Cutting Costs - Marketing, Equipment & Supplies, Running the Office, Staff, Transport and Other

2. September 2015 “Cutting costs”

3. Our Babble Today: • Babbling together • Babble News • How to cut costs • Action to take away

4. Babbling Together • Your Elevator Pitch • Your successes this month • Progress on your Action of the Month • What you would like help with

5. Babble News • FSB Awards • Babble Hitchin • Babble Cambridge • Elite space

6. Piggy back your advertising – leaflets in bags Split advertising and promotion costs with neighbouring businesses Newspaper press articles Facebook group posting Posters up in free places Ask teenage children to deliver leaflets Pay telesales for results not per hour Speak at an event… even better if you can piggy back Apply for awards Target your audience rather than scatter approach Advertise in publications at the last minute Cutting Costs - Marketing 6

7. Buy second hand Negotiate with suppliers Co-purchase with other companies Low cost region sourcing Plan ahead to remove higher delivery costs etc Shop early to get the minimum costs e.g. buy ink online Buy in bulk and sell off overstock in smaller lots Negotiate block bookings / larger orders Use places like Costco etc rather than Tesco Join an associate for discounts Cutting Costs - Equipment & Supplies 7

8. Work from home not an office Meet in Hotel lobby’s / Council offices / Costa etc rather than pay for a room Skype number Check your webhosting costs Check you web changes costs Consider a larger phone package with more included calls 0800 number from landline Electronic receipts and invoicing Email don’t post Use different couriers – parcel2go Look into buying software from a reseller Shop for insurance – First Insurance Automate processes Cutting Costs – Running the office 8

9. Consider an apprentice All staff to add money to the bottom line Swapsie sessions for childcare costs Trade with other babblers Take on flexible, self employed, part-time staff Work experience Help people return to work Teenagers Low hourly rate plus commission / profit share Hire your children Hire someone to train you how to… rather than pay them to do it Cutting Costs - Staff 9

10. Get customers/suppliers to deliver/collect from you Fuel costs – clients come to you Skype meetings rather than on customer site Plan your journeys so that you only go ‘once’ Train travel off peak Merge work travel with personal Log all of your mileage Cutting Costs - Transport 10

11. Put all permitted expenses through the company Avoid credit card cash advances Shop around for cheapest credit card Use comparison websites Ask for early payment discounts Seek 3 bids/quotes on everything Manage your cashflow closely Take a set amount out of your business each month Put ambitious stretch plans in place – focuses you on the £ Chase bad debtors early and outsource Keep simple book-keeping records on a spreadsheet Outsource annual accounts – good accountants pay for themselves Are you overdelivering? Cutting Costs - Other 11

12. October 2015 “Instagram? Social Media Strategy? ”