Being an entrepreneur usually means starting from scratch. The beginning is a fight for survival in a competing market, and every businessman worth their salt knows they’ll have to spit blood for years on end before achieving a modicum of success. Many businesses have gone down because of impractical expenditures, so it’s of paramount importance to cut business costs to get successful.
Hire Interns
This is a win-win situation for everybody involved. Interns will get some indispensable experience whereas you, the business owner, will get low-cost employees. The only downside is – many interns lack practice, so there’s a possibility you’ll just have to endure through their learning curve. Keep this in mind as you assess whether it’s prudent for you to go down this road.
Get Free Software
At Download.com, you’ll find innumerable software products that are free, and which are built from the ground up to function as replacements for already existing “pay to play” software. You could go with trial downloads, but it’s not generally recommended to get used to a program which you might not be able or willing to pay for. For example, OpenOffice is a possible replacement for Microsoft Office, but it’s not the only one.
Use Your Email
As far as back-and-forth messaging in your “business chain” which might include suppliers, vendors, buyers etc. is concerned, use emails as much as you can. After all, most of the well-established domains are free. Don’t spend money on stamps and envelopes – the expenses will pile up over time and it’s really looked down upon lately due to the “going green” global initiative.
Free Advertising
Multimedia advertising and social media strategy have become accessible to everyone. You can use Facebook to spread the word about your company and your services. Print out leaflets, newsletters and fliers if you have to but, again, it will cost you and it’s not “green” thinking, which is a double whammy today. After all, it’s becoming more and more evident that social networks do as good a job as any leaflet.
Don’t Spend Money on Management And Managers
If your company isn’t a large corporation, you don’t need an entire department of managers and HR. Keep in mind that most of the workers are already pretty much disciplined and self-sustained, so you don’t have to spend too much on supervision and coordination of their activities. Even if you are a big corporation, dialing it down in this sense could save you incredible amounts of money.
Smart Investments
If it’s crucial for your business to buy something new, make it the smartest possible investment. If you are delving into guerilla social marketing business, buying a phone with a good camera and all the necessary apps is probably a very smart choice. If you are starting a transportation business, a multi-purpose model ofscissor lifts can go a long way. Just learn how to recognize the difference between needless expenditure and right investment – either its functionality is (very) tightly connected to the working dynamic, or you don’t need it.
Buy Used Equipment
Production of both software and hardware units in every possible industry has been propelled to furious heights. Everything is mass produced and this is your advantage. Buying used equipment can make a big difference once the score is settled at the end of the month. The only downside here is that sometimes, you really don’t know what you are buying and you can end up with a faulty product. However, the advantage of the price outweighs the risk.
Travel Less
Avoid unnecessary trips. You are building a business and traveling takes a lot of time which you can spend on more important company-related endeavors. Instead, you can use Skype, Webex and other online resources for communication to conduct business meetings.
Work From Home
This mostly goes for your employees. First of all, they might spend a lot of time commuting, which means you’ll probably have to pay for that. On the other hand, if they work from home, that’s money in your pocket.
With these cutbacks under your belt, you are well on your way to create a business that has a lessened chance of tanking due to oversized bills. They might turn out to be the factor that tips the scales in your favor and propels you into the stratosphere of successful companies.