3 Ways Your Small Business Is Wasting Money
As a small business owner, you're no doubt aware of the challenges that come with having limited financial resources. That's why it's critical for you to manage your cash wisely at all times, and that means avoiding wasting money on needless expenses. Here are three ways your business might be hemorrhaging money for no good reason.
1. Having too large a full-time staff
You need employees to keep your business running -- but do all of them really need to work for you full-time? Chances are, you have some staff members who aren't busy all the time or aren't needed during slower periods of the year.
Rather than continuing to pay their salaries, consider trimming your permanent staff and doing more seasonal hiring. This way, you'll have more hands on deck when there's an uptick in business, but you won't be paying for workers to sit around and do nothing the rest of the year. And if you maintain good relationships with your seasonal employees so that they're willing to come back and work for you when you need them, you'll spend less time filling those temporary positions.
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Another option? Look at swapping some of your permanent workers for freelancers. You might pay a higher hourly rate for a freelancer than you would for a salaried employee, but at the same time, you'll only pay for actual work performed or produced. Furthermore, you won't have to pay your freelancers benefits or cover any of their Social Security taxes, thereby reaping some savings.
2. Paying for too many trade shows and conferences
Trade shows and businesses conferences are a great way to promote your products or services and network. The problem, however, is that they can get expensive, and often, they're just not worth the investment. It therefore pays to be more judicious about which events your business has a presence at going forward.
If there's an annual trade show that's long proven successful for your company, then by all means, get yourself a booth. But if money is tight, analyze each show or conference you might attend, and only pay for the ones that are likely to produce sales or benefit your business in a meaningful way.
3. Overspending on print advertising
There was a time when print advertising was regarded as an extremely effective means of reaching customers. And while that still holds true, these days, there's a lot of customer traffic to be had online. As such, it pays to shift your focus to online advertising, which is far less expensive than running print ads or paying for billboards.
If you're not particularly savvy in the online marketing arena, hire someone to manage your company's social media and Google ad campaigns. Another option? Find yourself a good writer for your business' website, and drive more customers to it by publishing content that's naturally search-friendly.
When you're dealing with a limited business budget, you can't afford to waste money left and right. Avoid these needless expenses, and you might find yourself in a much more favorable financial position in no time.
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