When interest rates are high, and it’s difficult to find reliable workers, business owners resort to cost cutting as a temporary way to balance monthly budgets. Add record setting inflation to the mix of negative economic factors, and owners do everything in their power to minimize expenses until things get better. Going lean and mean is not a new phenomenon for entrepreneurs. In every recent market downturn, including the banking crisis of 2008, business owners have had to make across the board cuts to stay solvent.
Fortunately, there are several tools that serve the purpose in almost any era and situation. Outsourcing can be a quick and effective technique for slashing operational costs. Further, companies that use vehicle fleets can minimize fuel usage by purchasing electric cars and trucks. Additional and equally powerful tactics include the use of shared office space, telecommuting, working from home, and hiring independent contractors to replace full-time employees. When it comes to independent contractors, consider hiring abroad as an option. Depending on your business type, you should think about ensuring that you can transfer money to Colombia or China or anywhere else your workers may be. This will help you to hire the right people with the best talent overseas. There are dozens of other approaches and strategies for dealing with a down economy, but the following are the most common.
Smart Outsourcing
Knowing the benefits of hiring vs outsourcing and also when to send work outside the company’s walls is a skill that takes time to acquire. It’s more than a matter of picking up a phone and hiring someone to take over your payroll, IT security, or marketing. Instead, smart outsourcing begins with an in-depth look at what you can and can’t do and how you should be spending your work hours. Intelligent owners and entrepreneurs know that they should use their skills on what they do best and hire outsourced employees to do the rest. Step two is finding the most talented service provider. Be selective when choosing outside companies to take on a piece of your work. Interview multiple providers and avoid the temptation to sign the lowest bidder.
Electric Vehicles for Transport Fleets
Fleet managers are in a difficult place in the 2020s, as fuel costs continue to soar and demand for transport services is anything but steady. That’s why so many owners are adding electric vehicles (EVs) to their fleets. Not only is the EV charging cost much lower, on a per-mile basis, than the cost of gasoline or diesel fuel, but EVs require less maintenance, run quieter, and last longer than combustion cars and trucks. However, fleet managers and owners should educate themselves about how to shop for electric car chargers. The best way to begin is to review a comprehensive guide that explains EV charger costs for fleet vehicles, how networks of chargers operate, and how to install the right kind of chargers for a commercial fleet.
Shared Space
Space sharing arrangements are catching fire with companies of all sizes who want to hedge against inflation as the economy continues to worsen and rents move skyward. Commercial real estate firms have caught on to the trend and now feature many shared office programs on their menus. The most typical approach is for one business to occupy a space for three or four weekdays while another uses the area for two weekend days and one or two weekdays. Finding a setup that works for you can immediately slash annual rental expenses by as much as 50%.
Leave a Reply