The cost of keeping your office up and running is not set in stone. If you allow yourself to be bothered too much, you will find that most of your profits will go into making the office a “standard” one while your business suffers. Here are some suggestions on how to reduce your office expenses:
Reduce your energy bills and share office equipment
Saving your energy bills energy bills is one of the way you can reduce your office expenses. The cost of keeping your utilities running is not a small one. If you are not careful, utility bills can make a major dent in your savings. Try talking to your energy company to doing a free audit for your office so that you can use some quick fixes such as removing the computer and other peripherals from the sockets, etc. Also, instead of buying equipment for your office, you can use the ones offices around you have or outsource the job. For instance, if you are in a building where there are other offices, you can partner with them and buy shared equipment so that both offices can cut costs.
Outsource jobs for cheaper amounts and use cheaper spaces
You do not have to do all the work to keep your office up and running. You can easily hire freelancers to work for you. Make it a habit to outsource the jobs someone else can do for a lesser amount. This way, you can focus on what brings in more money for your business. Another thing that increases your office expenses is the cost of renting a space. If you are looking at spaces that are meant for official offices, you will be spending more. But you can go to an apartment, warehouse, etc., and improve on it. You have to ensure the location is strategic for your business as well. You should also try to get your supplies at a cheap cost by buying in bulk from companies like bulk office supply.
Trade by barter and join relevant local clubs
If you need something, you can decide to do an exchange of services instead of paying for it. You should not use bartering to handle every client but you can get something you need cheaper than the price tag with it. however, ensure the value you are getting in return is tantamount to the value you are giving. Also, ensure you are satisfied with the difference between if you sold the product as opposed to when you barter with it. You should join relevant local clubs as well. You can build relationships with other members of the clubs and leverage these relationships to get discounts on products you need from other members. However, your motive for joining local clubs should not be because of discounts. Try giving value as well too and you will get multiples of that in return. In some cases, when you need to expand your business or for other reasons, you might need to get credit to make some purchases. You should read credit companies reviews to know which company you can get credit from.
Look after your staff
Most businesses do not esteem their staff and it tells on the business negatively. Looking after your staff will help you to ensure that you save huge amounts of money over time. You will not be paying sick-pay now and then. Encourage your staff to stay healthy. Eliminate anything that puts their health at risk in the office. Do not push your team beyond the limit, this can backfire. Your team will likely crumble and only less work gets done. In the same vein, look after yourself too. Do work you love, free from stress and pressure.
Use less paper
Using less paper is another way to reduce your office expenses. A lot of paperwork not only requires a lot of money but a lot of space as well. If you can afford to go paperless, do so. This will save you more money and make your office less cluttered. Also, it is an effective way of going green and helping to reduce the already huge pollution in the environment. Technology is available for your use. A lot of business activities can be done over the internet, there are apps and software that make sure of that. Besides, tech tools make you more efficient.
Cut off duplicity of functions
As a business owner, you must constantly find ways to avoid many people doing something one or two persons are required to do. The duplicity of functions causes you to spend more money on staff wages when you should be investing that money back into your business. Make an inventory of every function your business needs to flourish and identify the similar ones. When employing staff, ensure you group similar functions as their responsibilities. This way, you will have fewer wages to pay and more money to keep. However, ensure that each member of the staff’s responsibilities is not killing.