Turning a bigger profit is an obligatory mission of every business, startup or conglomerate. However, the common mistake here is thinking that earning more money means more profit; although stuffing your cash register with more paper does play an essential role in growing your business’s earnings, that means nothing without trimming down the costs. This is especially true for startups, businesses that can’t afford to lose money.
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Cloudsourcing
We live in the age of freelancers, and if you don’t believe it, look around the world you’re living in. A mere decade ago, the career of an independent freelancer was attainable only for some. Today, the dream of being one’s own boss is more than attainable; in fact, a large number of people earn their bread and butter this way. Where do these freelancers hang? Well, on websites such as Freelancer and Upwork. What do these freelancers do? Everything from coding and writing to dog walking and babysitting. This is what “cloudsourcing” is – outsourcing via, well, the cloud.
How does this help your business? Well, it’s simple, really – they can help you fill your non-permanent positions. For instance, why would you keep a website developer on retainer, when you can outsource their expertise online and pay much less. Cloudsourcing means flexibility and flexibility means numerous cost trimming opportunities.
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Temps and interns
While cloudsourcing is definitely a cheaper alternative to hiring someone full-time, they are still professionals. This means that they are in their full right to charge heftily, and for certain services, you shouldn’t mind cashing out. On the other hand, there is a ton of stuff that you’re going to need done that doesn’t require an absolute expert’s touch, and if you hire an expert everywhere, you’ll end up hemorrhaging money in no-time.
For one, temps are a pretty decent alternative here, although they do come with their share of downsides. Contact a temp agency and they’ll dispatch a helping hand or two – people to take care of simple tasks at cheap prices. Or, as a matter of fact, you can go to the nearby college and hire interns – they might work for you and ask for nothing but a recommendation at the end of the day.
Office design
Your office design needs to be cool, easy to work in, well-equipped and progressive. You need to achieve all of this, without wasting too much money. Creativity plays the biggest role here – you need to make the most out of the cheap stuff in order to make the place work-appropriate. Perhaps even more importantly, the essential stuff needs to be more than functional. For instance, you’re probably going to need good PC units. An AC unit is also very much unavoidable, especially if you work in a place where the summers get very hot. Things such as quality practical shelving, inspiring plant life, motivational posters can all be found at affordable prices.
Discounts
Here’s an awesome tip for you: always be on a lookout for discounts. This is how you get to save your money and end up with cool stuff that you actually need. Of course, it is essential that you focus on buying stuff that you actually need, not just blatantly going out there, picking up everything that has a number with a minus and a “%” sign next to it. Make a list of stuff you need and look for discounts.
Buying in bulk 
On the other side of the discount equation is something called “buying in bulk”. Make no mistake, finding cool deals for stuff that you actually need and buying the bulk of it is perfectly fine, as long as you don’t go out on a bulk shopping spree. You need to realize that the retailers that are offering you ridiculous discounts for large amounts of supplies are trying to get rid of surplus items. Here’s an example: if you have $1,000 in your account and someone wants to sell you a perfectly functioning, brand-new Lambo for $800, do you buy it? Sure, you’ll have a ridiculously expensive car, but also only $200 in your pocket. The same goes for trivial office stuff such as pens – if someone wants to sell you, say, a thousand pens for $500, you shouldn’t jump the gun – if you accept the deal, you’ll be left with a thousand pens and $500 short. Ask yourself: “Does my business need a thousand pens?” Cloudsourcing, hiring temps/interns and looking for discounts are awesome ways to save up. Of course, you should be careful not to spend too much on the office design and not to overbuy in bulk.
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