Just because you have an online business does not mean that you do not have overhead costs. You can reduce overhead easily in the online market just as you can in the offline market. All it takes in either arena is creative thinking and attention to detail. All of these tips can apply equally to businesses operating in the online and offline sectors. No matter what form of business you have, use these tips to make 2014 your most profitable business yet.
Outsource Work
Outsourcing is one of the most common ways to reduce overhead. Why make something in-house when you can have someone else make it cheaper? Third-parties can provide a variety of both online and offline services, including IT, accounting, marketing, website design, and almost anything else you can think of. Outsourcing can significantly save your company time and money. However, in some cases, an inside person is cheaper. There is definitely a balance between outsourcing and in sourcing, and it is your job as a business owner to find it.
Freelance Help
Usually, freelance is cheaper than hiring staff. Why? Mainly because freelancers have to pay their own taxes. Freelancers work on contract, which means they pay their own taxes. You can easily find someone cheaper using contracts rather than paying a person full-time with benefits and additional tax fees. Freelancers will do almost anything, including fulfilling orders, marketing, website design, and even answering the phone.
Cloud VPS
Dedicated servers are expensive- no doubt. However, cloud VPS hosting is a great way to offer dedicated services at a fraction of the cost. Cloud VPS offers customization and scalability based on your personal needs. You can choose a variety of options, ranging from larger hosting size to less hardware support, or intensive hardware support with a large hosting size, or anything else that you need. A dedicated server can be quite expensive because it is exclusive to you. However, one viable and inexpensive option is to use Cloud VPS Hosting instead. Cloud VPS offers scalability and customization based on your unique needs. If you need a larger hosting size but don’t need as much hardware support, you can choose that as an option. Cloud VPS is the perfect bridge between shared hosting and full dedicated servers.
Track Money
It may seem simple, but by tracking your expenses, you can save up to millions of dollars each year. It is surprising how many companies do not pay attention to all of their money. For example, if you over stock your business, you may actually be losing money even if you get a better deal on the products. Storage costs can be astronomical, and make not be worth the discount you receive on the products. Shopping around a little can easily find lower rates on website hosting, and even some advertising campaigns. If you have to buy equipment, such as used Juniper routers, buy used from BrightStar Systems, to expand your servers.
Expand Income
This isn’t really a way to cut costs, but it can easily boost your profits with little effort. You can link up with similar businesses to expand your customer base. You can use Google ads or another ad network to increase your income through passive means. You can quite easily expand your online income using these methods.
By following these tips, you may find that 2014 is your most profitable year yet- whether you are offering offline or online business. With just a few simple steps, you can easily make your business more effective and profitable.
