Let’s face it, today’s economic market is one of the most challenging that businesses have faced in a long time. GDPs are consistently shrinking, standards of living are reducing, and interest and inflation rates are sky-high. All of which make running a successful business extra tricky right now. The good news is that by making smart choices and reducing costs you can maximize your business’s chance of survival during this difficult time. Read on to find out what they are.
- Automation
Automation may sound like a great expense when you are looking for ways to save money in your business. However, over time the benefits of automation can greatly outweigh the initial costs of setting it up. This is because automation can provide a range of advantages including a reduction of mistakes, a reduction in labor costs and an increase in productivity.
The good news is that there are several types of automation to consider. The first type that may help save your business money is digital automation. This is where you automate digital tasks such as automatically generating and sending invoices to customers once an order has been received.
Then there is physical automation which can be done with robots and machines. An example of physical automation of a task includes using robots to pick and pack orders instead of relying on human workers.
- Maintain equipment
Another way that you can save money when running your business, and so increase its chances of survival during this challenging economic time is to make sure that you properly maintain and service any equipment you use.
The key benefit of a solid maintenance and servicing schedule is that you can much more readily rely on your equipment to be in working order when you need it. This means you will not suffer the costs of downtime which can include wages and lost business. Additionally, well-maintained and serviced equipment means items are likely to last longer too, which means you can save money in the long run because you will not need to replace expensive equipment as frequently.
- Minimize waste
You can also help secure the success of your business by minimizing waste. This is because the less waste your enterprise generates the less money you will waste. For example, a bakery business may need to cut off the top of the cakes they make to ensure they are flat enough to be iced. However, if they can find a way to ensure that the cakes rise evenly and do not need trimming they can use less battery, and each cake will require less work because it will be ready to go once it’s cooled.
- Ask employees
So many business owners forget that one of the most effective ways to find out how to save money is to ask their employees. This is because employees are on the front line, and will know where wastage or efficiency is happening, and will usually have ideas on how to correct this. Of course, you may not wish to use all the suggestions they put forward, but the information they provide can be invaluable to improving your business and making it more sustainable over the long term.
You can ask your employees for one-time feedback in a meeting setting or through a survey. It’s worth remembering here that no one likes to single themselves out for criticism so providing a way of offering feedback anonymously is the best approach. In this way, you will get the most honest, and most useful answers.
Alternatively, you can institute a method that allows them to provide regular feedback, such as questionnaires or a suggestion box. Again anonymity matters here, so be sure to provide ways that protect people’s identity.
- Use software to increase efficiency
An efficient business does not waste precious resources such as time, money, or person-power. One of the best ways to improve efficiency in your business, and so give your enterprise a fighting chance of surviving in today’s market is to use specialist software designed for your niche.
The advantages of using specialist software designed for your niche like this roll off software, ideal for those in the curb waste niche are many. For example, you can easily create, track and manage orders, saving a huge amount of time. Additionally, you can keep track of your assets and their progress along a route in real-time which makes for better resource allotment and deadline predictions.
It is of course, vital that when looking to increase efficiency you choose software that has been designed particularly for the industry and niche in which you work. This is because more general software options will not be as good a match to the functions you need to maximize efficiency in your specific business.
- Slash payroll costs
Wages and payroll processing tend to be some of the more significant costs that businesses deal with regularly. Fortunately, there are options you can use to reduce these as much as possible, while still maintaining productivity and quality related to the products or services that you offer.
In particular, a great way of cutting payroll costs is to outsource some tasks. Outsourcing allows you to work with experts, and get tasks completed to a high standard without having the cost of retaining a professional full-time. For example, working with a freelance graphic designer can save you a great deal of money, because paying them for the completion of a single project will be way less than the cost of their salary for a year. Additionally, you reduce wastage and increase job satisfaction because you don’t have an expert stuck for tasks to complete all the time.
- Lower your energy usage
Most businesses are now aware of just how important to the environment cutting their energy usage is. However, what many forget is that reducing the amount of energy you use when running your business can also vastly cut your operating costs as well. After all, power is a resource that you pay for, and by using less of it you will have to pay out less.
There are plenty of ways you can cut your energy usage when running a business too. Some of the most basic include putting all lights on timers and movement sensors so they switch off when no one is in the area of use. You can also use SMART technology more consistently to control the temperature within your premises, meaning less energy needs to be used in raising or reducing it to suit your workers.
Another way in which you can reduce the amount of energy that you use in your business is by preventing energy vampirism. This means unplugging items when they are not in use so energy cannot be used passively. However it’s worth noting that for some large and heavy machines, it can be more wasteful to turn them on and off again repeatedly, so be sure you check this before you change your habits.
- Permit remote work
Working from home is a huge advantage for many people as they get to have a better work-life balance, as well as cut out the hassle-filled commute to and from work every day. It’s also a tactic that can help your business better survive in today’s challenging economic climate. The reason for this is that companies that allow employees to work from home can save a huge amount of money on overheads such as building rent, electricity, heating, cleaning and so on.
Indeed, by switching to a fully remote model many office-based businesses can still operate very successfully at a reduced cost. There are even rentable meeting spaces that you can use when you do need to get together for in-person meetings.
- Evaluate employee perks
Employee perks and saving money to help your business survive an economically challenging time will always be a difficult balance to achieve. This is because while cutting the perks and benefits to your staff that you offer can save you money in the short term, it may end up impacting efficiency, productivity and morale in the long term, and these things can also cost you money.
The best way to approach employee perks is to be as reasonable as possible and explain to staff why any perks are cut. For example, if your business can no longer afford fully subsidized gym memberships, you could pay half with employees making up the difference so they still have the benefit of attending at a lower rate.
- Try a BYOD policy
Last of all, if saving money to ensure the longevity of your business is on your priorities list, then you may wish to consider instituting a BYOD or bring-your-own-device policy. A BYOD policy is where instead of investing in expensive equipment for your employees you allow them to use their computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones for work purposes, saving your business a great deal of money.
However, for a BYOD policy to work, you must also have a robust cybersecurity plan that includes thorough education on good practices for your employees. Otherwise, the security risks may outweigh any savings benefits you gain.