If you’re a brand new small business owner just bursting out of the starting block, how you decide to save money matters. Even if you’ve gotten off to a good start, and revenues are flowing in, every dollar you save goes directly to the bottom line. In order to maximize your savings, keep the following six tips in mind.
1) Score Free Office Supplies
If you typically pick up your office supplies from your local office supply retailer, understand that there are ways to score supplies for free. Enroll in the store’s rewards program and wait for 100% cash back sales. You buy the supplies at full price, then receive the amount you spent in the form of a rewards certificate, usually issued the following quarter. Common free items include printer paper, pens, notebooks, folders, staplers, and scissors.
2) Build Up Your Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is basically free, but there are ways to ramp up your efforts to maximize your influence. Start up and maintain accounts on Instagram, Vine, Tumblr, Snapchat, or any other social outlet that best fits your business and what you do. By creating a presence on these sites, you may tap into a new audience that’s perfect for your brand. Using social media in place of more expensive marketing solutions, like direct mail campaigns, makes better use of your money while helping you better connect to your customers.
3) Go it Alone
Don’t make the mistake of hiring too many employees before you need them. If you manage your time well and have expertise to spare, you can be the marketing director, the accounting guy, and even the head of customer service!
4) Outsource
Going it alone usually means at some point you’re going to max out your time and resources. When this happens, don’t automatically advertise for full-time help. Post your projects on an outsourcing website, like Guru or oDesk. Instead of paying an ongoing salary, you just pay for the cost of a single project which is an incredibly cost-effective solution for new start-ups.
5) Get Tech Tools at a Discount
If you need printers, laptops, smartphones, or other electronic gadgets, check out Amazon or eBay. The new listings are typically cheaper than those at major retailers, and you might even find a like-new product under the used listings. It may have been opened, but never used. That said, only buy from sellers with stellar feedback ratings, and be sure to investigate the seller’s return policy on anything you purchase. You can also sign up for email notifications from websites like FatWallet, where members post deals on electronics and other items. This is a great resource if you’re interested in comparing online and in-store discounts.
6) Partner with Other Businesses
Before you lay down cash to advertise your business on a billboard, the side of a bus, or in the newspaper, build up a rapport with other small business owners in your area. You might be able to arrange a mutually beneficial partnership where you piggyback your advertising efforts and taking out a dual ad cuts your costs in half.
If you can launch your small business for $5,000 rather than $10,000, that means you’re $5,000 closer to being in the black. Since that’s the ultimate goal, it’s important to cut costs wherever you can. Once you’re earning money, you’ll be glad you did!
What other ways can you think of to cut costs on a new small business?