Most of us save money where we can in our personal lives such as by using software that allows you to convert mov to mp4 to download music. However, what about saving in our businesses?
Being able to minimize business expenses is probably one of the highest priorities of any business.
There are usually so many expenses involved to where it becomes essential to be able to spend money wisely.
Thankfully though, there are several areas in which you can get the best deal for your buck. There are the normal methods like Simply Switch and shopping around for the bargains but what are the more unique methods are there?
Here is a list of 7 unique ideas on how to lower your costs and be able to save an extra dollar at the end of every month.
Make Use of Prior Content
Being able to come up with new content can be quite challenging sometimes. This becomes somewhat intriguing when about 60% of B2B content goes unused once it’s been created.
Don’t allow your business to go towards that route and re-use content that’s already been made.
To make it clearer on what we mean by re-using already created content, a few ways it can be done is by breaking down a lengthy blog post into smaller chunks and being able to make frequent Facebook posts with it. Or another example would be to create an ebook from the FAQ page on your business’s website.
Do Public Speaking
Even though it might seem slightly scary to a few individuals that they might have to do public speaking to give their business a boost, there are many substantial benefits towards doing it.
Being able to speak up in front of a crowd can allow other organizations and potential customers/clients to view you in a favorable perspective, especially when it’s done at no monetary cost. Many individuals seeking to become entrepreneurs love to attend such events and can learn a lot about your business as well as how you present yourself. It’s a great way to do word of mouth advertising at very minimal cost.
Keeping that in mind, before diving right into public speaking without much prior experience, attending a few upcoming events towards other brands and organization can be a great way to learn. After attending those events several times, going up on stage gradually would be a wise thing to do up until you feel ready to take on larger crowds for more exposure.
Hire Influencers
Another alternative option from doing public speaking is being able to utilize influencers to do the job for you. There are many statistics to prove its high effectiveness.
- About 60% of consumers have reported that they’ve been influenced by a social media post or a blog review to go shopping at a certain store.
- 74% of consumers rely on social networks to see what’s trending and to buy what is to come.
- In 2016, influencer marketing has been able to surpass the effectiveness of print marketing
- 75% of brands have made allocated budgets for influencer marketing
- Businesses can get up to an average of $6.50 for every $1.00 spent on influencer marketing.
What makes influencer marketing such an amazing strategy is that it is much cheaper than mainstream marketing strategies and it brings a return on investment that is much higher. Even a Facebook Ad can be effective at first but after some time it will lose its mark on the consumer.
With influencer marketing however, it has the potential of always making an impact by taping into new audiences with every influencer and can generate a much better outcome due to its word of mouth effect.
If you are not sure where to start with influencer marketing, going to firms like Social Bond, Upfluence, and Neoreach can be great to start off with. They can connect your business to many qualified influencers to help kick start your marketing campaigns to a new level.
Use Freelancers
If cash is too tight to hire full time employees, then another alternative is to hire freelancers and contractors instead. Make sure to include create a consulting contract.
Freelancers and contractors are so awesome because as an employer, you don’t have to worry about paying health insurance and payroll taxes on them. You can diversify your current workforce by hiring a few and you can spend your money on areas the matter the most.
Also, most freelancers and contractors fulfill their jobs much better than employees. The main reason for that is because they are focused on primarily one task or project and they don’t get distracted with other business operations.
Utilize Second Hand Equipment
Rather than going all out on buying brand new equipment and supplies for you business, consider buying used to make things work. There are so many apps and website that help bring secondary buyers and sellers together to where you can pretty much find anything used, anywhere.
Buying materials that are also earth friendly, or perhaps recyclable, can be very useful for saving money. First of all it is healthy to use for the environment and you get something with a long lasting lifespan. Such items can typically be found in consignment stores as well as local sales sites.
Accomplish Work From Home
Using your home to do work or creating a home office for yourself is another great way to save money. This can save money by not needing to lease an office space. You can even save money by writing off a part of your rent and living expense from business expenses to minimize taxes.
Check out the IRS website for more details on what can be considered as a “home office” and what can be deducted for tax purposes.
If having an office at home isn’t possible then maybe setting up a ship at co-working space would be more ideal than leasing your own office.
Build Your Own Website
Let’s face it, in today’s world every business needs a website. Instead of hiring a developer to get one done for you business, try using a website builder. For this, you can read the best website builder reviews which help you to choose the best one.
Hiring a web developer or a professional web designer team can cost lots of money, even for a straight forward website. However, website builders like Wix or Squarespace enables you to create a website almost just as good for a fraction of the price.
Websites like Wix and Squarespace are a lot easier to navigate which can make building a website fun. They have plugins and simple integrations that can allow for additional customization such as including sales interfaces and social media accounts.
To add on to that, almost all website builders come with beautifully designed templets which allow you to start building your website with many elements already in place. It would already be pre-constructed to fit your needs and all that would be needed after that is a few extra touches to make it complete.
Run Your Business Smarter By Being Savvy
Even though budgeting is a key factor in business, that doesn’t mean you have to be mandated to not spend a little extra money every now and then. By following these idealistic ways to start saving money, you can definitely make a difference in increasing your bottom dollar at the end of every month without having to lose the business results you’re looking for in the long-run.