Businesses nowadays aren’t as streamlined as they potentially could be. There are costs that could be saved across the board, if only more people knew how to access them and implement them. Being able to save not just on the time that you are putting into completing these jobs when somebody is able to do them a lot quicker (giving you time to look more into revenue-generating jobs that are available to you) than you could have imagined them getting done, but also saving on the financial aspect of is it something that definitely needs to be taken into consideration. It could see you propelling your business forward a lot faster than you had originally anticipated. It is these “middle men”, the ones who are on the other end of the computer, which are lifesavers in this respect.

Printing

The more that you are able to cut down on office space, the more that you will have to spend on things which will really benefit your business. Even if you are working freelance from home, printing costs can be the thing which really mounts up and gives you a shock each time you look at how much you have spent on the whole ordeal. Fixing your printers, making sure that they have enough ink, buying the papers and then eventually upgrading to something that can give you what you need, when you need it is draining. There are companies out there who can take care of this for you. They can print everything that you need them to, often for a very reasonable and competitive price – now that there are more companies that are springing up that are along the same vein, there are more opportunities to haggle the price. Outsourcing your printing needs means that you won’t have to worry about the costs of the maintenance and buying of the printers and other equipment that you will need – it’s all taken care of for you.

Web Design

Unfortunately, when you’re running a business, web design can be one of the things that takes up the most time. Even updating your website with something simple could turn into a whole afternoon wasted on what could have been spent on much more productive things. Getting hold of somebody who knows their way around the coding and everything else that’s involved, whilst being able to give you the best design for your company, is something that is definitely worth paying the money out for. It could be that you only need small things doing every once in awhile that really aren’t a big deal or you have somebody available in your office to do it for you; in this case, it is better to ask for an adaptable website where most of the options are drag and drop and it is easily navigable to those who are working on it who maybe don’t have as much of a knowledge of all the code that has gone into it as those who have actually designed it. Look for a company or designer who has a helpline for you to ring in this instance if you ever get stuck or need some advice as to what to do next.

Ecommerce

Whatever platform that you are using for your online shop, you need to ensure that the ecommerce fulfillment services that you have selected are doing the job correctly. You ideally need to look for ones that give you savings on inventory shrinkage (for example, not allowing for losses or breakages to happen which cost you money) and are delivering to your customers in an extremely timely money amongst other things. Looking around online can be good for searching for recommendations from those who are either in the same line or business as you or have used a certain company before. Finding one that has a monitored process could mean great things for your finances – being able to give evidence of how something was received, sent and delivered is of utmost importance nowadays, especially as it is so easy to put in a complaint online.

Integration with Consumer

You don’t have to be constantly sat down on your computer tapping away to potential clients. When you are on social media, there are a lot of rules to follow for all the major platforms in order to ensure that you are getting the right amount of visibility on each one. You want to be making an impression on your target demographic rather than leaving yourself lurking behind the scenes due to posting the wrong stuff at the wrong time. Realistically speaking, it’s the wrong amount that you are posting on each one – there are different guidelines for how much is acceptable to post on each platforms. Outsourcing either a social media manager or social media specialist to help you attract and engage with the virtual audience that you have gathered, and help to expand it, can be one of the most important investments you ever make. It’s no secret that your customers are all online now – more than half of the population of the world is now using the internet, with the majority only logging on solely to use their social media accounts.

PA

If you know that the little things are the ones that are holding you back, such as endless paperwork, replying to emails, answering phone calls and everything else that comes with running a business, it’s time to get a PA. If you spend most of your days out of the office – or if you don’t even have an office – consider getting a virtual personal assistant. Not only will it end up freeing up a lot more time for you to focus your energy into something more viable within your business, but having someone remote to take all of your calls and emails means that you don’t have to worry about getting them on a payroll within your company or having to find space for them within your office. This is the ultimate in streamlining your business in terms of cutting out physical presence.