With the economic downturn that Americans are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses are re-assessing how to spend their money. Meanwhile, many others are forming their own businesses as a result of furloughs and job losses.  

We’ve all heard the phrase, you’ve got to “spend money to make money.”  But is that always true?   

Check out a few tips to help save your business money by keeping overhead costs low.  

Cut Costs On Business Office Space 

Whether you’re startup or an established business, working from home is has quickly become the new normal.  

In response to COVID policies put in place, many large tech companies opted to make work from home a permanent option for some of their employees.  

Companies like Twitter and Square are seizing the opportunity to lower the overhead cost of large facilities and maintain a flexible work schedule for their employees.   

Similarly, co-working spaces also offer a great opportunity for small businesses who still want to have a professional presence when taking client meetings but do not want to be signed into an expensive lease.  

Most co-working spaces offer month-to-month contracts with sliding scale options on what that affords you (private office, shared coworking, rental of conference rooms, etc.). 

Reducing costs on office space can save you a fortune in the long run, and with how the views on traditional work environments have changed over the past several months, this is a more viable option than ever. 

Only Essential Equipment 

Most businesses these days don’t need to shell out a fortune on their own equipment. They can either lease, share or simply find a workaround for what they need. 

• Phone Lines – Most businesses opt to use their cellphone as a main form of communication. Apps like Google Voice or Line2 allow for one main business number to be picked up from multiple cell phones. Plus, your cell phone will remain private! 
• Printers/Copiers – Many co-working spaces will already have these available to use for a small printing fee. Additionally, some businesses opt to keep a “paperless” work environment and can use other printing services like FedEx Office or The UPS Store for the few presentations or reports where hard copies are required. 

With so much business able to be handled virtually, it’s easy to find workarounds for pricey traditional office equipment. 

Outsourced Business Services 

Instead of trying to do it all yourself or hiring a full-time employee, consider outsourcing certain aspects of your operation to specialists.  

For example, many business owners try to build their own websites as a cost-saving measure only to fall short – it’s not optimized for SEO, it’s clunky, it’s not user–friendly and it doesn’t take full advantage of its capabilities.  

Contracting a developer to build out your website or to handle other web projects can be a far better choice than trying to do it yourself. This way, you ensure your digital presence and brand help as opposed to hurt your growing business.  

However, one thing you should not skimp on is the accountant.  

As we mentioned before, it’s critical that each business owner have their own accountant so that they can maximize their tax returns.  

Have a business idea you’ve been dreaming of launching? 

Schedule a consultation with Bridgeford today and start the process to making it a reality!