Being a small business owner has many perks. You get to decide your own hours, you don’t have to answer to anyone and can enjoy the sense of personal achievement that comes with it. On the other hand, being a small business owner means there will be inevitable operational costs that you have to incur for your business to grow. Here are 5 tips to keep your operational costs down as a new business owner.
- Handle as many tasks yourself as possible
Taking things into your own hands can be a big undertaking and of course, is not always possible. However, to cut costs, it is advisable to take on as much of the legwork as you can yourself before taking on another set of hands. This means you won’t have to pay an additional wage and can put the profit back into your business and towards your goals. You can handle tasks such as project management, managing your accounts, customer service or marketing. There are many free tools that can assist you with this, as explored later. The hard work will eventually pay off! If you can’t do this, hiring a freelancer or agency can be a more cost-effective solution than hiring full-time staff with benefits.
- Order low-cost office supplies for your home office
For your home office, there’s no need to spend an arm and a leg on office supplies. Only order the essentials and make sure to order in bulk when possible. For printing costs, you can save by buying printer ink from a low-cost supplier like 123ink.ie to keep your printing costs down. This will be crucial when printing a lot of documents, contracts and promotional materials. You can save by ordering an economical printer like an ink tank that comes with higher capacity ink cartridges for high-volume printing.
- Utilise remote working to save on overheads
Having a dedicated working space of course has many benefits to a small business owner. However, embracing a remote working space can be a great way to keep costs down. This means that you will save on office space and the high rents, utility bills and furnishings that come with it. Transport costs alone can cost a huge amount each month when you add up the cost of petrol, parking and tolls. Working from home can save on the above costs and it also means you are not bound by any fixed location as you grow which comes with its perks.
You may also be eligible to claim tax relief on working from home expenses such as home heating, electricity and broadband bills as a self-employed person. As well as this, there are tax-deductable business expenses you can claim on essential home office equipment.
- Utilise free software tools
When starting out, there will be many projects to handle. It can be a huge help to have software packages that save you time and increase productivity and efficiency of tasks. There are many great tools on the market for different needs. However, some can come with a high price commitment. You can take advantage of free or low-cost software tools for tasks such as project management, customer relationship management (CRM), email marketing, and accounting tools to save on costs. There are many affordable options available that offer essential features for small businesses without breaking the bank. These include project management tools like Trello, Asana or Notion, design tools such as Canva or GIMP, and email marketing software such as Mailchimp or MailerLite.
- Print promotional materials in-house
One of the biggest expenses when starting out is marketing your new business and getting the word out there about your product or services. Although it’s tempting to hire a team of professionals, there are many ways to get the word out on a budget. Word of mouth is of course one way to go. Another is to print flyers in-house and reach out to local businesses or customers in your area. Printed marketing materials can be costly when ordered professionally.
To cut costs, use a low-cost or free graphic design tool like Canva and print in-house with your inkjet printer. Canon ink cartridges are a great option as they come in a number of vibrant colours including the photo ink cartridge range that are perfect for creating vibrant imagery. Canon cartridges are valued by photographers and enthusiasts for their superior print quality and colour accuracy making them a popular choice for printing professional eye-catching flyers. Just make sure to adjust your settings to the highest print quality and print on quality paper. It’s also important to maintain your printer regularly by cleaning the printheads and printing regularly to keep it in tip-top shape. You can order a wide range of quality printer paper with low prices from 123ink.ie, an award-winning local Irish supplier.
With these 5 tips in mind, you can effectively manage your starting costs and invest your savings back into your business to stay competitive.
