Ever since I started my own solo business, something a SCORE mentor said during a startup workshop six years ago has stuck with me:
“Money is the language of business. For your business to thrive, you need to learn to speak the language.”
He didn’t mean that all that matters in business is the money, but rather that your business financials tell how effectively you’re running your business. You need to have some understanding of profit and loss and other accounting basics.
No business is too small to care about profitability. Even for a very small business like mine, a healthy profit matters.
But what if, like me, you only have so many viable options for increasing your revenue without adding headcount or complexity to your operations? How do you boost your profitability then?
I think you already know the answer: Cut costs.
Is it a “must have” or a “nice to have”? Obviously, the “must haves”—the things you need to do your job and keep your business running—shouldn’t be ignored. But the “nice to haves” can usually wait.
Before you buy, ask yourself…
This applies to anything and everything—from business software to networking group memberships.
When you’re running a very small business, especially one that’s service-based, your time IS money. The more time you spend on the administrative and marketing aspects of your business, the less time you have to spend on revenue-producing work. Over the past several years, I’ve been using—and have seen others use—a number of online platforms and mobile apps that make various tasks far less cumbersome and time consuming.
A few you might want to check out include:
Quote Roller powered by PandaDoc – Online software for generating proposals and securing contracts
With Quote Roller becoming PandaDoc in 2015, the software also provides sales document management capabilities. I’ve been using Quote Roller for the past two years to send proposals to clients, which then become executed agreements when they sign off with their electronic signatures. With the ability to save pre-written text blocks to a library for future use, the platform makes it far quicker and easier to “roll out” proposals than crafting all pieces from scratch.
Trello – For coordinating efforts and managing projects
I’ve used several other project management tools when clients have insisted, and I have yet to experience one that is more streamlined and straightforward than Trello. The drag-and-drop interface and simple collaborative features have helped me keep projects with multiple moving parts and players well organized and on track.
QuickBooks Online* – For invoicing clients, recording all business financial transactions, and keeping tax information in one central place
I’ve used this for the past three years and I enjoy the intuitive interface in addition to the peace of mind that all of my financial data is automatically backed up.
Invoice2go – Mobile app providing the ability to invoice clients immediately onsite with a debit or credit card
Invoice2go can save entrepreneurs time and help them get paid faster by giving them a convenient, on-the-spot way to take care of business. I haven’t used this app because it’s rare that I would need to invoice clients at their locations, but I can see how it would save other small businesses a lot of time and headaches.
Hootsuite – Social media management tool for posting to and monitoring activity on social media platforms
I primarily use Hootsuite for keeping up with the fast pace of Twitter. It has saved me gobs of time, enabling me to see activity of users on my various Twitter lists through a single dashboard. And I don’t know what I’d do without the Hootlet browser extension. With it, I can compose and schedule tweets to share content directly from the web pages I’m visiting.
I feel almost silly including this tip, but I know people who buy from the first place they find an item if the price sounds reasonable enough. As you’re equipping your office, whether it’s at home or at another site, look for sales and special deals in print and online. It just seems wrong to buy anything (especially big ticket items like copiers/printers, computers, etc.) at full retail price when there are ALWAYS deals somewhere at all times. Yes, it may take a little research and time, but what you save will likely make it well worth your while.
Don’t confuse frugality with being cheap. There’s a difference.
If you’re frugal, you’re economically savvy and conscious of getting the best products and services at the best possible price.
Cheap means wanting whatever costs the very least regardless of quality.
Frugality will give you the wherewithal to cut costs without compromising your business integrity and reputation.
I view my role as more than an independent contractor for hire — I become a part of your team. You’ll find that I dig into the details to understand what’s important to you — and your customers. I embrace collaboration, communicate openly, and craft content to help you achieve your marketing and business goals. Read More...
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