5 Ways to Save Cash Without Even Missing It
WRITTEN BY VENUS MICHAEL ON .
As an entrepreneur, it can often feel as if there’s just not enough money to go around. You might feel as if you’re struggling to keep your business alive, much less turn a profit. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to sock away some of your income as profit without even missing it. Here are five of the best tips for doing just that.
1.
Hire a Professional
There’s an adage that says you must spend money to save money, and that couldn’t be truer in this situation. Small businesses and entrepreneurships are tricky, and that’s especially true if this is your first time managing money from a business point of view. Hiring a professional bookkeeper is a must, but you don’t have to spend a small fortune, and you don’t even need to add a full-time CPA to your payroll. It’s easier than ever to outsource an experienced professional bookkeeper who specializes in entrepreneurship.
2.
Take Your Profits Off the Top
Profit First is one of the best ways to ensure that you are always collecting a profit. Essentially, the goal is to take a predetermined percentage of every sale as your profit, then use the rest of that sale to put toward your expenses. If you think of your revenue and profits in the same way you might think about your paycheck and your HSA account, it becomes easier to understand how this might work. With HSA, you ensure that some of every single paycheck goes into an account that is set up specifically for healthcare spending; with Profit First, you ensure that some of every single sale goes into an account that is set up specifically for paying yourself.
3.
Cut Out Unnecessary Expenses
When every dollar is being stretched to its limit, it’s a good idea to stop and think about what’s necessary and what you can do without. If you’re paying $65 a month for cloud-based CRM software that you barely use, for example, it’s probably worth your while to examine other options. We live in a day and age where there’s a solution for every imaginable business pain point, and while it might seem as if you need a product or service to dull the ache, sometimes the value just isn’t there. Take an afternoon to review every single business expense you have and actively look for ways to cut back. You might just be surprised at what you find.
4.
Find (and Use) Free Software
Some entrepreneurs immediately turn to the big “brands” when it comes to their software; examples include Microsoft, Adobe, and others. However, there’s a whole wide world of free software out there just waiting to be discovered, and some of it is right under your nose. If you’re paying for access to Excel, for example, try out Google Sheets or even LibreOffice, both of which are free, and both of which are as good as (if not better than) their paid counterparts. Furthermore, don’t automatically assume you need to pay for the more expensive business license for the software you use. Sometimes the personal (read: cheap or free) version is all you need to run your business.
5.
Optimize Your Workspace for Energy Savings
Last, but most certainly not least, whether you’re working out of a retail location, a small office, or even your home, make sure that you’re optimizing your workspace for energy savings. Some options include shopping around for your utilities (in areas where this is possible), choosing workspaces with ample natural light and scheduling your working hours in tandem with the sun, using power strips to easily unplug at the end of the day, investing in energy-efficient appliances, and more. Although none of these will provide you with a massive amount of immediate savings, when you combine them, you could save thousands of dollars every year.
Parkinson’s Law states that work expands to fill the amount of time available, and the same applies to finances: your expenses will expand to fill your revenue. However, with a few strategic implementations and some savvy savings advice, it’s possible for your small business to save cash every single day without really even missing it.
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