As a small business owner, you know that the best thing you can do for your continued success is to work out how to get the most return for the money your spend. We talk about return on investment (ROI), which is commonly a key determinant of success. Many businesses target a specific ROI and use their projected return on any strategy as a decision variable in determining which tactics to approve and which to trash. Even if your business is currently booming, you need these money-saving tips designed to help improve your ROI.
The unfortunate thing is that even the smartest of business owners can get so caught up in running their business, they don’t realize how much cash they’re actually hemorrhaging. They make investment decisions on advertising or other marketing strategies without a thorough review, especially when pressured by a salesperson who seems to make an offer they can’t refuse. I once had a client investing in what seemed like a cheap series of radio ads without recognizing the “cheap” ads weren’t reaching their target audience. This is the equivalent of throwing money down the drain.
The good news is that there are plenty of money-saving tips for your business, and it doesn’t have to be all doom, gloom, and cutting out the fun. So, with this in mind, we’ve got some of the money-saving tips you didn’t know your business needed to get you on your way.
Money-saving tips
1. Plan for tax payments
Don’t forget taxes in your budget because the IRS or other tax authority certainly isn’t going to forget and they add penalties and interest to your bill that make it even harder to pay. You can really throw off that bottom line if you haven’t budgeted for your taxes properly. You don’t want to have to scramble to come up with all your tax money. Left unchecked, taxes grow over time to the point where you inevitably reach a point where you can’t make them. It doesn’t take a genius to figure that late and missed payments are detrimental to your business.
Among the taxes you’re responsible for are:
- Payroll taxes in most countries
- VAT in much of Europe and some countries or Sales Tax in others
- Taxes on profits
To avoid running into tax problems, anticipate profits and set aside money to cover taxes on those payments. When collecting VAT or making payments to employees, set aside appropriate money to cover these taxes.
2. Computer hardware and software
Don’t forget your tech, which represents tangible costs for equipment (computers, other devices, and servers), subscriptions (such as AWS or other storage), staffing, and software (for marketing and operations). Intangible costs include threats from hackers, spyware, and ransom. These risks require consistent expenditures and monitoring to protect your business and the privacy of your customers and employees.
Speaking to the IT experts in your team, you should ensure that you are keeping all your software and your TNSR Netgate hardware updated, as well as ensuring your cybersecurity is state-of-the-art. The more stable your technology, the better, as you save money in reducing down-time and wasted time in your business. You need fast, up-to-date, and safe technology to keep your business efficient.
Save money on your software. Business management software ensures you have one application system for all of your operations, and you can read reviews and compare online to ensure that you are going to get the right products on your side.
3. Reduce office expenses
Try out telecommuting. One of the other massive business costs that can really eat into your bottom line is the cost of an office space, which varies widely based on location, amenities, and other factors. For instance, commercial space might cost $70/ sq foot in NYC, while similar space in a small town might only cost $5/ sq foot.
The money it takes to run a brick-and-mortar office is a lot. Remote working saves you a lot of money. and if it’s possible for your business, go for it. For instance, many tech firms told workers they might permanently work from home (or wherever). Not only does this mean they require less space at the office, but they incur lower salary expenses since employees often work for less if they can move from high-cost cities like those in Silicon Valley to low-cost locations.
4. Go green
Try to be more eco-friendly in your business. If you want to save your green, turning your business green saves a lot of money. For instance, wind and solar costs are lower every year and eliminate the cost of fossil fuels. Similarly, buying new energy-efficient vehicles when you need a new truck or car means lower operating costs. So, we’re not suggesting that replacing perfectly acceptable devices just to go green might not save money, but slowly replacing your wasteful devices with green ones makes a lot of sense.
Conclusion
You need these money-saving tips to reduce your outgoing costs, and you’ll find that your business will be more profitable when you put these methods into place.
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Hausman and Associates, the publisher of MKT Maven, is a full-service marketing agency operating at the intersection of marketing and digital media. Check out our full range of services.
