Five Ways To Get The Most Out Of Your Small Business

Small businesses are often operating on a shoestring budget. Luckily, there are a few methods you can use to help make your businesses a success without breaking the bank.

Collaborate with other small businesses

There are several ways that you can engage with other small businesses to create mutually beneficial relationships.

Join an online community. There are plenty of forums and blog sites that allow users to interact with one another to share various pieces of advice on everything from finance to writing a business plan. A great place to start is LinkedIn Groups, where you can find others in the same industry or with similar interests and share content, find answers, make business contacts and more.

Work together. Find businesses whose goods or services complement yours (read: not your competitors!) and figure out what you can share - you could get involved in a joint promotion, combine resources or buy something you both need in bulk to get a discount. If there's another organization sharing your office or right next door you could share the cost of purchasing or renting certain equipment ? just make sure that your needs are similar.

Share services. If you're thinking of purchasing from another company, see if you can offer them a discount on your service or product in exchange for theirs. The designer across the street may help with your bakery's business cards in return for a free muffin every day for a month. This is also a fantastic networking and relationship-building opportunity.

Enlist the help of your employees

The Huffington Post recently published an article that said ?American history is replete with examples of people with great potential who have been overlooked or under-challenged by their managers.?

It went on to list examples of highly successful people whose former employers failed to recognise what they had to offer, including talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Woolworth's department store founder W. H. Woolworth.

So how can you avoid making the same mistake? Recognise and embrace the fact that your employees are a treasure trove of helpful information. They see how the business runs day-to-day, and often come up with the best ideas. Who knows, you may all be experiencing a problem that they have figured out how to fix for themselves ? all they need is the encouragement to share it.

There's certainly a trend where companies are setting aside time specifically for their employees to innovate ? with some fantastic results. So unless you want to reject the next Stephen King, Steven Spielberg or Elvis Presley (seriously, this happened) ? make sure your business encourages, nurtures and taps your employees' creativity.

Move to the cloud

Plenty of people are now using cloud computing for both personal and business solutions. If you're not exactly sure what cloud computing is, check out Xero's quick guide to understanding the cloud.

The benefits of cloud computing are numerous ? not least of which is making financial savings, including:

• No expensive set-up fees. Because the service is hosted in the cloud, there's nothing to install ? all you need is an internet connection.?
• Upgrades are free. Your provider can automatically install free updates from their end, which also means you'll always have the most recent version of their software.
• Pay only for what you use. Cloud applications offer various basic packages for you to choose from depending on what your requirements are. You can also purchase add-ons to create a package tailored to your requirements, and scale up only if and when you need to.
• Get the most out of remote devices. Time = money. Because data stored in the cloud can be accessed from any device with an internet connection, you can work from home, from the airport, the bus ? anywhere you want!
• No wasted money. There are plenty of free services or free trials in the cloud ? so you can make sure software is the right fit for you before you subscribe. And, because cloud services are usually subscription-based, you'll pay on a monthly basis, so you don't have to commit forever.

Take advantage of free software

There's plenty of free and fantastic software available online that will save you spending on potentially costly services. A few resources worth checking out include:

Google Apps ? provides tools such as Gmail (email), Drive (storage), Docs, Sheets and Slides so you can create and collaborate on documents. The bonus is that it's all in the cloud, so you can access documents anytime, from anywhere.

Google Alerts ? receive email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc) so you can set up alerts to monitor your business, industry, name or any terms you want to track. It's a great way to monitor when people are talking about your business, so you can respond to criticism, questions or positive feedback.

Skype ? download Skype for a free account offering video and voice calls to any other Skype user. You also get free instant messaging and file sharing. There are several extra paid features you can choose to add if you decide you need them.

Hootsuite ? social media management for accounts like Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Facebook and more, all from one dashboard.

MailChimp ? free for lists of up to 2,000 subscribers, this email marketing tool lets you to create, send, and track email newsletters.

WordPress or Tumblr ? WordPress is an open source blogging tool and content management system. Tumblr is a blogging platform and social networking site. More and more small businesses are creating blogs ? it's a great way to do things like promote your subject expertise, engage with your target audience, show your brand's personality and expand your network. Which brings us to:

Get the most out of your marketing

Small business often find their marketing budget is made up of whatever funds they have 'leftover'. Luckily, it is entirely possible to create a successful marketing campaign on a shoestring budget. Here are a few tips to get you started.

Actively engaging with social media is a great way of networking, connecting with customers, sharing information, promoting your business and following what's being said about you and your industry. Many customers ? existing or ?potential ? will seek out social media pages to get more information or ask a question. Although you will have to dedicate time to keeping your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google+ and more up-to-date, they are all free to use with an invaluable return. If you're not sure how to get started, or want some helpful tips, there's a great list on Forbes.com.

People like love free stuff. Generate positive attention by holding a prize draw, which you can promote via your website and social media pages ? just make sure you're familiar with any terms and conditions. Alternatively, you can hold a giveaway ? find a busy location and have employees spend an hour or so giving away free samples of your product. If your company sells a service, you could try partnering up with another business ? if you provide the staff, they may provide the samples, and you can both display your branding.

Write interesting content for your website or blog. A website is an essential tool for any small business and regularly posting articles that are original and valuable is a fantastic way to drive people to your site and establish yourself as a trustworthy source of expert information.

Get your finances organized?

Small business cashflow relies on prompt payment ? no matter how much you love your work, at the end of the day, you need to get paid.

Of course, it's not always as simple as sending off your invoices at the end of the month. Many small businesses are all too familiar with clients who are slow to make payments.

At Xero, we recognised this and spoke to the small business community to analyze their challenges and figure out the best ways to approach invoicing.

The result was a guide to getting paid faster, which aims to help reduce the stress of small businesses owners who don't have cash coming in on a regular basis.

The guide discusses how payment terms impact when people pay you, shares insights from accountants and business owners and provides tips for getting paid on time and invoicing efficiently.

What's your best tip for small businesses looking to cut costs?

Author Bio
Lucy Godwin lives in Wellington, New Zealand, and writes for Xero, a provider of online accounting software. She advises small businesses, entrepreneurs and startups on everything from marketing to technology to finance. Connect with her on Twitter @LucyJaneGodwin.

Source: http://www.e-junkie.info/2013/04/five-ways-to-get-most-out-of-your-small.html

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