Frederick Jace
When you are running and operating your business, you want to be sure that you are operating as cost-effectively, and efficiently, as possible. If you are not cost-effective, then you will find that your increasing costs and overheads will slowly eat away at your profits. Of course, over time this will mean that your business will be unsustainable. So, to ensure that your business thrives and not just survives, how should you go about reducing overheads and costs?
Step 1: Look at Outsourcing
There are outsources for everything you could need or want for your business. When you outsource you can use freelancers, and you can use businesses and other professionals only when you need them. This is, of course, an attractive option, because it means that you do not have to retain people on your payroll — which can of course become costly and drawing. When you are looking at outsourcing you want to focus on what you need and want. Establishing which areas you need covering and only pursuing those lines will ensure you do not overspend.
Step 2: Reducing Recruitment Costs
Of course, your business needs and requirements may stipulate that you need people full time, perhaps even on-site to aid your business operations, and if this is the case, you need to focus on recruitment. When you need to hire employees you want to be sure that you hire wisely. Recruitment can be an expensive game to play, and you want to be sure that you keep employee turnover as low as possible. To reduce recruitment costs and to ensure that you get the best candidates for the positions, you need to focus your efforts. Laying out a recruitment strategy and being clear with job descriptions, roles and responsibilities will be beneficial to your business.
Step 3: Look at Restructuring
When you set up your business what structure did you create, and is this structure still working for your business? Sometimes, a full restructure is required to ensure that the right employees are in the correct places. If the structure is not correct within your business it will cost you and your business and you will find that departments or areas are mismatched. When you restructure you take back control of your business, and you ensure that every area is efficient and that it flows.
Step 4: New Location and Premises
Where is your business currently operating from and how much is it costing? Does your business need to be in a central location, or can you relocate to somewhere cheaper (perhaps on the outskirts of town)? Rented premises can account for a huge chunk of your overheads so ensure you are getting good value for money.
Step 5: Monitoring Daily Business Processes
What your business does daily may have become monotonous, and it may have become costly (sometimes without you realizing it). When you monitor the daily processes your business goes through you get the chance to see what is working well, and what can be reduced or cut out completely. For example, you may have long processes in place for handling orders or shipments, and when you look at these you may be able to shorten them significantly. Regularly monitoring your business processes will ensure that costs never creep up.
