5 Ways Your Business Is Wasting Money

Every business wastes money in at least some ways. A lot of the time, money is wasted in overlooked areas and can be remedied through simple quick fixes once the problem is identified. This article will help you identify some common areas that businesses waste money and what you can do to stop the hemorrhaging. Especially in the beginning stages of business ownership, it is especially important to save as much money as you can – even if it’s a couple hundred dollars a year, those dollars can add up quickly and can be spent in other areas to actually benefit your business. It may take a small investment of time and money to fix them, but you will earn it back and more in no time!

Overstaffing

Employees are one of the most important and most expensive aspects to running a business. While they certainly help you bring in a lot of money, they can also cost a lot of money as well – especially if you are providing benefits in addition to wages or salaries. While you never want your business to be understaffed, overstaffing is a sure way to waste a ton of money that you probably can’t afford to be losing. Be sure to keep track of peak times and note when you need more staff, or when you have staff just sitting around not doing much of anything at all. Monitoring will help you make a more efficient schedule that doesn’t waste your staff’s time or your money!

Overspending on Marketing

Marketing is one area where business owners really tend to overspend. Of course it is true that marketing is a great tool for growing your business, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend tons of money to do it effectively! Long gone are the days of extremely expensive television ad campaigns and print ad campaigns. In the age of the Internet, you can use its tools to market your company for little to no cost! One marketing tool that doesn’t cost anything at all is establishing a social media presence for your business. Creating profiles on the three main platforms – Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter – as well as claiming your business on Google can allow you to gain a following and reach out to people to promote your business. Through these mediums you can also purchase ads that allow you to target specific groups of people who might be interested in your business. So in 2019 and beyond, ditch those overly expensive print and television ad campaigns and instead use social media properly to establish a following and market your business more effectively for less money.

Expensive Technology & Equipment

While it’s important to have adequate technology and equipment that are able to work well for your business, it is also just as important not to overspend in this area! Odds are, in the beginning phases of your business, you won’t need the most expensive equipment and technology in order to run your business effectively. With technology constantly changing and evolving, it’s easy to get caught up in wanting the next best thing. But if what you currently have is doing a fine job, resist the urge to upgrade! Instead, wait until your business is doing so well that it needs the extra speed and capacity – that way you can really get the best bang for your buck instead of wasting that money initially when it probably could have been better spent elsewhere. If you find yourself urgently needing an upgrade in technology and equipment but are short on cash, you should consider applying for a small business loan from a lending company like Seek Capital. That way you can ensure that your business continues to run as efficiently as possible!

Energy Inefficiency

It is so easy for businesses to waste so much money on energy, when making a few simple changes can increase your energy efficiency, decrease your power bill, and make you feel good for going green! It’s a win-win-win! There are a few simple steps that you can do to achieve this – and although it may require a little bit of time and money upfront, you will earn it back in no time through the money you will save on your power bill. Probably the easiest thing to do is to adjust your thermostat. Keeping the temperature a fewer degrees higher than you usually would in the summer and a fewer degrees lower in the winter will save you tons in heating and cooling costs. Another easy solution is installing motion sensor lights in areas where it makes sense – bathrooms, storage closets, refrigerators, etc. Since motion sensor lights will automatically come on and off when needed, you can save money that is otherwise wasted by keeping lights on unnecessarily. A few simple and easy fixes can really save you and the planet in the long run when it comes to energy efficiency.

Too Much Outsourcing

It can be easy for new business owners to get caught up in outsourcing – after all, there is so much work to do and so little time! And of course you want the best job done as possible so often outsourcing is seen as a solution to this. However, you can save so much money by doing as many things in-house as possible and only outsourcing the things that are just too complex for you to do yourself. It may take some rearranging to assign tasks that were previously outsourced, but it is well worth the shuffle as those external companies always charge quite a markup for their services in order to make their own businesses profitable! Instead of contributing to another business, do it yourself and save the money.