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78 Ways For Your Small Business to Save Money

insidecrm.com — With the economy struggling, every business is trying to cut costs to make ends meet. Small businesses, which have fewer resources, are especially feeling the burn. Here's a mega-list of ways to trim the fat off your enterprise so you don’t become a casualty of the latest economic downturn.

Who dugg this? Made popular Oct 15, 2008

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  • MichaelMelen, on 10/15/2008, -0/+40#80 file for bankruptcy and get the government to bail you out!
  • inactive, on 10/14/2008, -3/+27#79 Lay people off.
  • cyrusuncc, on 10/15/2008, -1/+14#81 Switch to really cheap toilet paper that breaks apart in customer's hands
  • jemka, on 10/15/2008, -0/+13Then use the money for a vacation. ***** it; two vacations.
  • Jude007, on 10/15/2008, -1/+1379. Print you own money.
  • mykool, on 10/15/2008, -0/+11or John Wane paper - you know - ruff as hell and won't take ***** off nobody.


    This reminds of some advise my Father gave me about looking for a job. He said check to see if they use cheap toilet paper and if they do leave and do not apply. Why? Because if they are not going to look out for your ass they wont look out for the rest of you either.


  • sifuchar, on 10/15/2008, -2/+11You are sorely misinformed, my lefty friend. "Reasonable wages"? According to who? In a free society, people are paid market value. I have to compete with wages and benefits for the best employees. And corporations generally pay HUGE taxes, and are taxed in ways you would never consider if you didn't run a business. The reason Warren Buffet and other uber-rich people favor higher taxes is that they favor government control, which in turn benefits them because of their high level of influence over how it will be spent. Warren Buffet should send in a check if he thinks the IRS isn't taking enough of his money ... but he doesn't. Instead he tells the press how unfair the system is and how we need more government control of the money.

    A capitalist system does indeed favor job creators and wealth producers, but I see nothing unfair about it. To get my business going, I worked harder and longer than anyone else, risked every dime I could muster or borrow, lived cheap, gave up social life, gave up all luxuries, and produced a better product. Now I provide jobs for several other people, and am finally at a point after 14 years where I bought a house to park my Ford Escape in. Now Obama wants to come in, take away the money I was hoping to use to expand (and create 3 to 4 more jobs), and give it to people who are not producing wealth or jobs.

    Would misplaced hatred for corporations and whatever small bit of cash Obama gives you be a comfort to you during unemployment?
  • gerbco, on 10/15/2008, -0/+8Block Digg... and increase productivity.
  • travbrack, on 10/15/2008, -0/+8FTA: Get a freelancer. Don’t let Larry in accounting eat up your electricity as he checks his fantasy football league stats. Hire freelancers, consultants or contractors to work for you from home

    Awesome
  • emazur, on 10/15/2008, -0/+7They put the whole list on 1 page - gotta give 'em credit for that
  • iloveobama, on 10/15/2008, -5/+12A liberals perfect world: We will all live under globalism, preferably some type of global socialism like the EU. We will all drive solar-powered cars. Extremely high progressive tax brackets and wealth redistribution. No guns (for your protection). Government control of most private enterprise.
  • scoreboard27, on 10/14/2008, -15/+22Just make sure your small business doesn't do too well. You'll be asked to "spread the wealth around".. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoqI5PSRcXM
  • twister17e, on 10/15/2008, -1/+7#19 I would include lowering fixed costs as well. In this economy, most likely your company will be producing less so your fixed costs are not "spread" out as much.
  • spaceman84, on 10/15/2008, -8/+13If companies did it by paying their employees reasonable wages, the government wouldn't have to step in. The fact of the matter is that corporations pay little to no tax, wield enormous legislative influence in Congress, and are run by CEOs and board members that reward themselves disproportionately and punish those at the bottom when the quarterly earnings aren't up to analysts' expectations. If the playing field were a little more level, none of what Obama is proposing would be necessary, but corporations run this country, not its citizens, and they're getting the short end of the stick as a result.

    Even Warren Buffett has said that the system is wrong and that it unfairly favors the richest in the nation.

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/tax/article ...
  • jemka, on 10/15/2008, -3/+8We'll never have a true free market society under government control. Follow the constitution; PERIOD.
  • mykool, on 10/15/2008, -3/+8 Dr. Paul would never discriminate. Your statement undermines Dr. Paul's objective. You would serve his cause better by joining McCain's camp.
  • ThreeE, on 10/15/2008, -3/+8@spaceman84: companies can do whatever the hell they want to with their assets. When you invest your capital then you can call the shots -- until then, keep your Marxism to yourself.
  • DefaultGen, on 10/15/2008, -1/+6#16. Stop paying for software.

    Wow, I don't even own a business and I do many of these.
  • tomarocco, on 10/15/2008, -0/+4Do something worth doing. The world doesn't need another social networking site.
  • shauncorleone, on 10/15/2008, -2/+6"Just make sure your small business doesn't GROSS too much" is more like it. Apparently trickle-down politics is very real, as evil big corporate now includes evil small business.
  • sonic11, on 10/15/2008, -2/+6#80 switch to geico
  • PrivateGuy, on 10/15/2008, -0/+4Stupid and useless. Anyone running a small business and not already doing all of these things is in for a big surprise. You aint gonna make it.
  • floorman56, on 10/15/2008, -0/+3Buy recycled printer cartridges. Printer ink is one of the most expensive liquids on the planet. Much of it is margin, so find low-cost sources.


    I'm a printer repair guy. recycled printer cartridges are one of our best income sources.

    When I have to fix the printers that are messed up by them
  • inactive, on 10/15/2008, -0/+3AFLAC!!!
  • inactive, on 10/15/2008, -1/+4think long term.
  • sifuchar, on 10/15/2008, -3/+6True. Most people I talk to are surprised to learn that all the money that comes into a small business is treated as though it's the salary of the owner(s), therefore classifying them as "rich" and eligible for tax increases. Plumbers, mechanics, all kinds of people who work for a living will have their taxes increased under Obama's plan because they are small business owners.
  • inactive, on 10/15/2008, -0/+3Peachtree accounting
  • inactive, on 10/15/2008, -0/+3no, it's actually the Democrats who are hung up on race. Obama has been playing the race card for a long time now.
  • GuidoHamez, on 10/14/2008, -4/+7Try SAAS! Look it up!
  • CivicTV, on 08/14/2009, -0/+3Thats the stuff legends are made of . . .
  • chosenone1, on 10/15/2008, -1/+4Can you say "Not voting for Obama" 78 times?

  • inactive, on 10/15/2008, -0/+3And how much of that increase is from your state and local government?
  • mikeevegas, on 10/15/2008, -1/+3#79a Do not vote for McCain, he will raise your taxes too.
  • cyrusuncc, on 10/15/2008, -1/+3I normally don't digg down Ron Paul comments, but sheesh.
  • dragonyoiko, on 10/15/2008, -0/+2I havent seen someone use a ink jet printer for ages in a business setting. Honestly, i agree with the laser printer idea, its more likely to help for the sheer fact you wont lose business from it due to smudge ink on pages.
  • govsucks, on 10/15/2008, -2/+4asking a collectivist to stop pushing people around is like asking the sun not to shine. Those that force others to live a certain way understand only force in return.
  • personalj, on 10/15/2008, -0/+2If you are operating in CA, move out of the Peoples Republic of California and get to a free state.
  • NonLeftistDiggr, on 10/15/2008, -1/+3If you are operating in CA, vote for prop 11 and end legislature engineered gerry mandering, that's a start.
  • hockeyplayer66, on 10/15/2008, -1/+3Don't vote for anyone who will maintain the same tax programs as Bush. My taxes as a small business have gone up more in the last 8 years than ever before.
  • elijahalcantara, on 10/15/2008, -0/+2"Buy recycled printer cartridges. Printer ink is one of the most expensive liquids on the planet. Much of it is margin, so find low-cost sources."

    Or better yet, if you have an old printer you can invest on a continous ink system. It's much cheaper.
  • hansonc, on 10/15/2008, -0/+2Real businesses don't use ink and inkjet printers, we use toner for laser printers. Cost per page is an order of magnitude less and quality is better.

    But if for some odd reason you're still using that crappy "free" inkjet this might almost make it a reasonable price per page.
  • vinod1978, on 10/15/2008, -0/+1I would say macbooks - no need for a pro version for most people.
  • mattsway, on 10/15/2008, -0/+1Great list.. one thing I'd add is FOCUS. I think, especially those building Internet businesses, that is one of the most costly problems.. if you have it, you'll save yourself tremendous money.
  • CivicTV, on 08/14/2009, -0/+1Does anyone know any good Point Of Sale programs?
  • OwdenBowden, on 10/16/2008, -0/+1So what your saying that #79 should be moved to the # 1 slot, which is : DON'T VOTE FOR OBAMA
  • hansonc, on 10/15/2008, -0/+1But actually learn how to use it.

    Quickbooks is just easy enough for an amateur bookkeeper to hang themselves with. If you want to use it for your business it is well worth the cost of taking a class to learn to use it correctly so you don't get yourself in trouble with your accountant and/or the IRS
  • vinod1978, on 10/15/2008, -0/+1Check this company out: http://www.wedge.coop/is4c/
  • jameson5, on 10/15/2008, -0/+1#2 is great.. I use open source software for almost everything in my web design company. It can be a little less user-friendly, but it works just as well once you figure it out and keeps the price way down for me and my clients.
  • shauncorleone, on 10/15/2008, -2/+3Let's assume just for the sake of argument that your ludicrously simple statement is true. If the economy was defined as simply as "the trade of one thing of value for another", then why does Obama feel the government has the right to control the one task the economy is supposed to be doing?
  • vinod1978, on 10/15/2008, -0/+1True except for the barter suggestion. That is something I haven't even considered.
    If you haven't even though about the rest however, you'll be filing for bankruptcy soon enough.
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