Making money is something that every good business should be doing; it’s how success happens, and it’s how you become profitable. However, making money is only one side of how a business works. Whenever possible it should also be saving money. After all, it is how the very best businesses grow and thrive; save money with one hand, make money with the other, and combined that cash can be re-invested to make something very special indeed. Here are some fantastic ways to save money in your business and grow more quickly than ever.
Use Your Testimonials
If people are giving you great testimonials and leaving positive reviews, then you should be using these in your advertising. Doing so will cut down advert design costs, to begin with. The testimonials you receive don’t cost you anything; in fact, since they are from customers who bought something from you. So using these testimonials in, or even instead of, your regular advertising can save you a fair amount of your marketing budget. Reviews are what many potential customers will be looking for, so make sure yours are easy to find.
Ask For Referrals
The next step after using your testimonials and reviews is to ask people to give you referrals. They should already want to tell their friends and family about you and your products and service because they were so happy with your business, but a little reminder can’t hurt. In fact, offering a reward scheme is a great idea as it not only boosts your chances of getting a referral, it also increases the chances that your original customer will return. It’s another way to cut your marketing budget substantially. Keeping hold of old customers is much easier and less expensive than finding new ones.
Automate Where Possible
The world is becoming a place where automation is the norm, so why not use it wherever you can in your own business? Doing so will cut staff costs and mean that you can be picky about who you do employ; you can take your time and hire the best if many of your processes are automated. There are lots of different ways that automation can help any business. A food scrap collector can speed up how a professional kitchen can work, for example (you can learn more here). You can set up autoresponder emails. You can even have an entirely automated reception area. It will depend on your business and whether you are in a physical location or solely online, but if you automate where you can you will save money in the long term.
Offer Internships
Internships can often work out well for everyone involved. You get to save money because an intern’s salary is usually much less than a long-term, full-time member of staff, and you also get a lot of tasks done on a daily basis by someone who is willing to learn. The intern benefits because they are gaining useful experience so that, once their internship is over, they can go and find a good full-time job. In fact, it may be that you decide to offer them one in your own company, but this should only be done if there is a vacancy. Otherwise, you will be taking someone on who you don’t need and paying them a salary you don’t need to pay out.
Stop Outsourcing
Look at everything that your company currently outsources. How much are you paying for this service? Now, look at your staff. Could you train them to take on the tasks that you are outsourcing right now? It may take time, and it could take them away from their jobs for a while (especially if you train your staff off-site), but there are many advantages. Firstly, your staff will feel appreciated because you are training them up to help you more. It will foster a sense of loyalty. Not only this but once the training is complete and more processes are in-house, your bottom line will look a lot healthier. It isn’t always possible – tax accounting, for example, should always be done by a professional – but it is certainly something to consider.
Switch Energy Suppliers
Many people don’t bother to switch their energy supplier. After all, they’re all the same, aren’t they? They all cost the same, they all do the same job right? That’s not the case at all, which is why switching can save you a lot of money. It’s not a complicated thing to do either. You can go online and sign up for a comparison website which will give you all the information you need to determine where, with whom, and how much money you can save. Then it’s (usually) simply a question of filling in a form. Your new supplier will set everything up for you. Looking at the monthly savings may not mean a lot, but over the year that money could be put to much better use.
Buy Second Hand
It may not be what you want for your business, but buying second-hand items for your office, or even buying used vehicles if you need one, can save you a lot of money. If you’re worried about your image, don’t be. Most of the time no one will ever even know that the items are second hand, especially if you take the time to check them out beforehand. Take a look on eBay or Craigslist, and you will see that almost everything you need to buy for your business from computers to printers to vehicles and everything in between is for sale there. If you can compare items and grab some great bargains, it’s even better.
Early Payment Discounts
Paying your bills early is another potential way to save money, as many suppliers will offer an early payment discount. Even if they don’t state it on their paperwork, it doesn’t hurt to ask because you may get the discount anyway. If you can’t haggle a discount, don’t worry; paying early means you won’t get hit with penalties and late payment charges, so you’re still saving money.