While tax reform might have added a boost to your bottom line, the odds are that you are still looking for ways to grow your small business and save money. Sounds a bit fanciful, doesn’t it? Well, growing your business will improving your profitability doesn’t need to be the stuff of fairy tales.
Instead, there are a few tried and true approaches that you can use to get you, and your business, to the promised land. So, if you want a bit more money in your bank account every month, then read on.
Marketing on a Budget
As the saying goes, ‘you need to spend money to make money.’ While there is some truth this, the reality is that this slogan is often mumbled to help justify spending hard earned money on something that doesn’t work.
In this case, it is advertising. If you feel frustrated about figuring out the right way to let customers know about your business, you are not alone. In fact, it can take years for many small business owners to get the equation right for their business.
However, there is a better way – communal advertising. This is a mix of getting out in the community and sharing resources with other small business owners. By going local, you can leverage your ties with the community as well as the strengths of your fellow business owners. Ultimately, this form of local marketing will pay massive dividends for a fraction of traditional marketing and advertising expenses.
Updated Your Website without Going Broke
If you are like most small businesses, then your website is your window on the world. Sure, some of your customers live in your hometown and they can drive or ride their bikes to your door. However, you may also have customers who live halfway around the world and this means you need a great website to make sure they keep coming back for more.
In the days before the iPhone, you would have needed to hire a designer and spend tens of thousands of dollars to get the website you wanted. However, times have changed and today you can use different platforms like Wix and Squarespace to the get website you always wanted.
What makes these platforms useful is the ability to customize based on your needs. This is important as you don’t want your window to the world to look like a cookie cutter.
Get the Help You Need
One of the biggest challenges of growing a small business is knowing who to turn to when you need help. Let’s face it, the answer is usually that you, the owner, just need to roll up your sleeves and find a way through whatever is in your way. However, there are times when advice and counsel from experts can help you to break through the challenges you are facing.
This means having access to accountants, lawyers, and consultants who not only have experience in your industry but know how to tailor their experience to the specific needs of small business.
While you think this might be simple, the reality is often different. This is because experiences with large, multinational corporations or with well-funded startups in hyper growth mode can rarely translate to what is happening with most small businesses.
As such, don’t choose your help based on where they last worked or went to college instead make sure they can relate to what you are going through as a business owner. For instance, Nguyen CPA is a small business accountant in Denver and the principals have built their firm on helping owner-operators in the Mile-High City and beyond.
2nd Hand Equipment
Let’s face it, there is something about new equipment that gets everyone excited. Maybe it is because of the additional capabilities the new equipment lends to your business or maybe it is just the idea of the bright shiny thing. Either way, investments in new equipment can make everyone feel better about a business.
Yet, there is a downside to new equipment – it costs a lot and this is often a barrier for many small businesses who are struggling to make ends meet. As such, you might want to consider getting your hands on used equipment as a way to get stuff done without spending a lot of money.
This approach works best when the differences between new and used equipment are relatively minor, or the equipment is not vital to the success of your business. So, the next time you are looking for that new gadget for your business choose a less expensive option that will get the job done.