Let’s face it. During the early stages of building a business, every single penny counts. While you are looking for unique funding solutions and working on acquiring the capital you need to keep everything afloat, you should also be on the lookout for ways to cut down on your company’s current spendings. The less money you waste, the better chance you have of making it through the first few years of your business.
Here at the Commercial Finance Group, we provide unique funding solutions to businesses who are not eligible for traditional lending solutions. We utilize alternative methods, such as receivables financing, to help small businesses acquire the working capital they need in the here and now.
Once you have attained a new means of funding, it is important that you operate your business as lean as possible to make the most of your funding. Check out these six creative ways that your business might be able to save some money.
#1: Share An Office Space
During the infancy of your business, having a massive office space to yourself is not necessarily a worthwhile investment. Many startups are turning to shared office spaces or even co-working spaces to cut down on operational costs. Instead of renting out a big office space for you and your five employees, you can rent a smaller space in a co-working office for your team.
Not only does sharing an office space help you cut down on costs, but it also allows you and your team to benefit from being around other innovative and young companies. Networking with those around you can open up new doors for your business, as well as provide you with a talent pool to tap into as your company grows.
#2: Use Your Expertise For Free Advertising
Marketing is a huge expense. You need your potential customers to know you exist, but getting in front of them can cost you a large portion of your budget. If you are spending too much on your marketing but you can’t afford to lose your visibility, think about creative ways to get your name out there.
One great method for free advertising is to share your expertise. Pose yourself as a thought leader in your industry and volunteer your time at local events. By speaking in front of crowds and offering your expertise at no cost, you can spread your business’ name without spending big dollars.
#3: Take Advantage Of Contractors And Freelancers
While it is important to have key players working for you, you might not need to hire a full staff right out of the gate. Instead, you can utilize the excellent network of contractors and freelancers that now exists due to the globalization of the web. For example, if you need a website designed, you don’t have to hire an employee that works for you full-time to do so. Rather, you can simply hire a freelancer for a one time project.
Before you invest in full-time hires, take the time to think about whether or not the position is worth a full-time investment on your part. Look for areas where you can instead utilize freelancers and contractors to help lower your ongoing staffing costs.
#4: Rethink Your Meetings
A big area of waste that many companies don’t recognize is found in the meeting room. Do you have more meetings than necessary? Are employees required at meetings where they aren’t really needed? Take the time to assess your current set up for meetings. Try to operate lean meetings in which only key players are present. This frees up your employees to become more productive and to focus on what they need to accomplish each day.
While having a company-wide meeting is helpful in some cases, there are a lot of situations where you are simply wasting time and your business’ money. Rethink your meetings and try to cut back on how much time is spent in meetings each week. Keep meetings succinct and focused to prevent the loss of valuable time. In fact, it can be a helpful practice to set a timer before you and your staff begins a meeting. Allocate a specific amount of time for the meeting to take place and when the time is up, end the meeting, period. This will help you all become more conscious of the time spent in meetings and will lead to improved efficiency.
#5: Use Free Alternatives When Possible
For small businesses, a lot of costs are related to products and equipment that is necessary for daily operations. When possible, seek out free alternatives rather than spending large dollar amounts on products. For example, Google offers a whole suite of products that can replace the need for the Microsoft Office Suite for the majority of your employees. Finding open source software and other alternative solutions can help you cut down on spendings drastically.
It is also important to ensure that you are only spending money on truly necessary products and equipment. Not every employee will need the same access to the same items. Make sure you are only purchasing what is needed for the specific team members who need it.
#6: Analyze Your Spendings Frequently
If you haven’t reviewed your daily business expenditures in a while, take the time to do so now. You should be analyzing your spendings on a frequent basis to ensure you are operating as lean as possible. When you don’t pay attention, things can quickly add up without you even noticing.
Just like a personal budget, a business’ budget requires constant monitoring and tweaking to make it as accurate as possible.
Talk To Us About Alternative Funding Solutions
Here at the Commercial Finance Group in Atlanta, we are passionate about helping small businesses and startups acquire the funding they need to be able to invest in their continuing growth. If traditional lending methods have been a roadblock for your company, we can help. We offer solutions, such as receivables financing, that allow companies who were previously “unbankable” to access needed working capital. Talk to us today about our unique lending solutions.
