They say that entrepreneurs are the only people willing to work 12 hours a day to avoid a 9-5 job. But that doesn’t mean you have time to burn.
In fact, as a small business owner, your time and your money have never been more valuable, nor more in demand. In an effort to conserve time and money, you might be tempted to take a few shortcuts, cut a few corners, or try a few hacks.
You do it in the name of efficiency and “working smart instead of working hard.” However, cutting these corners will actually make things much harder for you in the long run.
1. Cheap Website Hosting
source:bitcatcha.com
If this is the first website you’ve ever managed, you may not know what a difference a reliable host can make, nor how frustrating a “cheap” host can be. Don’t be lured in by the illusion of value from a low price.
Cheap hosting actually comes with a massive price. You’re far better off to check out HostPapa and spend just a little bit more to get far more value. You’re paying for reliability and uptime.
What does downtime cost you? It can cost you leads and sales when your site is down. The most damaging part is that you’re basically gift wrapping this traffic and these leads to your competition, because that is where your would-be customers will go when you’re down.
2. Doing Your Own Bookkeeping or Accounting
source:udemy.com
Over 90% of small businesses say they are ‘very or somewhat confident’ in their own ability to accurately file their business’ taxes. However, 30% of that same group conceded they’re likely overpaying and not claiming enough deductions.
Even if you’re fairly comfortable handling the books, your time can likely be spent elsewhere. If you think you’re saving money by doing it yourself, you may not be aware of how much your time is actually worth.
If it takes you 10 hours a week to do it, that’s time that you could have spent focusing on areas where you make a bigger impact. You’re likely better off paying an accountant to do that work for you.
3. Human Resources
source:kissflow.com
Nearly a third of all small businesses don’t have any formal HR resources in place. Again, most of them are trying to cut costs, without realizing what it’s actually costing them.
You may not see the value of having an HR professional or department. They’re just there to handle payroll, time off, and benefits, right? Wrong.
Strong HR is absolutely essential to the growth of your team and your company, as they:
- Help you build a strong employee culture and experience
- Ensure you’re hiring and recruiting the best employees
- Ensure you can retain those employees
- Boost productivity by improving employee engagement and satisfaction
The sooner you can get someone in place to manage your HR, the sooner you will see a clear return-on-investment from it. And once again, your time is free to focus on what you do best.
Of course, you want to run with as lean a budget as humanly possible during the early days of your company. However, during your frugal efforts to keep costs down, make sure you don’t cut any of the above corners, or you will soon see it cut directly into your profits.
