Many small businesses fluctuate between feast and famine. When business is good, it’s very good, but when things slow down, they practically come to a standstill. Needless to say, this can be a stressful situation for both business owners and employees.
Fortunately, conserving financial resources and bringing in additional income every month are much easier than you may think. Although most small businesses regularly experience slow spells, there are numerous ways to make these periods less financially arduous.
Negotiate with Vendors
Unbeknownst to many entrepreneurs, a large number of vendors provide small business clients with a bevy of convenient discounts. So, if there are any office supply stores, catering services or tech companies with whom you regularly do business, don’t be shy about inquiring about small business discounts. If you manufacture products, administrative process rates can also be negotiated.
Even if a certain vendor doesn’t officially offer such discounts, there’s no harm in asking if they’d be willing to negotiate. When presented with the choice of providing discounts or losing small business clients, a surprising number of vendors will choose the former. While the possibility of them saying no certainly exists, you’re only hurting yourself by not asking.
Rent a Small Office Space
It’s easy to see why so many small business owners actively seek out the largest office spaces they can afford. After all, size is commonly regarded as a sign of success, and the goal of most entrepreneurs is to project success when dealing with prospective clients.
However, depending on where your business is based, renting a large office space is liable to eat up a significant portion of your monthly income. This can prove particularly problematic if your enterprise is still in the process of establishing itself and has yet to attract a steady roster of repeat clients.
You can nip this issue in the bud by renting sensibly-sized office space and not going big for the sake of going big. While your workspace should be large enough to comfortably accommodate you and any onsite employees, renting office space that far exceeds your size requirements stands to bleed you dry financially.
Additionally, if many of your employees prefer to work remotely, make sure to take this into account when considering potential workspaces. Should your business prove successful, you can revisit the idea of renting a larger office space in the future.
Embrace Remote Work
You can considerably reduce your operating costs by embracing remote work. Not only will allowing employees to work from home enable you to rent a smaller office space, it will ensure that less resources are consumed in the workplace.
For example, if you regularly provide food and beverages to your team members, embracing remote work can eliminate the need for this. Furthermore, with less power being consumed, you can expect to see your monthly utility costs drop by a significant amount.
As an added bonus, allowing remote work can prove highly conducive to employee retention. Even if some of your team members receive higher-paying offers from competitors, there’s a good chance they’ll turn them down if remote work isn’t on the table.
Look for Outside Investment Opportunities
Some smart investments can also help bring more capital into your small business. For instance, a few well-researched real estate investments stand to generate a small fortune in passive income every month.
So, the next time you’re presented with luxury home investment opportunities, you’d do well to give them serious consideration. Investing in sought-after rental properties can also prove helpful on the passive income front. If you’ve never given any thought to real estate investments, there’s no time like the present to start doing your homework.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a small business that doesn’t want to bring in extra income every month. Even businesses with steady client bases and stellar reputations are constantly seeking out ways to improve their financial bottom lines. Bringing in additional capital and conserving resources is particularly important for small businesses that are just getting their start.
Since many fledgling enterprises run out of money before they’re able to carve out a name for themselves, it’s easy to see why small business owners are always eager to bolster their finances. Budding entrepreneurs looking for effective ways to generate additional income will be well-served by the measures discussed above.