It’s estimated that there are 30 million businesses in the United States, all offering a wide variety of products and services to customers. If you are one of those 30 million business owners, then you no doubt very passionate about what you do, and always striving to stand out from your competitors.
But you’re always probably thinking about how to save your business money. Let’s face it, every business, no matter how big or how small, loves to turn a profit. But there are plenty of situations where you need to invest in your business in the short term to ensure success in the long term.
With that in mind, here are several tips for how to save your business money while still achieving your long term business goals.
Check Out Advertising Alternatives
in days past, businesses spent thousands of dollars per year on advertising. Whether it was taking ads in the newspaper, paying for billboards, or printing flyers, businesses followed a tried-and-true plan for getting the attention of customers.
That’s all changed today. In the age of the Internet, one-way businesses can save money is to consider low-cost alternatives to traditional advertising. How can companies get their message out? Using search engine optimization techniques, companies can get hundreds of thousands of views with a video on YouTube or hundreds of followers on Twitter, or get their message in front of millions of eyes with an engaging Facebook post. Think about it: sometimes the simplest or silliest YouTube videos are the ones that become the talk of the Internet, and if you put up engaging and interesting content, you’ll definitely get people talking.
By embracing social media, businesses can get a lot of eye-catching advertising for little to no cost.
Invest In Your Business
As you research tips for how to save your business money, one of the best things you can do is invest. Whether you’ve been in business or six months or 20 years, commercial building renovations can make your business look brand-new and inviting to potential customers.
What kind of repairs do you need to do? It really comes down to the conditioning your building is in and what needs fixing. For example, if notice your business is always burning through office lights and the lights are always flickering, call a local contractor that specializes in electrical wiring repair. A contractor can not only repair lighting that needs fixing, but can also upgrade your office wiring so that it’s up-to-date and there are no potential hazards in your building.
If you notice that your storefront has seen better days, the building’s lettering is faded and the awning needs updating, check into an exterior design company that specializes in residential and commercial awnings. The work that designer does can make your business look like it’s opening for the first time and present a fresh and updated look that catches a customer’s eye.
Don’t Be Afraid to Upgrade
One of the great things about learning how to save your business money, is learning when it makes sense to upgrade. After all, if you’re a homeowner, you periodically have to buy new appliances and when you do, you can buy top-of-the-line items.
When it comes to business upgrades, you can save a lot of money by investing in current technology. If you’re looking to cut down on energy costs, you can have solar panel installation, which will not only help you save some money, it will also help make your business more eco-friendly.
The same principles can be applied when it comes to upgrading your building security. Let’s imagine for example that you run a small trucking business with a small fleet of trucks. In order to keep your fleet safe, you can have brand-new commercial garage doors installed with upgraded locks to make sure your trucks stay in the garage where they’re supposed to be.
Look Into Loans
As you look into building upgrades and ways for how to save your business money, you might be wondering how you’re going to pay for all those repairs.
Thankfully, there are many types of business loans and real estate loans business owners can get to finance renovations. These loans include:
- Line-of-credit loans: These are perfect for small businesses owners because it protects their businesses from emergencies as well as stalled cash flow. This is because these loans are intended to help businesses cover operating costs and inventory costs, and not bigger purchases like equipment. Basically, it’s a short-term loan to cover operating expenses.
- Installment loans: These loans are paid back by business owners with monthly payments that cover both interest and principal cost. The good thing about these is they can be written to meet all kinds of needs. With these loans, business owners can get the full amount of the money the need right away and the interest on the loan starts from that day until the end of the loan.
- Balloon loans: With these loans, business owners get the full amount of the loan when the contract is signed, but the interest is paid off during the life of the loan. On the final day, the loan is paid off with a balloon payment of the principal.
Get Insurance
While there are many tips you can follow for how to save your business money, you definitely shouldn’t skimp when it comes to getting business insurance.
The simple truth is that running a business always comes with risks, no matter how successful you are. Employees get injured, your business could be affected by natural elements, or a client could file a lawsuit. It’s important to get business insurance and there are many good reasons to do so:
- The law says so: Businesses are required by law to carry insurance of several types, including unemployment and disability and workers’ compensation. Businesses without proper insurance risk getting fined and facing harsh penalties.
- Potential lawsuits: If there is an instance where a lawsuit is filed against your business, it helps to have insurance. All it takes is one accident or one broken contract for things to change about your business and it’s better to be safe than sorry by having coverage.
- Keeps Your Business Running: As you look into how to save your business money, it never hurts to be prepared for the unexpected. Being prepared for the unexpected includes being protected from the elements. Depending on where you live and the climate in that area, you never know when your area might be affected by a flood, a hurricane, a tornado, or even lightning. When and if that happens, business owner’s insurance, which helps prevent a loss of income by paying a company the money it would have made while it’s out of commission from a natural event.
- An increase in credibility: Another good reason to carry business insurance is that it makes your business seem much more credible. It shows clients and customers that they can trust you.
Don’t Overlook the Small Stuff
If you want to know how to save your business money, one important tip is not to overlook the small stuff. Sure, your business may be in need of some significant repairs, but don’t overlook the small things either. At least once a year, contract with a heating and cooling company to have proper HVAC maintenance done, whether it’s changing the filters on your building’s HVAC system or replacing any defective parts.
Don’t overlook your building’s roof either. It’s recommended that roof inspection be done at least twice a year. If you notice leaks or sagging, or any other issues with your roof, call commercial roofers to come and check things out. Even the most successful businesses need a working roof over their heads.
Invest In Your Employees
There are many tips for how to save your business money, but one of the best things today’s companies can do is invest their money in their employees. Investing in your employees keeps them motivated, dedicated, happy, and loyal to your company.
So how can you invest successfully in your employees? Try these helpful tips to empower your employees:
Be Upfront About Goals
If you’re a small business with a limited budget, you need to provide your staff with flexibility. No matter what kind of business you’re in, it’s a fair bet that your employees all come from a variety of different backgrounds. Some may be college students. Some may be working parents. Ultimately, business owners should allow employees flexibility with their schedules to keep them less stressed.
Encourage and Provide for Professional Development
Every business wants its employees to be efficient, but if you’re looking for an important step for how to save your business money, you can do so in the long term by encouraging and providing for professional development. Talk to your employees, find out what their interests are and what they want to do career-wise.
Help Employees Improve
Even some of the most successful business owners have trouble recognizing shortcomings. One of the best things you can do as a business owner is to facilitate an open-door policy where employees can come and see you and address any concerns they have. In turn, you can offer them constructive feedback that helps them improve their work.
Learn About Your Employees
One of the most important things any business owner can do is get to know their employees. While this might not exactly be an investment, but getting to know your staff can be invaluable. Getting to know them helps you get to know their strengths and weakness, what makes them tick, and how you can best put them into a position to succeed.
Partner With Other Businesses
Companies have been working together for mutual benefit for a long time. In some circles, it can be referred to as co-branding. Good strategic partnerships find ways to creatively expand the audience of both businesses and help them also enter new markets.
Here are several ways your small business can benefit from a strategic partnership:
- Potential for new customers: When you partner with a new business, you not only get a chance to form a longstanding partnership, both businesses are able to reach one another’s clients. This is a great strategy when it comes to marketing because you’re able to double the number of people you reach.
- Reaching new markets: Reaching new customers is great, but partnerships also allow you to reach new markets and places you may not have even thought about reaching.
- More customer value: Partnerships also add plenty of value for existing customers of either business. Providing more value is a way to preserve customer loyalty, and is a great way to show them you care. If you have happy customers, it increases the chances they’re going to pass along word of your business to others.
- Brand strength: A good partnership is a great way to strengthen the trust in both brands. When people see businesses working together, they’re more than willing to help those businesses succeed. Say for example you’re the best bankruptcy attorney in your area and you partner with another law firm that does similar work. If a client goes to you for advice, you can always recommend the other law firm should they ever have any other legal needs.
Do What Works Best For Your Business
While there are many tips and tricks out there for how to save your business money, ultimately, you have to do what’s best for your business. The key is not to try and keep up with the Joneses; it’s about making practical upgrades that are going to ensure the short-term and long-term financial health and viability of your business.
Whether you take out a loan to do some major renovations, partner with another business in your area, or take time to invest in professional development for your employees, doing what’s best for your business will make it stand out, make it attractive to customers, and will make your investments—financial or not—pay off.