One of the best and easiest ways for entrepreneurs to boost profits is to reduce business expenses.
It sounds like a no-brainer, yet it's often overlooked… especially by people with a side business who might be so busy balancing a business, job, and family that they often neglect this vital aspect of entrepreneurship.
I know this to be true because that was ME for a long time. I had enough disposable income from my job that reducing business expenses wasn't a priority and often never happened.
But when I got serious about my side gig and decided I wanted to leave the job I loved to work the business full-time, I became very aware of my business expenses and looked for ways to reduce them.
Here are 6 ways to start reducing business expenses today!
6 Easy Ways To Reduce Business Expenses
The following strategies are highly effective in reducing business expenses.
They are easy to perform and in many cases, the impact on your bottom line can be seen immediately.
Here we go…
1. Eliminate Tools and Services You No Longer Use
The fastest and easiest way to reduce business expenses is to go through your bank and credit card statements and look for charges that you can eliminate.
I perform this task quarterly for my business.
You'd be surprised how often we continue to pay for things we no longer use in our businesses (or maybe you wouldn't).
Look for line items on your statements such as :
- Monthly payments for tools that you no longer use.
- Recurring charges for subscriptions you no longer want.
- Even past charges that you could possibly refund if they are recent.
One more place to check is Paypal.
Many people have recurring payments and/or subscriptions that can go unnoticed.
To cancel automatic Paypal payments and subscriptions, follow the directions as follows:
It's quite easy to save hundreds and maybe even thousands of dollars a month just by going through this short exercise.
2. Consider Using The Yearly Option for Payments
Another way to save money (and thus reduce expenses) in your business is to consider paying yearly for products and services you use rather than monthly charges.
You can usually save 10-20% or more by opting for the yearly payment option, especially if you know that you'll be using this tool or service for the entire year.
For example, if you were to purchase a subscription for Aweber, a popular email autoresponder service, you could save almost 15% by paying annually instead of monthly.
It may be somewhat painful to pay the whole sum of money upfront, but in the long run, it will reduce your business espenses.
3. Look To Combine Expenditures Using Tool Suites
Sometimes, you can find a suite of tools that combine tools that you are paying for individually.
It's similar to buying a package from your local cable company that includes internet, TV, and phone.
You save when you purchase bundled services.
For example, the marketing system I use has a bundles suite of tools including funnel creator, video, audio, and PDF hosting, course creator, business center, and a URL rotator for one low monthly cost.
They also have an affiliate program that allows you to potentially earn back some or all of the membership costs.
This would cost hundreds of dollars more each month if you purchased each of these tools individually.
Look for ways you can combine costs in this kind of situation.
It can reduce your business expenses significantly short term.
4. Reduce Membership Levels
Another way to reduce business costs when times are tight is to lower your level of membership in programs or companies with which you do business.
For example, a premium membership in a Lead Generation System I belong to costs $250/month, while the basic membership costs only $50/month.
That's a savings of $200/month that you can recoup right away. You can also “park” membership for $10/month if you wish.
Of course, you can also cancel memberships if you wish, but reducing membership levels can allow you to remain active in a company or program while still reducing your monthly business expenses substantially.
It may not be ideal for your business long-term, but these kinds of cost-saving measures can keep you afloat until a crisis passes.
5. Consider Virtual Training in Place of Live Events
I'm a huge fan of attending live events.
I think there are a handful of activities that can shorten your learning curve for success in your business, and this is definitely one of them.
Having said that, attending live events can get expensive when one considers travel, lodging, and event costs.
An alternative to attending the real thing is to watch the event virtually via Live Streaming.
Many event organizers make this an option for those who cannot attend or prefer not to travel, and it's a really good alternative.
Importantly, it's much cheaper and can really help you reduce business costs when your budget is tight while still benefiting from the event training.
And while Live Streaming won't give you the ability to meet event attendees and talk business, it's certainly better than not going at all.
6. Focus Your Buying
While this strategy may not reduce your business costs immediately, by buying products, courses, and tools in a more focused manner you will save money on your business.
I tell all my coaching clients this in one of our first sessions…
Don't buy anything for your business unless you plan to use it in the next 30 days!
The reason is simple:
When you resist impulse buying, not only do you focus on exactly what you need to be doing at the moment, but you save money in the process.
Imagine this scenario…
John is an internet marketer who is learning video marketing to grow his business.
He's made a pledge with his coach to do 30 videos in the next 30 days as a way to jumpstart his business.
On day 5, John sees an ad for a brand new Instagram course, created by someone he really admires.
The price point is high but not out of his budget… and the bonuses look amazing.
John has always thought about adding Instagram to his internet skills, so he decides to pull the trigger and buy the course.
Here, one of two things generally happens:
- John puts his new course on hold and continues doing his 30 videos. After the month, John has forgotten all about his new Instagram training and gets busy doing other things. About 6 months later, John happens to see the link to his Instagram course but decides he no longer wants to learn this new skill (or the course is now outdated, which happens to many courses that are based on a social media platform).
- John gets drawn into his new course and gets excited about learning this new skill. He spends much of his time-consuming training and setting up his Instagram profile. He soon forgets all about his pledge to do his 30 videos and when he does remember, he feels hopelessly behind and abandons his goal. John has totally lost momentum in his business.
Perhaps now you can see why I advise my coaching clients to focus their buying and keeping their credit cards in their wallets.
I encourage you to adopt a similar philosophy.
It will save you time and can significantly reduce your business expenses.
Recommended Courses To Jumpstart Your Business
Crush Consistency NOW! - if you find yourself lacking consistency in your business, you must own this course!
Part-Time Shortcuts - who says there are no shortcuts to success? This course reveals 4 shortcuts that will cut your learning curve in half.
Part-Time Mastery - if you're short on time for your business, this course is the answer!
How To Earn Your First $1000 Online - wouldn't it feel great to have more money coming IN each month than going OUT?
The Email Playground - learn how to build your email list from scratch, then what to say to your email subscribers to build trust and influence.
Audience First - how to build a tribe of buyers on Facebook and Pinterest (with Kim Ward)
The Focus and Implementation 1-Hour Challenge Recordings - boost your focus and extinguish procrastination in 1 Hour
It's Your Time to SHINE!
Dr. Bob Clarke
Email: Bob@BobandRosemary.com
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1 Response to "6 Easy Ways To Reduce Business Expenses And Save Money NOW!"
Excellent list of cost-cutting benefits –
Thanks