Starting a business is not for the faint-hearted. For many new business owners – and as operations gain momentum – the day-to-day requirements of running the business can overshadow areas of potential savings and overlooked simple best practices.
Utilities brokers and business service providers to SMEs and large corporates around the UK, Smarter Business offers the following advice to new and emerging enterprises:
- Make sure your necessities are working for you Water, electricity, waste, telecoms, merchant services. Many elements make up the necessities – the day-to-day expenses your business need to run. This doesn’t mean that they can’t work for you. Many of these components offer the advantage of competitiveness, giving business owners the power to negotiate and strategise. Some careful planning and the establishment of a management strategy can provide long-term solutions to ensure your business makes the most of these fundamental areas.
- Maintenance is better than replacement Planning a maintenance schedule is a good habit to establish at the outset. From HVAC and heating to specialised equipment particular to individual industries, working with a facilities maintenance company ensures maintenance is being done to the requisite level and, in some instances, guarantees compliance. Ensuring that your equipment is working at its best can result in meaningful savings for a small business and being able to pre-empt and avoid equipment failure is an invaluable service where this would result in costly downtime.
- Don’t rest on your laurels Shopping the market and securing the best tariffs for your business is merely a starting point. A meaningful, long-term strategy and a savings-based approach to utilities and services results in noteworthy accumulated savings. Budget around investing in technologies to monitor usage and understand the data generated by your business processes and adapt accordingly to make changes you’ll see on your balance sheet.
- Never stop looking to the future The business landscape of the future is anybody’s guess, but there are some predictions that hold a lot of weight. Sustainability and going green are two of the big ones. Starting to look into renewable, sustainable options within your business infrastructure is an investment in the future and your preparedness will affect potentially enhance your service and competitiveness.
- Accept help No business owner is an island. Everybody stands to benefit from expert advice and experience. For those new business owners struggling to justify the expense, quantify the value of your time. The hours spent grappling to understand areas secondary to your main business have a money value and detracts from your ability to identify and pursue opportunities and focus on the business at hand. Better yet, if you can pool expert services from one company, you are saving time, money, and anxiety around multiple service providers.
Want to find out more about how to streamline your business for savings? Contact Smarter Business today.
