If you’re not careful, business costs can pile up so that it becomes difficult to reach your goals. But there are many things you can do to watch your costs and cut them when necessary. Read on for nine ways to not only cut business costs, but increase your productivity along the way.
1. Evaluate Your Expenses
You pay your bills like clockwork, but when was the last time you sat down and took a deep dive into those bills? Are you actually using the services and products you’re paying for? Are they helping your business be efficient, productive, and profitable? Can you get those same services and products in a more efficient or less expensive way?
When you eliminate unnecessary expenses, you are free to direct your money to where it will help you reach your goals in a more efficient way. Maybe you have a company vehicle that isn’t being used. Sell it, and use the money for employee training that will increase sales. Or perhaps you’re paying for an email platform that isn’t efficient. Switch to one that will help you reach your customers in the ways you need.
Set a date in your calendar to review your expenses every quarter and determine if you’re getting your money’s worth.
2. Regularly Check on Your Budget and Sales
It seems obvious, but make sure you have a budget — and that it’s realistic. It’s easy for expenses to come out of nowhere, and without a budget, you may throw money you don’t have at problems as they arise. When you have a budget, you’ll be more careful in your planning, as well as in how your react to things you didn’t think of.
Not only that, be sure to forecast your sales so you can know what to expect. But don’t stop there. Review these figures every month so you can adjust as you need to.
3. Hire Remotely
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have become a society that knows how to work remotely! This has been a good option for small businesses for a long time, but it’s even easier to hire remotely now. Hiring remotely significantly cuts costs, as you don’t have to pay for office space. Plus, people are getting even more efficient at working from home, so your company’s productivity will increase.
4. Hire Contractors
Maybe you need someone to run your social media, but you’re a small business, and the job will only take a couple hours a week. Maybe you need an accountant, but you aren’t big enough yet to employ someone full-time. Consider hiring contractors to use their expertise to take work off your plate. You’ll save time, and you’ll get your money’s worth as they do what they do best.
5. Partner With Other Businesses
Look around and find businesses that are adjacent to your industry. Develop relationships with them, and consider pooling customers by creating a joint offer. This is an effective way to bring more profitability into your business while sharing the workload of your marketing campaigns.
Likewise, you can also barter services or products with other companies as a way for both of you to cut costs.
6. Evaluate Your Meetings
Every time you have a meeting, you pull people away from their projects. And if you have hourly employees or contractors, you have to pay for the time they spend in your meetings. We’re not saying to cut meetings altogether, but take some time to evaluate if your meetings are currently serving you or not. Can you reduce or eliminate some?
When you still have to have a meeting, make it more efficient by:
- Creating — and sticking to — a brief agenda
- Sending your agenda to team members ahead of time
- Sending out “housekeeping” information by email, so you don’t have to discuss it in the meeting
- Getting feedback by email ahead of time, so you can jump right into problem-solving discussions
- Holding virtual meetings to cut down on travel time
7. Treat Your Employees Right
The hiring process takes time and money, so it’s often better to invest in your current employees. Make sure your employees are in positions where their skills and passions are being used. When people are doing what they’re good at, they feel valued and enjoy their work. And they are less likely to look for work elsewhere.
Be sure you’re compensating your employees well and showing appreciation, while creating a supportive and happy work environment.
8. Use — and Teach — Productivity Skills
Time is money, so be sure you and your employees are using time in efficient ways. There are many ways to do this, but it starts with learning and teaching productivity skills. Devote time to improving this in yourself and teaching your employees what you know.
In addition, be realistic about how long it takes to do certain tasks, and communicate that with your team. Stick to a regular schedule to keep yourself and your team on task. Use productivity apps to minimize distractions and keep everyone on task.
When you create a culture of productivity, the effects snowball.
9. Use a Coworking Space
Coworking spaces cut costs for your business, as you don’t have to pay for everything involved in an office. Plus, you don’t have to worry about cleaning, security, energy costs, office furniture, or equipment. The coworking space handles everything involved in the physical office, leaving you free to get down to business and focus on your own profitability.
A happy side effect of coworking spaces is that they provide a hum of productivity that is contagious.
Coworking Connection in Murrieta and Temecula is a great option for increasing your productivity while cutting business costs. Give us a call at 1-800-762-1391. Our affordable options will expand your current possibilities and capabilities.