Surprising Ways To Save Your Business Time & Money

Whether your business is booming or times are tight, entrepreneurs are always looking for ways to save precious time and money in all areas of the organization.

While there are some obvious methods of cutting overheads such as renting cheap office space and shopping around for insurance and legal assistance, there are also a few quite surprising and minor changes which can add to your business.

So, from the day to day operations through to the key equipment that could transform your business, let’s take a look at the tactics you can adopt.

Operations

Just running a workspace can get expensive. Rental costs, utility bills and training all add up. So what can be done?

Hot Desking

For many businesses, hot desking is the perfect solution for saving space. If you are renting by the square foot, fewer desks will mean a reduction in rental price as well as furniture costs. This is an ideal solution for larger teams which are in and out of the office in any given week.

If you’re hot desking, be sure that the technology you use is flexible. Laptops nowadays are significantly cheaper than desktop PCs and are a lot more portable.

You can also cut back costs by implementing a cloud based phone system which can be operated through the computer rather than via an expensive handset.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

Making waves in the business technology sphere, BYOD allows staff to utilize their own devices for working. Personal laptops, tablets and even mobile phones are now being used to access corporate systems.

According to Techradar, Ovum carried out a survey in 2013 which found out that nearly 70{9e5c399d4686ffbee71f542e7a95a67178027d042b67cd6e8c3b22a26beb12ba} of 4,371 respondents are already accessing corporate data through their own devices.

With the correct security measures in place, this trend can be capitalized on to allow workers to operate when they are out of the office.

So how does this save you money?

Firstly, employees can use their own devices so there is no need to invest in portable equipment. Secondly, there is a significant reduction in work time lost through travelling as they can now perform their duties on the go.

Training

Investing in training for your staff is vital for business growth. Without it, employee skills will become stagnant. Before investing in expensive programs to fill any gaps, consider these methods first:

Conferences and seminars

In order to acquire decent exposure, some companies will offer inexpensive (or occasionally free) conferences and seminars where there will be multiple talks from professionals on areas that will benefit your business. It is always worth keeping an eye out for these events as they may also create networking opportunities.

While this potentially means a few days out of the office, it can also supercharge staff motivation and can act as a lead generation channel as well.

Cross-training

Got new or undertrained staff? Empower your more experienced employees to pass on their expertise. This can often be a much quicker process than hiring a training company who will need to put together a lesson and arrange a venue at your expense.

If there are still areas that need to be covered by external experts, be sure to do plenty of research and request a clear description of what will be covered before fully committing.

Marketing

Promoting a product or service successfully can carve a significant chunk out of yearly budgets. These costs are all important, but there are ways to save on other channels so that you can allocate more to larger campaigns.

Partnerships

Other local businesses are very likely to be in the same boat as you when it comes to restricted budgets. Why not team up for advertising opportunities? From print ads to sponsoring events, splitting the cost can lighten the load for all parties.

With more resources available, you will also reduce the time spent on setting up and monitoring the campaign.

Speaking Opportunities

We have discussed conferences from a guest perspective, but a great way of shouting about your business is to volunteer to speak at conferences. Share your knowledge, case studies or promote the benefits of using your product or service.

Alternatively, consider running workshops for other businesses and charge a small fee to cover costs or to feed back into your budget.

Equipment

From software through to stationary and office furniture, these vital pieces of equipment can end up becoming pricey – particularly those that need replenishing on a regular basis.

Here are a few pointers to avoid costs mounting up.

Software

Certain pieces of software can be downloaded completely free, with no obligation to buy. This is ideal for when you want to trial a program before investing.

In fact, here at TheFormTool, we have a free version of our document assembly software that provides impressive features for no cost.

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Recycled Stationery

Printer ink and paper are both very expensive for businesses that need to print multiple documents, but by opting for the greener solution, you can make significant savings.

Recycled stationery is easy to purchase from most wholesale suppliers, and buying in bulk will save you money in the long run. What’s more, ink cartridges can also be refilled at a fraction of the cost of buying new.

Used Furniture

As your organization grows, the need for desks, chairs, tables and other furnishings can really set you back if you buy new. Thrift stores and second hand furniture suppliers can outfit you with high quality pieces, meaning you no longer need to spend time searching and comparing costs.

Local Suppliers

Those hidden surcharges for delivering equipment can easily be reduced by choosing to work with local suppliers – you can even avoid waiting for delivery by picking up items yourself.

Keep things local to reduce gasoline consumption, and help feed the local economy.

By integrating these changes to your company, money can be saved and invested in further growth in both the long and short term.

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