A business cannot run on passion alone. There needs to be a certain amount of business nuance behind the whole thing, otherwise costs are going to spiral out of control and the whole thing is doomed to failure.
We might be painting a rather negative picture, but the fact of the matter is that if a business doesn’t stick to budget, the outcome isn’t going to be pretty.
Running a cost effective business doesn’t have to be difficult, and it can be as simple as going with second hand office chair choices over brand new options, if that is what your budget dictates. It’s about making decisions which don’t impact on the quality of the product or service you’re providing, but which save money in places where money can be saved. Of course, you should never scrimp on providing your staff with a comfortable and safe place to work, but designing a new workspace doesn’t need to be the huge and costly process you might have in mind either.
The first place to look is at your balance sheet. Write down every outgoing your business has and look at those against your incomings. Are there any savings you can make there? There are certainly areas you might not even realise, such as leaving machines on stand by, which eat away at your electricity bill. Those savings over time can add up to a huge amount. How about the office supplies you order? Could you cut down on the amount of paper you need, or even go paperless?
Many businesses now opt to hire remote workers, rather than rehiring in-office workers. Why? Because there are no overheads, and no requirements to purchase top quality office furniture, because they’re not working in the office! This might not work with your particular business, but looking at outsourcing work to freelancers may not be the expensive endeavour you’re thinking of either.
Look at The Way Your Business is Run
We’re not suggesting you cut down your staffing levels, but we are suggesting you look at how the office works. Could you incorporate zones, which would increase productivity and help bring in more revenue? This means having breakout furniture in collaborative areas, to allow your staff to brainstorm ideas and come up with creative solutions, and then quieter areas, perhaps with luxury office partitions to keep the noise to a minimum, so that quieter and closer work can be done too.
Never underestimate the power of productivity. It’s not just about getting more work done, it’s about attracting more business, beating your competitors, making your customers happy, and all of this adds up to greater profits. The more profits you have against your outgoings, the more surplus cash you have to develop your business further, and perhaps to invest for future gains.
Whilst you might not be in a position to design an entirely new office at this point, sustainable offices are growing in popularity.
These are optimised offices, which are designed to protect the environment but also cut down on running costs (e.g. electricity and supplies), with a strong focus on operational efficiency. You can take a few notes from these types of offices, such as incorporating biophilic design for extra productivity, using recycling to cut costs and be greener, etc.
Running a cost effective business isn’t all about the profit you make at the end of every month, it’s about how you see your business in the future. For instance, you can save money every month on bill, but if you have no plan in terms of how you’re going to grow your business from this point on, are you cost effective, or just floundering? Cost effectiveness is about far more than cash, it’s about morale within your workplace, it’s about productivity, ideas, growth for the future, and how your customers see you also.
Here at Calibre, we’re all about looking beyond the initial thought, and collaborating together to come up with a robust and creative plan, whatever the issue at hand. This is something you need to do if you want to not only become more cost effective, but also see your business flourish well into the future.