As a small business owner you would understand the accumulative effect of every dollar. If your business were to save $5 each working day (assuming you work 250 days a year), it will have saved $1,250 – enough for a new laptop.
Why don’t you take a few minutes to go through these practical points to see where you can be saving money:
Your suppliers
When was the last time you shopped around and got cost comparisons?
When you regularly use your preferred suppliers, make sure you don’t become complacent – get competitive quotes from other suppliers to compare. It will save you more money, and often you can pass some of this on to your appreciative clients.
Your insurance
The price of your car and business insurance can often be negotiated if they think that you are going to move to another provider.
However, when it comes to personal insurances such as income protection and life insurance, this option is not available. That’s where a good broker is useful because they can do the homework for you and save you money.
Paying bills
Many companies now have the option of a discount for receiving your bills electronically. Other companies will actually charge you to receive your bill in the mail. Remember, every dollar counts.
Over-processing
Have you ever heard of a pirate ship polishing its cannon balls before firing them? Neither have I.
Eliminate unnecessary steps in your processes. Are you inspecting documents and proposals multiple times? Are you constantly amending or correcting work that others have done?
Time wasted chasing payments.
Think of how you can reduce the instances where you are chasing up payment. Consider if shortening your terms of payment would help. A good idea is to offer a discount for prompt payment.
Bad marketing
Don’t assume that the old ways are still the best ways when it comes to marketing. Meet with a marketing expert who can come up with a tailored marketing plan for you, rather than simply advertising in classifieds or costly directories.
It is worth finding out how your marketing could be more effective with a bigger return on investment. For example, check out this very cheap marketing campaign for a super-glue company:
Client base
Just because your clients have been loyal to you up until now, does not mean they are going to stay that way. You need to constantly give your clients a reason to stay loyal to you.
I have run my personal insurance brokerage firm for almost twenty years. A large proportion of my customers today are the same loyal clients from twenty years ago, or are new clients that have been referred by my loyal long-term clients.
Serving existing clients well has saved me so much money (think about the time and money it takes to attract new clients that you do not have a relationship with).
There are many more money savers that contribute towards eliminating financial waste in your business. What are some of the ways you have found to be effective?
