Cash flow remains a major challenge that affect the growth of small businesses. Saving money can be tricky especially when you do not have a big portion of income tucked away. Most entrepreneurs work on a shoestring budget and opportunities of making their business operations more cost effective are a welcome idea.

Below are amazing insights to help small business owners from any industry to lower their overhead and still reach their target market.

Negotiate with suppliers

Suppliers here represents manufacturers, distributors or wholesalers. Always ask for a discount. The suppliers also want to stay in business as much as you do and many would rather be willing to negotiate lower prices or offer a discount instead of losing a regular customer.

The suppliers may also have quantity discounts that depend on their terms. You can meet the requirements and qualify at getting products at a lower price or a good discount for paying early.

With Small Business Pro you can save over £30 a month. Small Business Pro will help with the heavy lifting of managing customers, taking payments, insurance, finance and HR, plus you’ll get a host of personal wellbeing benefits.

You can find out more here.

Buy used furniture and office equipment

You can save some money here by evaluating which office equipment needs to be new and those that do not. You can still get used furniture and office equipment that is good and functional for a lower price.

Go green

Make your space more energy efficient and you will not only lower your utility costs but also serve as a great PR move. Have a printer that prints on both sides to reduce paper waste, keep your office equipment on a power strip to turn off when not in use. By saving energy you reduce costs too.

Embrace cloud computing

Avoid purchasing expensive servers and office software. Go for cloud-based software to host data for book keeping, presentation and even word processing. It helps small business to be able to do more with less for you save on hardware, installation, upgrade and support costs.

Collaborate with sponsors for events

The local audience comprises the target market for most small businesses. Engaging with the local audience then becomes a very crucial marketing tool. Organising events such as a gala or seminars is an effective way of expanding your customer base.

One of the reasons most small businesses shy away from doing this is that these events are quite expensive when you organise alone. It is therefore wise to get sponsors to back you up. You can do this by having another business pay for the expenses and let yours do the hosting. It will be a good trade for you both will benefit in having some form of advertising to potential customers within the event.

Go for social media advertising

The traditional method of print advertising and even the modern day digital advertising are costly. Social media advertising is not only cost effective but it reaches a wide audience. Start with those networks that are mostly used and post content that is most likely to be shared. Focus on boosting traffic to your business website.

These cost cutting ideas will keep your small business heading in the right direction to financial health. The tips will also help in marketing your business without digging too deep into your pockets.