead, hire a company that specializes in managed services (such as JD Edwards Consulting) to help your business thrive and save you money in the long run.

Many of these options do require you to spend money upfront, but it saves you more money in the future. Just think of it as a business investment— you’re spending money now that will bring you a greater benefit (more money saved overall and business growth) later.