If you’re the founder of a startup and you have surplus money, then congratulations! But chances are, you weren’t born with a silver spoon in your mouth, neither were you lucky enough to attract early investment. If yes, then you probably know how tightly you have to manage your budget and your expenditure. Managing money can be a tricky thing, as you can be wasting money in places you aren’t even aware of. While we at The Hacker Street cannot go through your balance sheets, we can provide you with a list of measures which will help you cut costs. Implementing these measures will decrease certain silly expenditures you may have been making so that money can be freed up for where it actually is needed.
Use Generic Brands
Using local or generic brands cut costs by a huge margin. Buying branded may seem appealing, with all the shine and glitter, but the reality is: it is never worth it. As a startup, you have to make things work, and not make things shine. Hence, buying branded goods may not be your best option.
Review Operating Expenses
The simple things every office place needs, such as stationery, food, coffee, etc may add up to tremendous expenses when left unchecked. One easy solution to this problem may be buying in bulk from vendors who will give you a bulk discount or loyal customer discount. It is advised that you review these expenses on an annual basis, or monthly if you feel necessary, to reduce unnecessary expenditures.
Buy used office equipment and furniture
As a startup, you aren’t looking for the shine. You need desks and laptops to work on, which are generally expensive when bought brand new. Buying used desks, chairs, electronics, etc can cut costs drastically. While the quality may not be up to the mark, starting up isn’t the time you want to spoil yourself. That time comes after.
Go Paperless
A no-brainer in this century. The advent of laptops, spreadsheets, online forms, faster communication cuts down on the need for spending tons of money for paper. It also reduces the time and effort to distribute paperwork around the office. Take full advantage of free services, and watch money free itself up.
Micro-contract
If you have simple and easy tasks which you don’t want to hire new people for, give them out to freelancers. Use freelancing to delegate certain tasks to individuals for a fixed sum of money without having to hire them permanently will help you cut costs immensely.
Hire Smart
Try to hire freshers, or people will little job experience. Young people generally tend to have the passion and the enthusiasm to work for a new cause without expecting too much salary, whereas experienced professionals have higher demands which can prove to be costly for your company’s tight budget. Hire experienced people if absolutely necessary, but try to give the young minds a chance as well.
Allow Flexible Work Hours
This point may seem counterproductive, but think about it logically. If as an employer you allow flexible hours or even allow employees to work part time, then it allows you to pay them a lower salary and you get to retain the valuable employees and their products.
Pay and Collect Dues
When you’re running on a tight budget, you should always pay your outstanding money before the due date. Otherwise, you risk having to pay late fees and other penalties. Also make sure all your clients pay on time. Defaulters can result in your business losing a lot of money.
Recycle
Always try to recycle used items. Items such as bottles, plastics, printer cartridges, etc can and should be recycled whenever possible. Recycling not only cut costs but also improves your company’s public perception, especially if you run a social media campaign showing how your office-place indulges in saving the planet.
Go Green
Going green not only saves the planet, it also saves a lot of money. Indulging in modern LED lighting, for example, can reduce your lightning bill by nearly 75%.Going paperless, and using office spaces with lots of windows also cuts down on your annual expenses. Instead of having individual air conditioning, you could opt for central air conditioning if you want your entire office to be air conditioned. The overall costs are reduced with central AC systems.
Make Good Use of Social Media
Social Media is your gateway to saving money on several fronts. Use Skype for your international calls instead of using phones, use Twitter and Facebook to market yourself extensively. Do It Yourself (DIY) Publicity and Marketing are emerging trends, and they have proven to be very successful for companies nowadays.
Go Without
If you feel your office place needs something new, or your company needs to avail extra paid services, think it through several times. Consult your team before taking any such actions. If it so happens that you can make do with what you have and anything else would be considered a luxury, then go without the luxury. Remember you have to cut costs. Do not invest money in unnecessary luxuries, invest them only in things you require without a shred of doubt. So, When In Doubt, Go Without.
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