Even the most well-prepared entrepreneurs can encounter unforeseen costs as they launch their company. If you’re launching or growing a start-up, here are four ways to cut your costs.
Shop around
It’s surprising how many entrepreneurs spend hours comparing deals on their energy, mobiles and all kinds of insurance for personal and home use—yet the minute they start a business, they carry on that existing energy contract on their premises and grab the first deals they see. Sometimes they feel they haven’t got the time to shop around or the leverage, as a brand new business, to get a good deal.
Sound familiar?
Don’t do it! A little time taken now could save you hundreds of pounds in the future. Use comparison sites to shop around for the best deals on energy, broadband, your business landline or mobile, car insurance, business insurance and public liability.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate and team up
If you can’t find the discounts, rates and delivery options you want, talk to suppliers directly; there are often deals to be done when specific circumstances or agreements are taken into account. Some suppliers, for instance, might offer a discount not usually available on smaller orders if you sign up to order monthly for a set time. Alternatively, why not try joining up with other small businesses to increase your leverage and qualify for discounts or trade deals?
Don’t pay more than you have to—or pay at all if you don’t need to
When it comes to business tools, particularly software and services, big companies love to make small businesses feel they need things they don’t—or that they need to pay for slick packages that actually don’t do any more than far cheaper, or even free, packages do.
Cloud accounting software is a case in point. Try a free or low-cost package like Pandle which can cover all your bookkeeping needs either for free or just £5 a month. You can pay more—but why should you? Always research your options.
Consider hiring rather than employing
There will always be some aspects of your business that you don’t have the time or talent to attend to, whether that’s admin tasks, order packing, web or flyer design or bookkeeping—your time is better spent building or running your business anyway.
Often, you won’t need full-time or even regular part-time time help, but just short-term or irregular help. The solution? Hire a freelancer or the services of another company to take care of these tasks for you. You get someone with all the talents you need without having to concern yourself with finding enough work for them, supplying their equipment, following endless employment rules or paying for their annual leave, sick pay, parental leave or pensions.
Have you found any other great ways to cut your costs? Share them here so that other entrepreneurs can benefit from your experience!
