From inventory and logistics to taxes and insurance, entrepreneurs face a gamut of expected—and unexpected—expenses just to keep their businesses up and running. In fact, after taxes, licensing fees, supplies, employee and vendor costs, many startup businesses fail to turn a profit for months or even years!
While the high costs of running a business may deter many would-be entrepreneurs, there are plenty of tips and tools savvy business owners can utilize to cut their operating expenses. Here are 4 simple but effective ways people running small businesses can save money
It’s tax season! With the new year well underway, now is a good time to familiarize yourself with state and federal tax codes as well as the ways they can benefit you on your tax returns. Certain expenses, such as business-related purchases may be considered tax deductible thereby reducing your overall taxable income.
Once upon a time, people used to exchange goods and services for other goods and services in a type of transactional dealing known as bartering. Since you’re in business, after all, because you offer a product or service that people want and you sometimes require products and services other businesses offer, why not save both sides some money with an old-fashion quid pro quo exchange? Popular websites for posting classified ads such as Craigslist offer barter sections to find and post offers for such exchanges.
If you want something done cheaply, sometimes the best option is to do it yourself! While there are, of course, some services that require a specialty skill set that only professionals can provide, making the time or effort to do some easy but tedious or time-consuming chores yourself is another way to eliminate unnecessary expenditures for your business. The internet is a great resource for learning how to do all sorts of things (for free) from changing a car tire to learning how to write code!
Last but most certainly not least, there are plenty of free services to utilize to help you do everything from keeping track of your finances to holding conference calls. Free conference call systems such as FreeConference.com help keep communications-related expenses to a minimum with free telephone dial-in numbers, international conference calling, and web conferencing.
FreeConference is the original free conference call service. Founded in 2000 as a service that provided free U.S. conference calling lines, our services have expanded to include international conference dial-in numbers for over 40 countries as well as audio and video web conferencing and screen sharing! Whether you’re a small business owner looking to cut costs or trying to expand your business internationally (or both!) free conference provides free telephone and web-based conferencing solutions used by individuals, organizations, and businesses of all types.
Create your FreeConference.com account and get access to everything you need for your business or organization to hit the ground running, like video and Screen Sharing, Call Scheduling, Automated Email Invitations, Reminders, and more.
