Tips for saving money when you are self-employed
When you first start your own business, it’s usually with the hope that you can soon earn enough income to make it all worthwhile. But it typically takes a few years to build your business to the point that it earns you the kind of money you’d hoped for. And that often means money is tight in the beginning. So, until your business starts to thrive, it can be especially important to find ways to make every dollar count.
And that’s the topic of today’s article—ways to save money and maximize how far each business dollar goes.
To come up with the list, I polled members of my self-employment growth group, The Free Agent Collective, and asked them to share some of the money saving tips they use to help keep their business’ bottom line healthy.
Some of the methods listed below are specific to businesses, some are more personal in nature. But, when you are self-employed, every dollar saved—whether in your business or personal life—helps you weather your start up period.
I’ll start my list with general money saving tips that are more personal in nature, then move on to ones that are more specific to running a business.
General tips for saving money
Invest in a drug plan
If you have high prescription drug costs, you might want to consider purchasing a private drug plan. There are plans out there that are specifically geared to the self-employed, plans that may be worth it to you in the long run. Alternatively, if your income is particularly low, and your prescription drug costs high, you might qualify for the Government’s Trillium Drug Benefit. This is a government subsidy that helps low-income individuals pay for their medication. To qualify, you generally need to have drug costs that are over 4% of your income.
Use services offered by your City Hall
Most municipalities offer a variety of free services to their residents. Some examples might be emergency financial assistance, subsidies for dental work, or even personal counselling. They may provide financial assistance to help you pay for utility bills, rent that is in arrears, or property taxes. They also typically offer services to newcomers (new citizens or even just people new to the city) to help them settle in their new community.
Join the CAA
The CAA (Canadian Automobile Association) has a number of money-saving benefits for its members. Most of us think they only offer emergency car services such as towing or battery-boosting services, but they also help if you run out of gas, lock yourself out of your car, need some minor repairs, or need your car valued. In addition, the CAA offers discount insurance (car, life, travel, etc.) and travel discounts on things such as car rentals, hotels, and flights. In fact, they have their own travel agency. And, by showing your membership card, you can get discounts at various stores and restaurants. Plans start as low as $75/year.
Business related tips for saving money
Hire a student
Many post-secondary/training schools try to give their students hands-on experience to practice their skills. One of the ways they do that is to have their students offer their services to the public, at a discount. The most common example of this is a hairstyling school. You can get a haircut/style at a fraction of the price you’d pay at a regular salon.
Dental or dental hygienist schools may also offer dental services. Other services I’ve heard of people getting at low cost through school programs are architectural drawings, graphic design, and writing. But there could be other services you can find as well. If you live in a city with colleges/universities/training schools that offer programs related to a service you need, try contacting them to see if they have any such discount services.
Use freelance sites
Another way to get some of the services you need for a low cost is through online freelance sites. These sites have thousands of freelancers, some of whom offer their services for a low cost. Many of the freelancers on these sites offer basic services for a low fee. However, they may charge higher fees for more complicated work. Some of them have been freelancing on these sites for years, some are new.
Make sure you do your homework first and communicate enough with any prospective freelancer to make sure they really can do the work you need, that they will do it well, and that they won’t charge more than they advertised. Ask for samples of their past work, and make sure you have a written contract with sufficient detail to avoid any misunderstandings. Some freelance sites: Guru.com, Upwork.com, Fiverr.com.
Join your local Chamber of Commerce
Chambers of Commerce aren’t just about networking. They also offer various programs and services that can help your business’ bottom line. Here are a few examples.
· Access to Grants/Funding - Many Chambers are responsible for administering various government funding programs. Possible examples are funding to take your business online, subsidies to hire students, etc.
· Discounts - Chambers can offer their members discounts on various business needs such as insurance, office supplies, banking services, and shipping.
Chambers offer different levels of membership, with the lowest I found being about $125 annually, depending on the city.
Ask for discounts
Everywhere you shop, ask if they offer discounts for small businesses. Many companies do, especially if the types of products they sell are related to business. My local Staples is a good example: you sign up for a free business membership, and you get a discount on many supplies and services. (For example, you save 10% on printing).
Barter for Services
We do this a lot in the Free Agent Collective! It’s a great way to get services for free. It does require some time investment on your part, to perform the work your barter partner wants done, but in exchange you get THEIR services.
The idea is that you find someone who needs your services, and whose services you need in turn. Rather than paying each other, you simply trade services. So, if you are a website designer, and you need some content written, try finding a writer who needs a website. You design their website, and they write some content for you. In addition, you have a client from whom you can get a testimonial. This is a great win-win partnership!
Some additional Tips
Here are a few other small tips that members of the Free Agent Collective have shared for today’s article.
· Put your desk near a window. You can use the natural light to work, instead of turning on a light (which costs electricity.)
· Save on printing. If you are printing a draft of a document, you can set your printing preferences to print in gray, rather than black. This cuts the amount of ink used considerably. If you print lots of “drafts”, this can considerably lengthen how long your ink cartridge lasts. Also, print on both sides of the paper (you could cut your paper costs by up to 50%!).
· Look for office supplies at thrift stores. The next time you are in a thrift store, look around for office supplies. You might find computer cables, paper, labels, pens, office chairs, filing cabinets, file folders, desks, storage shelves, lamps…you may be surprised at what’s all there!
· Use free software. There are a number of free software packages that can do much of what you need to do in your business. For graphic design, you can find free products for touching up images, creating ads, or compressing files. For business tasks (e.g. accounting, sending email campaigns), many software companies offer free starter packages. Nowadays you can even get free software that writes articles for you!
I hope some of these money-saving tips have been helpful to you. I encourage you to investigate some of them further and see how they may be able to benefit your business.
Cheers,
Tim
Helping you engineer the business of you
Information in this article is for general information and is not intended as professional advice.