Business Costs

Smart Ways To Save Your Business Costs

Start up businesses cost money, but they shouldn’t have to cost the earth. We have put together a list of some ideas to try and save yourself money in the first few months of being in business.

• BARTERING

No, this is not a joke! If you don’t have any cash and you need a service from a local business, why not offer to do something in return for it?

There are sometimes well established local systems in place to encourage this (depending on where you live and work).

Bartering is something that will sharpen your negotiation skills and can be used to good effect. Not only does it save you money, but it fosters a sense of community and helps you make friends amongst the local business scene.

And at the end of the day, the worst someone can say to your offer is only ‘no’!

• LEARN HOW TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA … PROPERLY

If you can promote your business competently on social media outlets such as facebook, you could save yourself a ton of money and get loads of, basically free, publicity.

Find out where your customers are and get them to like your page. Remember to update it frequently, with helpful tips and snippets.

If you’re having a sale, make sure you get the news out there.

If handled correctly social media can be an excellent way to connect with your customer base, as well as also the local community and businesses.

• THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS PREMISES

Do you really need that plush office in an uptown location? Could you possibly manage to work from home or your garage.

If you do need the space, consider office sharing. You can rent office spaces with all the basics for really quite a reasonable amount.

Once again, look carefully at the terms of your rental or lease agreement. Don’t get tied into a long term let if you think that you may be looking to move in a few months time.

Remember, there are always quiet areas available in places such as hotels for business meetings, it is not always necessary to push the boat out and rent expensive business premises.

• REMEMBER YOUR TAX RETURN

If you are working from home, remember that you may be able to claim a portion of your expenses against your tax return. This means a percentage of your rent, mortgage and heating costs as well as any business specific expenditure.