Lauren Fairbanks is currently a writer and editor for LifeStyler, a NYC-centric guide to budget living. You can also find her on Twitter.
Being a home business owner is tough road to travel. Along with taking on the hefty tasks of branding and selling, you have to organize and manage the administrative aspects of your company too. Luckily, there are a million products out there designed to help you streamline your projects and keep your operations running smoothly. But oftentimes these products can be expensive and unnecessary, significantly cutting into the bottom line. Even though home businesses typically have low overhead, there are always ways to keep cutting corners, and in this financial environment it’s never a bad idea to keep a strict eye on administrative costs.
A smart business owner is constantly researching ways to trim your overhead costs to make sure their business is as profitable as possible. Make sure you’re at the top of your game by implementing and taking advantage of all the free and low-cost options there are out there for small business owners.
1. Accounting Software — If you’re really handy with the spreadsheets, you can build and keep track of your business finances in Excel or Google spreadsheets using simple formulas. But if you’re more of an input and go type person, you can try Intuit’s Quick Books Simple Start Edition which was built specifically for small businesses whose accounting is pretty straight forward. You can download it here.
2. Advertising costs — If you haven’t already, try your hand at online advertising. There are many a good deal to be had on the web. Research websites or blogs that cater specifically to your niche industry or target demographic. Facebook offers great advertising deals by exposing you to a vast marketing audience and letting you set your own cpm (cost per thousand impressions) or cpc (cost per click) price and setting a daily spending limit. You can run a two week advertising campaign geo-targeted to your location for less than $300. And seeking out niche websites and blogs that have a very specific focus and audience can yield you even better results.
3. Administrative Assistance — If you need basic admin help, a virtual administrative service like Guru or eLance could be the answer. A friend of mine runs a highly successful online food venture and uses a virtual assistant to help her tackle her inbox and respond to the hundreds of queries she gets every day, schedule appointments, write weekly newsletters and contact vendors. In addition, the assistants are pre-screened and make bids for your work, so you’re able to get a qualified candidate for a price that fits nicely into your budget.
4. Freeware — There’s way too much free software online for people to spend hundreds of dollars on expensive programs. If large corporations and publishing houses can switch over to save overhead, so can you. Need basic formatting and spreadsheet programs? Try Google Documents (which you can save and send as Word files). Looking for a database to keep track of your client list? Try Base, a free database management system from Open Office.
5. Skype It — If you sit in a home office all day, there’s really no reason to pay for a land line for your business when you can take care of all of your calls via Skype. If you normally use your cell phone to take care of business, you can cut down on your bill and daytime minutes by taking advantage of free (or extremely low priced) online calls. Skype allows you to pay $2.95 a month to make phone calls to land lines and cell phones. Their free service is limited to other Skype users.
6. Office Supplies — Forget the overpriced Staples and Office Maxes of the world. Switch your focus to online. Computer related purchases can be had for a fraction of their sticker price at newegg.com. You can snag computer monitors, memory sticks, USB keys, and pretty much anything else tech related for pennies on the dollar. Forgo buying writing, office and paper supplies at office supply chain stores which typically charge a higher premium and check out your local Dollar Store or Wal-Mart to find cheaper supplies. Or if you really want to go all web 2.0, nix paper altogether and run a completely digital business – just don’t forget to backup all of your data on an external drive ($46.99 at Newegg).
7. Health Insurance — If your healthcare isn’t covered by a working spouse, look into freelancing unions to find affordable healthcare. Another alternative is to look into any state sponsored programs like New York State’s Healthy NY programs.
8. Legal Counsel – The cost of getting sound legal advice can wipe out a small business, so if you need a second opinion on something, there’s no reason not to take advantage of pro bono legal services. For writers or people who work with online creative projects, you can contact Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts — a nonprofit legal organization that takes on pro bono work to help settle issues with almost anyone working in a creative field, be it journalism, dance, theatre, fashion, design or visual arts. Although they’re located in New York, they typically take on cases from all over the U.S. You can also check out the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service for general advice and to get set up with pro bono counsel, if needed.
Lauren Fairbanks is a Brooklyn-based writer (among other things) hailing originally from that far away land known as the deep South. She has covered lifestyle and personal finance topics, as well as the neighborhood beat in Brooklyn for various online publications including GenX Finance, Gowanus Lounge and Young Money. She is currently a writer and editor for LifeStyler, a NYC-centric guide to budget living.
