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With the cost of goods on the rise, many business owners worry they’ll lose profit by maintaining their current prices or lose customers by raising prices to match the inflated purchasing costs.
Though inflation continues to interfere in this way with the day-to-day operations of many businesses, business owners have several options for saving money at their disposal. Below, 10 Rolling Stone Culture Council members share their best tips for managing your budget and keeping costs low in the face of inflation.
Place Larger Orders When Prices Are Low
We try to keep an eye on fluctuating prices and place larger-than-normal orders on supplies when and if prices appear low. Sometimes that means we have larger-than-normal expenses for the month, but when we average them out over the long haul, we can demonstrate how we saved money over the long term. – Aili McGill, Nickel Plate Arts
Cut Needless Expenses
Business owners can cut back on needless expenses like travel and instead rely on digital meeting tools like we did at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, cleaning house on subscriptions you don’t need and calling vendors to ask for a discount can really help when things are tight. – Nicole Rodrigues, NRPR Group
Raise Your Rates
Don’t be afraid to raise your rates. If it costs your business more to operate due to inflation, don’t feel bad about passing that cost along. Your clients will understand, and if they don’t, then how great was that relationship? If you take credit cards as payment, ask clients to pay with a bank account instead. It will save your business and clients in credit card fees. – Michelle De Long, Mimi Productions
Shorten the Supply Chain
So much of inflationary pressure is from backed-up supply chain and logistics costs. Shortening the supply chain wherever possible can help mitigate inflationary pressure while deepening one’s relationship with a local economy. – Erik Oberholtzer, Cohere
Leave Money in the Business
One way to keep costs low is to stop taking out money from your business for as long as you can. If you can afford it, leaving most of your money in the business during an inflated time period can keep your business afloat. The sacrifice now will pay off in full later. – Christian Anderson (Trust’N), Lost Boy Entertainment LLC
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Take Small Steps on Growth Initiatives
It’s important to maintain a growth mindset, even when you don’t have all the resources you need. With every decision, remember that cash is at a premium. Beware of expensive and long-term commitments. Instead, consider taking smaller steps on growth initiatives to test and learn. It will prepare you to scale quickly when resources become available. – Michael Klein, Sunset Amusements
Implement Digital Printing Technologies
With the rise in inflation, it is important for business owners to keep their costs low and maintain an edge over competitors. One way to do this is by implementing digital printing technologies into printing processes. Digital printing allows businesses to print custom items at a lower price, and without the high cost of materials as well. – Kristin Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC
Make Your Business Greener
An owner should analyze their company to the bottom and really look at the costs of doing business. We were able to save 12 percent annually by becoming greener. We used less paper and lowered our printer use, reduced lights, got rid of unresponsive marketing and utilized auto-ship technology from our vendors. – David Colonna, The Maven and The Muse
Turn to Your Community
Work alongside vendors, service providers, collaborators and employees with a sense of radical transparency. Take this question to the masses for collective solutions, and you may be surprised at how helpful and innovative your business community is in the face of financial adversity. While some may consider this practice a signal of weakness, it is truly a method of resiliency and strength. – Evan Nison, NisonCo
Use Technology to Your Advantage
There are a lot of great software programs and online tools that can help you save time and money. Do some research and find the ones that will work best for your business. There are many cost-effective ways to automate tasks and processes, which can free up time and resources. Remember, saving time also means saving money. – Candice Georgiadis, Digital Day
