Most businesses that fail in their first years of operation do so because of poor cash flow. High outgoings and a lack of income will eventually lead a company to bankruptcy, and most business managers rightly keep a tight grip on outgoings. However, if you are running a business, then there are many ways that you can reduce costs without cutting back on marketing or other investments. Cutting costs around the office in surprising ways will help you to breathe easier within your business, and increase your chances of surviving as a small business, or even becoming a large business.
Within your office, you may regard energy costs as a necessary and unchangeable outgoing. However, this is not the case. With some research you will be able to greatly reduce the costs you pay. Shopping around and regularly changing your energy provider will bring you many rewards when it comes to cutting your energy costs. If you are feeling particularly radical, you can follow the path of some American technology companies and encourage your employees to work from home. This will improve employee morale, as well as cut your energy costs. Giving each of your employees one ‘work from home day’ a week can reduce your energy costs by around 20%.
As with energy prices, shopping around for your utilities provider will help you to cut your costs for your telephone and Internet usage. With a range of companies available, you can ask different providers to beat one another’s quotes in order to bring down costs for your service. You can also compare specialist telephone and Internet packages, using economies of scale to bring down overall cost and saving yourself money.
One of the major losses for any business comes through employee sickness. If you are looking to improve the overall health of your business, then you need to take care of the overall health of your employees. Business health insurance can improve the speed with which your employees return from sick leave. In addition, business health insurance will improve employee morale, in that your employees will know that they are valued as important members of the team. If you are encouraging them to cut costs, knowing that you care about their welfare will improve their overall performance.
So, if you are serious about reducing your outgoings and making your business more money efficient, then these tips will help you to achieve your goals.
The author of this article is a part of a digital marketing agency that works with brands like Bupa. The views and opinions expressed within this article belong to the writer and any reference or summary of Bupa Health Information Factsheets is that of the writers and does not represent Bupa or the information contained within the Bupa website. The contents of this article are of a general nature only and do not constitute specific advice. This article does not take into account your circumstances or needs and must not be relied upon in place of appropriate professional advice.
