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The Editor's Desk - From Beneath the Clutter
Feature Article - Practical Money-Saving Tips For Small Businesses
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Guest Article - Lighten Your Summer Home School Load
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Copyright 2004 Diane Hughes
One of the primary concerns all small businesses have is
saving money. When it's time to trim the fat, most look for
one giant expense to decrease or eliminate in order to stay
within budget. More often than not, it doesn't work that
way.
Most budgeting experts will tell you that re-evaluating
your overall expenses and cutting each by just a bit will
actually gain you more ground than doing without something
major that you really need. Here are a few ideas of areas
to look at and costs to reduce that can have a major impact
on your overall profits.
1) Internet Access - Every online business owner must have access to the Web. But consider this. The market is so flooded with ISPs that you have a lot of room to dicker. Start by searching the Internet under keywords like "cheap internet access" or "discount isp" to bring up lists of possibilities. Then, do one of two things.
(a) Try some of these independent ISPs. Smaller companies can have high quality service and support just like the"big boys". One business owner I know recently switched from Prodigy ($21.95/mth) to a smaller ISP that only charges $12.50/mth with no contracts. She actually liked the new provider better and it costs her about half as much. [Savings of $113.40 per year.]
(b) Renegotiate with your existing ISP. Most larger ISPs know you have a choice of a thousand other companies. Because of this, they are normally more than willing to renegotiate your costs. Be honest. Tell them you are a small business owner and you need to cut expenses. Explain that you've been pleased with their service but will be forced to go with someone else if some sort of arrangement isn't worked out. Another friend of mine did this and received 6 months free! Most will offer 2-3 months free and/or a discount with an annual agreement. NOTE: When you approach your ISP, be fully prepared to switch to someone else if your offer is rejected. [Savings of $105.80 per year with 3 months free and reduced, annual rate.]
2) Switch From A Merchant Account To A Payment Service - If you have a low volume of credit card transactions, it might benefit you to switch from a merchant account to some sort of payment service like Pay Pal or ClickBank. Statement fees, monthly fees, discount percentages and the like can all add up to big money.
While payment services normally have reduced fees, they do have higher "per transaction" costs so you'll have to do some math to find out if this is a good idea for your business. Just take an "average" invoice amount from a sale and multiply it times 12 to get a base total to work with. Now, add in your 12 months worth of fees for statement, monthly access, discount percentage, per transaction cost, etc. This is your "example" total. Do the same with several payment services using their costs to see which one, over time, would be less expensive for you.
If you were paying a $15 statement fee, $20 monthly fee, 3% + $.35 per transaction and $25 monthly gateway fee, your annual expenses would be $742.20 for an average transaction of $50.00. Your annual fees for a payment service with 3.5%, $1.00 per transaction and a one-time $50.00 set up charge would only be $83.00 per year. [Savings of $659.20 per year.]
3) Re-evaluate Your Long Distance Costs - Competition is the small business owner's friend! With hundreds of long distance companies out there, you can drastically reduce your charges instantly. Again - use the 'Net to search for inexpensive long distance service. A business owner I know changed from a MCI "program" to one of those 10-10 companies and reduced her per minute charge from $ .07 to $ .05. Depending on the volume of calls you make, some programs offer rates as low as $ .03 per minute. [Estimated savings of $20-$30 per year for 1,000 minutes.]
From just these three little things, we've saved an estimated $802.60 per year. That's enough to make anyone's spreadsheet sing! Go through your list of costs and you will most likely find other expenses that can easily be reduced with a bit of research and a phone call or two.
------------------------------
Diane C. Hughes * ProBizTips.com
FREE Report: Amazingly Simple (Yet Super Powerful) Ways To Skyrocket Your Sales And Build Your Business Into A Tower of Profits! == http://madmarketer.com/diane
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By Susie Glennan
It's summer and while not much changes for most home schoolers, the rest of the children in district schools are home for a while. This could cause some rifts in your own home if the neighborhood children come knocking at the door to play during your school hours. Take time to set up a plan for your summer. The neighborhood children are going to want to come and play. Have a schedule in place for when this occurs. This way you can tell them when you're free or not.
I trained the children in our neighborhood to know what time our children were available during the summer. Then I had planned activities so everyone always had something to do. This left less time for mischief making. It also gave the other children in the neighborhood a better chance to get to know our family.
Maybe you work from home "and" home school. Or maybe the house needs a deep cleaning. Why not take summer time to lighten the home school load and plan for your children to entertain the others in the neighborhood while you get some work done. There is no better babysitter than other children to play with when Grandma is not available.
Plan at least one outing per week to get everyone out in the fresh air.
Set up a schedule so everyone knows what to expect. If some of that time each day is FREE TIME, it becomes something everyone looks forward to. They can do anything during free time. So their more apt to do their chores, schoolwork, etc... if they KNOW they have FREE TIME ahead.
During the summer we had school until 12 noon, cleanup time, then lunch until about 12:45. We'd write on the schedule, FREE TIME from 1 - 5. Clean up for dinner was at 5. You get the picture.
There is a lot to be said for having a set schedule. Some say you're a slave to your schedule. I say, "YOU make up the schedule. Set it up how YOU want it!"
©2004 Susie Glennan - www.thebusywoman.com
Susie Glennan has been happily married since 1982, is mom to 3, and is a Home Maker, Nurturer, Teacher, Author, Professional Speaker, Toastmaster, President of The Busy Woman, Inc., DBA - The Busy Woman's Daily Planner®. She teaches time management seminars, offers FREE consultations with your order, and will help you set up a schedule that's right for you.
You can reach Susie at mailto:susie@thebusywoman.com or 800-848-7715. Visit her website for great organizing products at: http://www.thebusywoman.com
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