Running your own business can be highly rewarding, but it can also be very stressful.  Aside from worrying over the day to day running of the business, you also have to factor in external costs for a multitude of areas from staff wages to insurance payments.  It’s amazing how the costs begin to pile up, and it’s understandable to feel overwhelmed with how much outgoings you have. But there are ways you can look to cut down on your costs, we’re not saying to scrimp out of paying your bills, but there are some simple cost-cutting exercises you could try to reduce the sting of your outgoings.

Green Office

You can cut down on your overhead costs by creating an energy efficient office. Utility bills will probably take up the biggest portion of your on-going costs and this is the easiest way to cut down on your initial costs. Install a programmable thermostat to help you control the office heating and program it only to make sure that it is switched off at the end of the day. This might sound obvious enough, but it’s an easy oversight. Smart lights are another great way to cut back on your costs and ensure that they’re also not left on overnight.  There are steps you can take to encourage a paperless office which will help reduce your office stationary orders.

Social Media

For new SMEs, social media is a godsend as for the most part, it offers a series of free advertising platforms where you can access a large highly engaged audience. With traditional media falling out favour, it’s also a great cheap alternative to print media for advertising campaigns.  Make sure that you opt for the larger platforms such as Instagram, Facebook or Twitter to help grow free traffic to your site.

Cloud Computing 

Depending on the sector that your SME operates in, cloud computing could be a great way to help you cut back on your costs. With cloud computing, you won’t need to pay out for an extensive mainframe system as all files and programs will be stored virtually in the cloud. You also will have instant access to all the most recent software versions, ensuring you won’t have to pay out for new software licenses constantly. Additionally, many cloud computing software solutions come with flexible price options meaning that you get a bespoke package that only includes the features you use regularly at a considerably reduced rate.

Fuel costs 

If your SME uses vans, then there’s lots of content that gives you good advice on how to take control of your van costs. It’s important take your time when driving as the faster you go, the more fuel you’ll use. By sticking to driving at 50mph, you’ll use 25% less fuel. The same goes for acceleration; you consume considerably less fuel if you drive at a steady pace. As well as this, avoiding stop starting will save your fuel costs. Where possible, you can also reduce your ongoing van costs by going easy on the air con and other electrics such as window heaters & headlights.  

Running an independent business often requires us to be creative with the way we manage our company spends. Hopefully one or more of the aforementioned ideas will work well within your business.