Running your own business can be as tough as it is rewarding. From hiring staff and winning new clients to keeping up with marketing trends and competing with rival businesses, there is a lot to think about on a daily basis.
Ultimately, of course, your main concern is your revenue. And whilst gaining new customers, getting more clients or making more sales is key to driving your revenue, keeping your overheads and operational costs to a minimum can also have a huge impact on your profit margin.
So what can you do to cut your business’ operational costs and ensure that your hard work is going towards maximising your revenue instead?
Analyse your spending
Before you make any big changes, sit down and take a look at exactly what you are spending. Note everything down in a spreadsheet. From takeaway coffees and biscuits to pens and highlighters, you’d be surprised at how all the little costs add up. They may not seem like anything at the time, but all your small expenses could be adding up to create huge dents in your profit margin.
Once you’ve noted everything down, take some time to really analyse your spending. What is necessary and what isn’t? Remember that reducing your costs doesn’t have to mean removing the product or object completely. For example, you might be spending a fortune on taking away coffees for you and your staff but, as it boosts morale, it’s not something you want to remove completely. In which case, you may want to research the cost of purchasing and maintaining a good coffee machine for the office. Although it might be a big upfront investment, it could work out a lot cheaper for you in the long run.
Of course, you should also look at the bigger items that are eating into your budgets like vehicles, office space rental costs and copiers. With each item, you should consider whether it’s truly necessary and if so, consider if and how you can make it cheaper.
Go paperless
Going paperless isn’t just great for the environment, it’s also fantastic for your bottom line. Removing paper from your daily operations not only saves money on actual paper but it also saves money on other consumables like ink and pens. Furthermore, it saves you money on large office equipment like copiers, printers and fax machines whilst also reducing storage costs for old paperwork.
Paperless operations also reduce the amount of time it takes to complete tasks. From locating vital information to correspondence with colleagues and clients, digital data storage and electronic communication saves time and therefore saves money.
Outsource
Outsourcing certain tasks and projects to freelancers can help reduce your overheads. Whether you simply don’t have the time to keep up with client demand or don’t have the infrastructure to up-skill or hire new staff to take on a certain project, hiring outside help is a great way to increase your profits without increasing your overheads.
When you hire freelancers, the money you pay will cover all the software, labour, insurance, consumables and everything else that is required to complete the tasks. This allows you to get the work done without worrying about the overheads.
Strategic marketing
Digital marketing is key to the success of any business in today’s market. But the industry is constantly changing and there are always new techniques to try and keep up with. Having a proper marketing strategy is not the only key to your success but is also the key to making sure you are making the most out of your budget.
Focusing on re-marketing to convert users who have already browsed your site allows you to target the people who are most likely to want your services or products. Marketing on Facebook is also a fantastic and cost-effective way to target a very specific demographic.
Whatever type of business you run, taking some time to really think about your marketing strategies will not only help you reduce your operational costs by making your budget go further, but it will also help you to increase your sales and boost your revenue with more effective marketing.
Get the right broadband plan
Whether in business or in our personal lives, everything is done online today. Having fast and reliable internet connection is, therefore, key to ensuring that your business operations run as smoothly as possible. But if you’re running a company of more than one person, it’s important to look at proper business internet plans to make sure that your internet connection fits your needs. An office of 200 people receiving online orders from thousands of customers, for example, will need a more robust plan than a small company of five people.
Take a look at your broadband plan and analyse whether you’ve got the right plan for your needs. If you’re a small company, you might be paying too much for a comprehensive plan designed for large companies and can cut costs by moving to a different plan. Or, you might be having connectivity issues because your internet plan isn’t comprehensive enough for your operations and this could be limiting your profits. Finding the right plan is key to your success.
Conclusion
Cutting your operational costs don’t have to be difficult. By sitting down and analysing what you are spending money on versus what you actually need, you can remove any unnecessary spending and focus on making more money. After all, without generating any sort of money, how can you call yourself a successful business owner?
