If you’re like most small business owners, you’ve started your business with your own cash. Usually that means you’re boot strapping the thing with the cash you have, and not the cash you’d like. Still, once you get the company off the group there are a number of things you can do to help find the money you need.
The first thing you need to do is look at your planning. Are you doing a good job of planning for expenses? When people start a small business they understand the costs of doing their business from the materials and time standpoint, but many people forget the taxes and fees. Make sure you understand the taxes you’re responsible for.
Once you have a good cash plan it’s time to start looking around for found money. The first, and easiest, way of getting more cash is to look at your price point. Are you charging enough for your service or product? Most of the times a small business owner will find that there price point isn’t as sensitive as they think. Research your competition and find out the range of your service or product and adjust accordingly.
The next place to look for found money is expenses. There are two areas that you can find money easily when it comes to expenses.
- Telecommunications: Look at your phone service, including cell and internet access. The telecommunications industry is moving quickly, and the plan you settled on six months ago had probably changed. Call your provider and discuss a rate reduction . The simple act of mentioning that you are thinking about switching to a competing company is enough to have your rates adjusted.
- Banking. Gone are the days of banks charging fees for business accounts. If you still have an account that limits the number of checks you can write or charges a monthly service fee, look around. You can do your banking online , which means you can have accounts out of state.
The last place to look for money savings in a small business are incidental expenses. These are the type of expenses you accumulate during a quarter that, if you planned better, shouldn’t have cost that much. Office supplies, entertainment and even bookkeeping are expenses that are time sensitive. A little more planning and you can save a nice amount of money.
Remember, when things look bleak on the cash front don’t fret. You’ve invested your time and money into this enterprise. Buckle down and weather the storm.
