The Columbus Dispatch ran an Associated Press article on April 18th about how small businesses are coping with inflation. Not very well. Most are trying to absorb rising costs without passing it on to their customers. I understand that. As noted in the news column, small business know their customers well and usually the connections are face-to-face. In fact, many times the customer comes to a small business for the personal business association and trust they receive instead of "corporate America" with their headquarters in another state.
Inflation and rising costs have been written about in various media news reports. It's here and here to stay. The nation may have a good "consumer month" followed quickly by a bad one. Americans are skittish right now. From my perspective those seeking a trend will not find one.
What can small business owners do about inflation? Where can they make cuts? The journalist interviewed several owners and they said the usual: cut staff, make current staff work harder and longer, reduce travel, and one even raised prices. One food contractor changed to lower priced cuts of meat.
Let's get creative. What else is there?
1. We all know about Skype and other means to talk over the internet. What about giving your most valued customers the means to talk to you anytime by purchasing them the application, a smart phone to have "face time" with you, or a mobile tablet? You could lease it to them for a $1.00 a year, providing they don't destroy it, etc. etc. Let them use it for other professional business purposes and of course check with your legal counsel. The idea is you and your customer have face time instead of you traveling there. And of course you need to do a cost analysis.
2. Think local. Have you really looked at your local (within a day's drive) demographics lately? What can you act on to raise your sales within a 300 mile radius of your business? Some businesses lay off during hard times. Dependent upon your situation, you may actually have to hire someone if your coverage could be better. And don't rely on old stats. Remember, stats aren't great and they certainly are bad if they are 2 years old. I mean, what was your business like in 2010?
3. Flexibility. The most expensive time for business costs is 8:00am to 5:00pm. That includes utilities such as electricity, phones, HVAC, etc. Can you change your hours of operation, even just an hour or during one season of the year? Can you have part of your staff work from home? Can part of the manufacturing process be done before/after the hours listed above? Can part be created from another location that has cheaper rent? What can be done with mobile devices? What meeting rooms are available in the community at minimum cost (for example the library)? Can I move to smaller office space and have meetings elsewhere? Can I live where I work?
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