Tips For Reducing Your Overhead Costs This Winter
A new year has arrived, and the economy looks no less stagnant than ever. True, unemployment levels have gone down, but the average small business owner has probably seen no signs of a waning recession. If you’re one of those business owners, there’s a good chance you’ve been looking to cut costs. And, if you’re looking to cut costs, there’s no better place to look than your company’s overhead. This is especially the case if business is good and sales remain strong, but you’re still struggling to pay your bills.
Reducing overhead entails committing to economizing, maximizing efficiencies, and working to realize small cost-cutting measures on a large scale. The first place to look, of course, is at your physical plant – your office, store, or factory where business takes place. Here are a few options to consider:
Downsize Space
Perhaps your business has grown smaller and leaner over the years. Perhaps you’ve reduced desks and filing cabinets by going digital in the past decade. For whatever reason, many business owners find themselves with more office space than they truly need. This space translates into a good amount of overhead. This winter, then, you may want to think about your downsizing options. One great way to do this is by moving unneeded furniture, files, and equipment into storage units that usually cost far less than rent on a square-foot basis.
Go Green
Even if you don’t consider yourself an environmentalist, going green this winter can help you save substantially on your office’s utility bills. Energy-efficient light bulbs reduce your electricity consumption, intelligent thermostats can regulate the temperature in a way that promotes cost efficiencies, and motion-controlled lighting systems can ensure that the power is turned off whenever the office is empty. While all these products are more expensive upfront, they promise to deliver savings after just a short period of use.
Telecommute
Having employees telecommute can help achieve either of the above objectives. If the telecommuting occurs on a rotating basis, you can remove a desk from the office and make it easier to downsize your space. If it instead takes place on occasional days and at an office-wide level, you can save yourself the utility costs for those days. Telecommuting also reduces gas expenses and, studies show, can increase employee satisfaction.
These are just a few of the ways you can reduce overhead and save some money this winter. When money is tight, it’s only natural for businesses to seek out any efficiencies or redundancies they can find. The office space itself is always a great place to start.