The explosion of digital marketing paints a vivid picture of how businesses can now pay other companies to carry out tasks that they lack the expertise to do themselves. You can either choose to learn how to build and optimize your website yourself, or you can simply pay someone to do it all for you.
Granted, not every business owner has the time to figure out web design, but there is truth behind the idea that convenience isn’t always worth the cost. On a similar note, not many business owners take the time to research their options when it comes to the services they use. This results in them paying way more than they should when they can get the same thing, if not something better, elsewhere.
In order to determine what you might be overpaying for, let’s take a look at five of these expenses.
Full-Time Employees
Your workforce is likely one of your biggest expenses. Having full-time employees under your payroll is a traditional, but particularly costly way of doing business. In the digital era, it’s likely that not all of your employees need to be in the office on a nine-to-five basis. Consider outsourcing certain work or hiring remote employees to save on salaries.
Payment Processor
While still a necessity in most industries, credit and debit card processing facilities are far from cheap. Take a moment to look at how your customers pay your business.
Chances are, a growing number of them are more interested in using modern, more affordable solutions such as mobile payments and payment processors that aren’t tied to banks, such as PayPal.
Electricity
A 2016 report by the Competition and Markets Authority found that as much as 80% of businesses in the UK are overpaying for electricity – and around one in ten businesses say that they’ve never shopped around for a better deal. Despite this, comparing business energy prices is a simple and painless process. Click here to find out more.
Web Design
Many business owners tend to offload the task of building their website to a local agency or one that was recommended by their friends. However, this is usually the most expensive option. Freelancers based in other parts of the world are likely to be able to do the same quality of work for a much lower rate.
Even better, you can take up the task of building your website for yourself or an in-house employee. Platforms like WordPress can help you get the fundamental components of your website in place for next to nothing. It’s only the more complex tweaks and refinements that really call for a professional service.
Traveling
With today’s video conferencing technology, the need to travel is nearing nonexistent. Of course, more important business deals may call for an overseas flight, but general meetings and discussions are better off being performed in the office. Working harder doesn’t necessarily mean working smarter.
Take some time to frequently look into where your capital is going. It’s almost always the case that there are a few expenses you can cut down on.