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Apparently the world record for ‘number of balls juggled at any given time’ is currently 11, but we doubt the Guinness World Records panel took into account the number of metaphorical balls any entrepreneur has to juggle when they take it upon themselves to start a business. It’s not just about doing it all, all at once – no, that would be too easy!
A typical new business owner should focus on implementing creative business practices that would lead to profit maximization, as well as create a full proof strategy to reduce business costs while achieving success at an exponential rate.
Success as a business owner is never easy, but the good news is, it’s not impossible. Even during a time of a recession or a time of particularly high inflation. Here are a few clever methods to reduce business costs without taking your foot off the gas.
Take the Lean Approach
Lean inventory management is predicated on the clever idea of ‘just in time’ delivery. It takes a well-organized and coordinated supply chain but, once implemented, it proves to be an incredibly scalable approach that ensures a real edge over the competition, even if they’ve got more work power and healthier margins at their disposal.
It’ll take some time to get your head around the tenets of Lean Inventory Management, but there are some invaluable examples from all the major verticals that you can read into and follow. For instance, the Toyota Production System (TPS) makes for essential reading for any new entrepreneur. True, you may not be running an enterprise anywhere near the same scale or scope, but that’s not the important part. The important part is building your business on the same philosophies for waste reduction and meeting high standards.
Smart Social Media Marketing
Traditional digital marketing approaches like ad-placement and digital PR are highly effective, but you can’t expect to be able to spread your current budget across every cornerstone of this broad and varied practice. In the beginning, you need to pick your battles. Investing more time and resources into one or two of those cornerstones will get you a lot further than spreading your time and resources thinner, just to all of them at once.
Social media marketing is a great starting point. It gives you easy access to a massive demographic, and it’s infinitely scalable. True, the bigger social media marketing strategies are backed by a team of creatives, but even single person shows can go viral on social media if they get their approach just right.
Leveraging social media as a low-cost marketing tool is one of the best things you can do to get your brand out there, grow a loyal following, and lay the foundations for further success as you scale your operations.
Outsourcing as Much as Possible
New businesses require a wealth of expertise in order to thrive. On your own, you can’t hope to lay all the foundations necessary for building a viable and resilient business. You need sound legal backing on all your ventures, robust IT security to protect yourself and your customers against the many attempts made against SMEs, an ever-growing store of excellent content to publish to your website and social feeds, well-managed finances, strong SEO, and textbook HR adherence to name just a few.
Larger businesses can afford to keep these experts in-house. Outsourcing is a valuable alternative that offers its own benefits beyond cost-cutting. From freelancers to consultants, take advantage of expertise that doesn’t require a yearly salary.
A Remote Workforce
Even just ten years ago, most business owners would have scoffed at the idea of growing a new business from the ground up with a remote team. While boardrooms, watercooler talks, and workplace culture are all great for building a well-coordinated team, however, remote working doesn’t need to equal minimal effort and middling results.
The past few years have demonstrated quite how powerful remote workforces can be, even if their Zoom calls are crossing entire oceans to bring the team into the same headspace. It’ll save you thousands each quarter on office space, and there are always flexible workspaces if you do want to group the team together.
You’ll want to brush up on your skills when it comes to managing and motivating a remote workforce, but this could prove to be a real string to your new business’s bow, rather than a hurdle to overcome. Many of the most promising workers are keen to stick with a remote working setup, and will often take a slightly lower salary in order to avoid the morning rush, the afternoon rush, and packed lunch five days of the week.
Clearly there are endless ways an entrepreneur can minimize costs while getting their business off the ground. From small ideas such as energy- saving light bulbs, to large, structural ideas, a few compromises made in the right places can prove transformative and end up increasing the overall profit of your business.
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