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There was a recent statistic which mentioned that businesses all over the world were losing close to a billion dollars a year in bad financial planning and internal money management. I was asking myself, could this be avoided? These are 4 ways to cut costs for your business and save yourself from this situation.
Diversify your operations. Place the employees that you have into more than just one role and ensure that there is a duty distribution in the company that allocates more than one duty to each person in the company. This way, you don't have to keep hiring more and more employees when your existing ones are more than capable of doing the job. A small increase in pay for added responsibility beats paying someone an entire pay package.
Have an automated system and make full use of technology – especially technology that is free like the internet. Try to cut costs on all factors. Use Skype when you need to make overseas calls, use the Virtual Boardroom technology provided by Microsoft when you need to conduct meetings. In the office use MSN to speak directly to each other - this cuts the usage of phones and other hidden costs that can add up to quite a lot.
Use recycled paper when in the office. This has been known to save up to and over thousands of dollars a year. Have a special place where recycled paper can be placed for internal use. A paper has two sides so don't waste the other and when you print internally, try as much as possible to print two – four pages per page (especially when printing colour pictures). This can save your business a whole lot of money that can be used elsewhere.
Efficient accounting! Not many people know that with efficient accounting, hidden costs and unnecessary spending can be rooted out and removed completely from the company. Some companies who finally turn to using professional accounting services have found that they could have saved up to $25, 000 a year on useless expenditure. Don't be placed in the same shoes.
Use a virtual office, especially for those who are starting a new business or for those who want to try and start a risky venture. Virtual offices cost a fraction of physical office and are just as good, with some companies offering fax, telephony, a registered mail address and a secretary as some of the basic services.
These are just some of the ways (I might have exceeded the 4!) you can cut costs for your business and the word to remember is hidden and unnecessary costs. A lot of companies in the world today are not aware of how much money they are losing because their development dollars are going into places which have no impact on company growth. Don't be stuck in the same cycle because making the same mistake could mean that your company will be stagnant and you will never be able to venture into new markets.
1. Recycle those junk letters.
Each month, you will probably received a dozen or more letters from direct mailing companies in your mailbox. Some of these letters are printed on one side only. Collect these letters and combined them into a writing pad. You can also used them to print draft documents. Besides saving money, you are also saving a lot of trees.
2. Install water saving kit in your toilet cistern.
When flushing the toilet, the amount of water used is usually more than is required. By installing a water saving kit in the cistern, the amount of water saved can be as much as three gallons per month.
3. Use the fan
Whenever possible, use the fan. The air conditioner is a major contributor to your utility bill. By using the fan, not only are you saving on your utility bill, you are also building up your body's tolerance to heat. Your chances of getting heat exhaustion or heat stroke during the hot summer season are greatly reduced.
4. Do not throw away that old bar of soap yet.
As your wash your hands with soap on a daily basis, the bar will become smaller and smaller until it is almost unusable. Instead of throwing it away, simply stick the old bar of soap onto the new one. Just make sure both of them are wet when sticking them together.
5. Cut the tube of toothpaste into half.
When you can no longer squeeze out any toothpaste from the tube, just cut it in-half. There is some more toothpaste left that can last you for a couple of days if you have a large family. If you live alone or with your spouse only, the extra toothpaste can last up to five days or even more.
Start cultivating these useful habits today and make them a part of your daily life. You will be pleasantly pleased when you notice your household expense start to decline bit by bit as time goes on.