I am always on the lookout for ways to save money and I think I have come up with a few ways to help you do that:
Save On Expenses
- Cut back or reduce your variable expenses- these add up and can eat up your profits
- Evaluate your monthly expenses every couple of months and determine which ones you really need and which you can do without.
- Get a web site– I like WebSite Tonight at www.GoDaddy.com
- I have saved $30 a month moving from comcast to Verizon High Speed Internet
and the connection is always perfect.
- Spend the money for reliable cell phone service- this will pay off.
- Freelancers, Consultants & Contractors can work from home and come up with many tax deductions with a home office.
- If you need an office, sublet office space. Basically you are paying rent, but avoiding all the other bills and contracts that will come with having your own office.
- Use freelancers and consultants when you can. Check them out, but remember that most of the time they can offer you personalized service and great work for a lot less than hiring a part-time employee or paying a large company to do the work. Graphic designers, copywriters and web designers can provide you with almost everything you need.
- Sign Up For a Best Buy For Business Reward Zone— great benefits for members.
- If you want to buy something ask yourself if you REALLY need it.
- Go to trade shows and try to save money on office items. Also, try to buy wholesale.
- Barter when possible.
- Use Paypal for credit card processing- they offer virtual terminals, seller protection, a shipping center (shipping calculators, print labels and more) and tax calculators.
Buying Work-Related Items
- If you need furniture check going-out-of-business sales and visit used furniture stores for items that don’t need to be brand new. Office Depot and Staples have affordable and attractive furniture- watch for sales!
- If you are buying products or services online search for coupons and promotion codes. You will be surprised how many you will find. Sometimes MSN is better than Google and sometimes not. Look everywhere.
- If you need a new computer or any other office prducts I suggest going to Best Buy at specific times: Labor Day Sale, Right After Christmas Sale and the Memorial Day Sale. Amazing prices everytime. The last three laptops we have bought have been during these times.
Advertising
- If you work with other consultants you all can create a newsletter that highlights the services you all offer.
- Use Web 2.0 for free advertising
- YouTube is great and free way for businesses to advertise because you can create an online commercial and then use the video on your web site or blog.
- Forums/Message Boards are a great way to advertise and get to know potential clients/customers.
- I can’t say enough about Blogging. Blogging lets you advertise your business, review your products and services, give free tips & advice and show that you are an expert in your field. I paid $64 for hosting for the year (promo code) and WordPress allows me to use creative plugins, choose from thousands of themes and it allows me to advertise all of my services
- Use email effectively- you can use it for advertising in very subtle ways. Include your business name, contact info and links to all of your web sites & blog(s). People love to click and they will click on the links.
- Join Associations
Make Some Money Online
You may be able to make some money with affiliates, but don’t depend on it too much. It takes a while to begin to make money.
Have An Money Saving Ideas?
Please comment and I will make another post with your comments (they will link back to your site or blog of course).
-Consider switching to Sprint SERO – its a cell phone plan with very cheap phones (without rebates), unlimited data, text messaging, and 500 mins of talk time for $30.
http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/680568/
-Use Skype for a second phone line – $30 a year for unlimited outgoing calls, $60 a year for unlimited incoming calls and voicemail.
-Browse fatwallet.com/forums for more savings, such as free (after rebate) printers and office supplies. Someone there even posted about getting a free after rebate Dual-core laptop at Staples.
-Use press releases to supplement and enhance your advertising. If you’re not sure about how to do it right, be very careful, and trust a freelancer (such as donotgoquietly.com) to do it the right way for you!
Try joining a car pool club if you ever have one in your area. Or if theres none then create your own. I almost always go to work at the same time. Same thing when its time to go home so car pooling is for me and it saves me more than two thirds of what I’m use to paying for my gas and thats hundreds of dollars right there in a month.
Always check for rebates and promos. You can always wait for a promo for the LCD TV you are dying to get or check ebay for bargains. Right now live search and ebay has a cashback promo of up to 35% off. So now is the time for getting that Digital SLR Canon camera you’ve always wanted.
Use alternative means of communications. Instead of calling on your cell phone, just email or send a message through YM or MSN to the person if the message can wait and not that important. Use phone card like Onesuite for your long distance needs and if you can live with out your landline then you can also use Onesuite voip for only $2.95 a month, thats another hundreds of dollars savings for a year.
Always unplug your appliances when not in use. Study found out that up to a 3rd of electricity is being use even if the appliance like TV is off but plugged.
Turn off unnecessary lights in your office or in your house. This alone could potentially save you a lot and at the same time good for the environment.
Using free and open source software applications is a great way to save money on small office/home office expenses. DealDogs.net has an interesrting article entitled “FreeOffice: 10 Great Free Apps For Instant Office Productivity” that reviews ten no-cost applications that work great. This is the article link here which provides descriptions, links and videos about each application, from a word processing ofice suite to free faxing.