1. Opt for a virtual office - It is completely acceptable that you
need a physical address or even a meeting room from time to time, and
through using a virtual office you can have both. By opting for a virtual
office, you could work from home or from any other location, but for
branding and suppliers sake, your address will appear as if you have a
physical one. Often your mail will be forwarded to you by the virtual office
company and you will be able to rent meeting rooms. This makes an excellent
choice for many mall businesses and start-ups.
2. Use 3rd party contractors - Instead of hiring in-house staff, a
process which is considered very expensive, look to hire talent using a
service such as Odesk. oDesk is a global service marketplace for small and
medium sized business to hire, manage, and pay remote freelancers or teams.
There are other players similar to this one, all offering you an option to
pay based on the work you need instead of hiring in-house staff.
3. Cut the cost of your communication - While communication is
essential for the success of the business, it does come a cost. It is no
surprise then that often huge savings could be made by cutting the cost of
your communication, from telephone line costs to fax and even emails. Some
VoIP companies such as Skype offer your own personal online phone number
with Skype which you could renew on a monthly basis, while web based email
services such as Gmail will allow you to send and receive business emails
through your personal address.
4. Reduce the cost of office supplies - Office supply includes
consumables such as printer ink, but also computer hardware and software. A
substantial saving could be made by switch to open-source software.
Open-source software costs a fraction of the price as commercial products
while still offering all, if not more, of the features. Consider Open Office
for your Word and PowerPoint needs and Thunderbird as your desktop mail
application.
5. Sublet parts of your office - If you decided to rent a physical
office and you have some space left, consider subletting. There are web
based services where you would be able to advertise your free space, but
also consider going local and place posters around your area.
6. 'Hire' family, friend and students - From time to time you
might need some help around the office, from picking up the phones to
answering customer emails. One option is to hire local talent from family
members to students in your local collage. Often local collages have an
internship program which is a win-win situation for your business, while
hiring family members and especially kids will teach them responsibility.
- - - Article by Joseph Eitan, founder and managing director of
Photo Paper Direct. A UK based office supply site selling a range of
products from photo paper to large format.
www.photopaperdirect.com
