The economic recession has caused many businesses to go out of business leaving tons of space available. This means this is one of the best times to find really cheap office and retail space. Despite the cheaper space, what if you still need to cut your rental budget? Well there are options.
Decrease your space and cost by getting a suite deal.
Whether you are a home-based entrepreneur or you need to downsize, consider sharing a suite and/or workspace. You don’t have to maintain an executive suite full-time to maintain a full-time professional appearance. There are many executive suites and shared workspaces nationwide, and you may use one of them when you need a commercial address, conference space, a receptionist, or an operator to answer calls when no one is available.
Decrease your space and cost by setting up a virtual business.
Companies like Amazon operate exclusively online. Other stores like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target and other retailers maintain a strong online presence because it is cost effective.
- You can increase sales while reducing cost by opening an online store on an online auction site like eBay or Yahoo Auction. This reduces your need for floor space and, at the same time, gives you round the clock exposure to individuals everywhere. In addition, you can utilize payment options from the auction sites in order to receive payment.
- If you have the capital ($1000+), you can increase sales while reducing cost by developing an online storefront/ecommerce website for your business, if you do not already have one. You can customize and personalize the look and feel of the site and get all the benefits of an online store and more.
Decrease your space and cost by increasing other technology.
If you are reducing the space where do the employees go? Well, if you still need the employees they can work from home without missing a beat. Before the internet, all employees and contractors needed to be on the company premises to run a smooth business. This is no longer true. Now many support staff and contractors can work from remote locations. Example, all JetBlue’s reservation agents work from home. You can do the same, also, for FREE if you can configure the systems yourself and for a few bucks more get trained professionals to do it for you.
- You can reduce cost by installing agent chat software. This makes it easy for remote employees and contractors to provide customer support while requiring low bandwidth. Just in case you are thinking your customers won’t like this, consider how many Americans are texting, tweeting, and blogging today. Americans are much more comfortable receiving support through data entry methods.
- You can reduce cost by installing an office telephony system. Voice over internet protocol (VOIP) has matured so much past the introduction of Skype and Vonage. It is possible to configure an entire VOIP office telephony system that plays voice greeting to incoming callers, assign extension numbers to in house workers as well as remote workers, allow transfer of calls between everyone with extensions, and many provide many other features.
Evaluate these tips and determine if they are right for your business. Check back soon for more tips on “Managing Costs and Saving Money in an Economic Recession“ or contact us for other ways your business can save money.
