Post-COVID saving strategies for struggling businesses
Photo by Sam Dan Truong on Unsplash
COVID-19 has hit many businesses hard, and sadly, many have been forced to close down for good during the pandemic. For those that have managed to stay open, there has been a financial cost. Research by insurer Simply Business indicated an average loss of £12,000 for small UK businesses, and because of losses, 25% of firms believe they are now at risk of closure. Businesses in London have seemingly been hit the hardest with up to £17,000 of lost income. More information can be found at Yahoo Finance.
Businesses are now slowly starting to reopen but protective measures will need to be taken. Such measures will include steps to ensure health and safety, and for the context of this article, steps to trim costs before profits are made again. Cost-cutting measures need to be put in place, and for the business owner, these can include the following.
#1: Reduce essential business costs
Some costs can be eliminated, but for those that can’t, there needs to be a way to reduce them. Thanks to the internet, this can be managed quite easily. Comparison sites can point the way to cheaper utility, broadband, and phone services. Business owners needing to ship products locally or abroad can look for the best freight class shipping quote. And contact can be made with online suppliers when looking for the best deals on business supplies.
Business owners should also consider training costs, as now is the time to consider upskilling or reskilling their employees as they adapt to new ways of working. Money can be saved with virtual training as, thanks to online courses, there will be little need to pay for an external training provider.
These are just some of the ways money can be saved on essential costs but there will be others.
#2: Reduce the need for office space
Office spaces come with many significant overheads, including rent, utility costs, and equipment maintenance. These costs add up, but as many businesses have turned to remote working over the last few months, it could be that working from home becomes the new normal. Managers and employees can use Zoom and Skype to communicate with one another, and they can use project collaboration tools like Slack.
For businesses that do need physical space, they could still downsize to other premises if some of their employees can work from home. They could also consider any coworking spaces that are available in their locale, as that would negate the need for a long-term lease on office space.
#3: Reduce the need for business travel
A year or so ago, trade shows, conferences, and other business events were a regular calendar fixture for many business owners. Thanks to COVID, many of these were cancelled, while others were shifted online. Moving forward, the business owner should look for those events that are still being held online, as they will have less need to travel to get the information they need.
Business owners can also communicate with clients using video communication tech, so there will be less need for face-to-face meetings. Employees can do the same. By taking such steps, there will be saving on fuel, parking, and other travel-related expenses, and that can only be good news for the cash-strapped business owner.
Life will return to normal eventually, but if COVID has taught us anything, it’s this: Money can be saved. By using the cost-cutting methods we suggested, money can continue to be saved, even when businesses are no longer restricted by the pandemic.
