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Snapshot Applies to: SMEs |
Sufyan bin Uzayr, Freelance Writer, Graphic Artist and Photographer, www.sufyan.co.nr
The measure of a good business lies in its ability to generate revenue and limit costs. Saving cost is, in a way, a direct addition to the profit generated - the more you save, the more you earn, and so on. However, at times, cost cutting is a back burner for organizations and businesses. This article puts together a mega list of ideas which you can utilize to trim your expenditure and save resources.
Overall technology
1. Use Open Source Software
Most proprietary firms project open source alternatives as options with 'no support', and thus unfit for business usage. However, fact is that you can save a great deal on softwares by opting for open source alternatives. We shall take a look at major open source alternatives later on.
2. Monitor Your Internet Well
Many a times, it helps to keep an eye on the Internet usage. This starts with subscribing to the right Internet Service Provider (ISP), and ends at ensuring that data bandwidth is not wasted on otherwise unproductive and mundane tasks.
3. Opt for VoIP
VoIP is basically a telephony service that uses the Internet. If properly used, it can help you save up to 60% on your telephony bills. VoIP becomes all the more useful if you have clients that are stationed outside India. For a start, you can consider using Skype for calls. Also, even Google Talk now offers video and voice chats, as well as text messaging. All VoIP services come with dedicated plans for SMEs that are custom built to reduce your telecom bills.
4. Eliminate Extra Machinery
You can reduce the number and amount of unwanted 'gadgets' that you may have in order to cut costs. For instance, you can configure your office computers to send and receive fax, thereby getting rid of extra machinery. Both Linux and Windows come with options to set up fax services.
5. Choose the Ideal Web Host
In all likelihood, your business will need a proper web presence. It makes sense to think before investing in a hosting provider for your website. Do your research by reading host reviews before signing up. Some noteworthy hosting providers include StableHost, MDD Hosting and HostNexus.
6. Avoid 'Unlimited' Hosting
You should avoid the 'unlimited' hosting packages as these are mere play-of-words to elicit more money out of customers. Once you read the fine print, you'd notice that even in the unlimited account, you are bound by usage limits and cannot use more than a specific percentage of the total system at any given time. Instead, opt for a medium sized hosting package - many hosting providers now offer special packs for SMEs. Also, it makes sense to prefer bandwidth space over hosting space - for example, a website with an installation each of WordPress, Joomla! and Drupal will require roughly 250MB of space. Keep another 1.5 GB for additional specs, and you still will not shoot 2 GB. It is the bandwidth that matters when it comes to website traffic.
Advertising & Marketing
7. Keep an Eye on the Marketing Budget
Marketing budget can be assessed by the way you interact with your clients. It hardly makes sense to indulge in marketing efforts that do not generate cash flow. Take a look at the cost of advertising. Now compare it with the leads it generates. If the ratio is good, further compare the generated leads with the number of actual clients you get from them. This will provide you with an idea of the performance of your marketing strategy.
8. Use e-Newsletters
At times, e-Newsletters can suffice for SMEs and are even cheaper than print alternatives. Such newsletters, sent via email to mailing lists, promote the organization in an easy and cost-effective manner.
9. Use Social Media Wisely
When it comes to viral marketing or social networking, most organizations tend to restrict themselves to Twitter and Facebook. However, you shouldn't overlook the importance of Youtube. The website is a great place to promote your business using your very own channel - and that too at no extra cost! You do not need to upload videos every day. Simply create your Youtube account, and upload useful videos related to your field of operation once in a while.
10. Online Forums and Message Boards
Online forums and message boards on the internet are another great way to promote your business. All you need is an account and a desire to help the community. Once you leave helpful and meaningful comments on certain discussions, it won't be long before users take notice and you start attracting potential clients.
11. Associate With Others
Just like any other field, IT segment too consists of many groups and organizations, that cater to a certain interest. You should consider joining some of these groups, as they can be a way to drive audience towards your business, for no extra penny. For instance, you can join the local Linux Users' Group, thereby attracting open source enthusiasts towards your business.
12. Writing Guest Posts
Writing articles or guest posts for magazines, websites and blogs is another useful method which you can use to market your business. Most IT websites and blogs nowadays accept guest posts, and some even offer small remunerations for the same. This is a good way to drive traffic to your website and tell the community about your organization.
13. Use e-Press Notes
Just like eNewsletters, you can send press releases and notes via email to worthy IT news sites that may be interested in your products. As compared to conventional press releases on paper, electronic notes are way cheaper and equally effective.
14. Use Smart Marketing
Suppose you've just launched a new product (let's say, an anti-virus software). How do you promote it? By advertising about it on websites? Well, you can also try it the other way round. Many IT websites often hold competitions for their visitors. You can sponsor such events by providing 'free' copies of your software to the winners. This way, you'll lose just a few bucks in terms of license fees, but will gain immensely in terms of marketing and advertising, thereby attracting potential customers.
Business Insurance
15. Re-evaluate Your Insurance Cover
It makes sense to re-assess your insurance cover and perhaps opt for an umbrella policy, if you don't have one already.
16. The Temp Folder
If your business is going through excessive workload with little staff, instead of hiring new full-time employees, you can consider hiring temporary employees to handle the surge in workload. Such employees tend to be a lot cheaper in terms of pay scale.
17. Reduce Your Business Insurance Cover
If you are going through a stringent budget phase, you can consider going through your business insurance policy and see what areas can be pruned. For instance, there may be deductibles that can be increased to lower the insurance rates, and so on.
18. Lower Your Liability Risk
There are many measures that can be taken to lower your insurance cost. The best way to figure such measures out is to have a word with your insurance firm or agent. For example, insurance premiums for your electronics can come down if you install a security system.
Office overheads
19. Prioritize What You Need
This basically applies only if you are on a really stringent budget. Generally, office or business supplies can be clubbed under two heads: 'nice to have', and 'must have'. The latter includes all things that are absolutely vital, whereas the former consists of stuff which can be eliminated, if need be. In general, when making a list of items that are needed, try placing each under one of the above two heads, and then prioritize which of the things in the first head are really needed.
20. Plan and Make Bulk Purchases
Most bulk transactions come with discounts and other offers from the seller. Thus, you can make your shippings and mailings in bulk and take advantage of such discount deals.
21. 'Free Forms'
Have you ever spent time, efforts and of course funds on creation of forms for your business? If so, you should consider obtaining free forms or reports from the internet. Such forms are free for modification and commercial use. You can consider taking a look at
http://www.entrepreneur.com/formnet which contains special forms and report templates for small and medium enterprises.
Go 'green'!
22. Turn 'em Off
While this is common knowledge, still, it can never be said too much: Turning off equipments when not in use can reduce the energy consumption by 25%.
23. Save Paper
Encourage email conversations over printed ones. Of course, at times prints are vital, but more often than not, we can avoid printing where emails can suffice. Similarly, we can reduce fax-related paper waste by sending faxes directly from computers.
24. Be Energy Efficient
Energy efficient office equipment serves you in two ways - firstly, it helps you contribute your bit to the environment, and secondly, it saves a lot in terms of funds. Be it printers or computer screens, you can save a lot by opting for energy efficient devices.
25. Recycle Within the Organization
Your business can recycle office equipments and supplies within itself - from one employee to the other. Say, the software engineer needs a more powerful computer to run the latest softwares. His old device, however, can still be adequate for the desk, with email and word processing being the major requirements. It always makes sense to reconsider the usage before discarding a device.
26. Proper Shut Downs
If possible, consider turning off the computers during lunch hours and breaks, rather than leaving them hibernating. It can save an additional 30% of energy over the course of a month.
27. Lighten Up the Walls
Dark walls generally require more power to produce the same amount of light. As a result, if possible, ensure that your office walls and space have a light coloring to them in order to reduce the amount of energy you use.
Printing
28. Use Print Preview
Print Preview can be used to ensure that the document you are about to print is exactly how you want it to be - you can adjust fonts and spaces and decide on the text alignment.
29. Color and Black Ink
Using color ink only when its needed, goes a long way in cost cutting. For printing text, always use a black ink cartridge. Plus, if you wish to print something in grayscale, you should know that color ink cartridges deplete faster in grayscale as compared to black ink cartridges.
30. Keep Printer Nozzles Clean
You can bring down printing costs by keeping an eye on the printer heads. The printer ink nozzles (that dispense the actual ink) use a spray function to get the ink onto the paper. As such, these nozzles can experience a build-up of dried ink and become clogged. You should clean the nozzle heads regularly, depending on your printing usage. If a color cartridge isn't printing all the colors, remove the cartridge and wipe the part where the ink comes out firmly with a damp paper towel or lint-free cloth to unclog the nozzle. This will help the ink flow more freely from the cartridge.
31. Printing from the Web
If you're printing web pages, be sure to select the 'Printer Friendly' option. Directly printing web pages consumes more ink than the printer friendly versions.
32. Use the Printer Regularly
This doesn't really apply to offices, but it surely is one of the most essential tips to keep your printer in good condition. Be sure to use the printer every once in a while to keep it in a good condition. Also, even though you may print using cartridges with low ink, do not print with almost dried out cartridges, as it can reduce the life of your printer.
33. Generic Printer Cartridges
These are also called Replacement Cartridges or Compatible Cartridges. Generic cartridges are a lot cheaper than OEM cartridges, and can be ideal for bulk printing which is often required in offices.
34. Consolidated Devices
One multi-function printer uses way less energy as compared to that consumed by a copier, a fax machine and a printer. Thus, wherever possible, you should consider using consolidated multi-function printing devices.
35. Tweak the Settings
If you're printing rough drafts, you can do so under the 'Draft' mode in Microsoft Word. Alternatively, you can select the Average print quality in the printer settings dialog box. This will save ink from being wasted on drafts and other rough documents.
36. Choose the Font Wisely
The University of Wisconsin, USA uses Century Gothic as the default font for most of its printing needs. Why? Because fonts such as Century Gothic or DejaVu Serif Condensed use less ink owing to their thin, sans serif kerning, and at the same time retain readability. Opt for sans-serif fonts for bulk printing.
37. Check the Drum
If you are not getting the print quality that you expect, consider checking the drum before blaming the cartridge. At times, things can work simply by curing the drum rather than replacing the entire cartridge.
38. Duplex Printing
Wherever possible, print in duplex to save both ink and paper.
Internet
39. Shop Online
When purchasing the necessary items for your office, you should consider online shopping as a viable alternative to traditional markets. Such online stores generally offer a good discount and free shipping, and the size of discounts rises if you place a bulk order.
40. Google Can Help You
Google offers great tools for enterprises and organizations which you should make use of. Simply visit http://www.google.com/enterprise/ and take your pick! Apart from the ever-famous Google Apps, you also have Google Maps, Enterprise Search, Postini services, and many others. There is even a reseller program, though it still needs some tweaking before it can be apt for SMEs.
41. Google Earth and Maps
To begin with, your business should be accessible for clients. Imagine a client searches on Google to figure out your location? What now? Well, for this, you can make use of Google Maps. Simply put, you have the ability to add your organization's location on the map, so that a Google search for your organization's name shows its location too. Just head to http://www.google.com/enterprise/geospatial.html and register for it. All for free!
42. Google Enterprise Search
Google Enterprise Search lets you power the search functionality on your website or intranet. Obviously, this can save a lot in terms of both funds and efforts as all you need to do is to place few lines of code, wherever you wish to. To obtain it, you'll need to visit http://tinyurl.com/7flgvox
43. Postini Services
Do you use Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes, or any similar email solution? If yes, you might be spending funds on email security, archiving, encryption or even proper organization. You can cut costs by opting for Google's Postini Services, which are a perfect and budget-friendly complement for most email services. You can find out more about Postini Services at http://tinyurl.com/b4xqt6
44. Google Analytics
You can use Google Analytics to track your website's progress and traffic details in an easy manner, all at no extra cost. To start using it, simply head to http://www.google.com/analytics/
45. Google Apps
Google Apps itself is a broad term, as the suite consists of many features, ranging from GMail to Docs, and even includes Sites and Picasa! All in all, Google Apps is the one-stop solution for your business needs when it comes to the internet. Once you've registered, you can say goodbye to all other email accounts, office suites and cloud services as Google Apps is the cumulative solution for all, with a price that will surely not hurt you at all.
46. Web Conferencing
You can save funds on meeting expenditures by opting for free video conferencing services such as Skype or TokBox. However, if you need a proper paid web conferencing solution, you should consider www.gotomeeting.com and www.webex.com
47. Use FreeConferenceCall.com
www.freeconferencecall.com provides small businesses with a teleconferencing phone line that is available 24/7. You can have as many as 96 participants to your conference call and you have your own dial-in number and access code for your organization. Also, the conferencing takes place in a secure environment.
48. Use Google Voice
Google Voice is a voicemail and phone number re-routing, as well as telephony service. As with most other web based services, Google Voice also tends to be cheaper than conventional alternatives. You can use it most emphatically for international calls.
49. Use Google Alerts
If used properly, Google Alerts can help you save a lot of money and find the best deals. For example, if you wish to buy a given product, say, some laptops, simply set Google Alerts for the said devices, with the word “deals” next to the phrase. The Alerts in your Inbox will show the best deals for laptops for as long as you remain subscribed to them. You can take your time to observe the deals and buy whenever you wish to. Similarly, you can append keywords like “budget-friendly”, “for SMEs”, or even “eco-friendly”, and even specify your location.
50. Locating Discounts
If you are shopping for technology products, consider visiting the discounts' sections of online stores, such as www.slickdeals.net Mostly such discount sections are named as 'Coupons', or even simply 'Discounts'.
51. Manage Social Media Marketing
Do you often use multiple Twitter accounts, perhaps one for your personal usage and the other for your company? If so, managing tweets from different accounts can be troublesome. You can consider using www.hootsuite.com This is a free service that lets you manage your tweets from multiple accounts, see your posts, mentions, direct messages, statistics, etc.
52. Drop the Internal Mail
If your internal mail server is giving you cost management issues, you can easily drop it and move your email to GMail for Organizations. It comes included in every Google Apps account.
53. Save on Maintenance Cost with Web-based Softwares
Small businesses can utilize Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions to save money. SaaS removes the need to buy conventional softwares and the associated upgrades. Most web based apps also have dedicated teams of support staff that are available round the clock.
54. Online Survey Softwares
You can use online survey tools to collect customer feedback, if need be. The two most popular survey tools on the internet are www.questionpro.com and www.surveymonkey.com Both of them offer excellent functionality, analysis and reports.
55. Even More Discounts
Often times, we have to purchase things that just cannot be avoided - say, web hosting for instance. You have to pay the web hosting fee on a recurring basis, no matter which plan you opt for. However, you can visit discount coupon sites and get promotional codes for almost any web hosting firm. Some of the popular promo codes' sites are www.retailmenot.com and www.couponshack.com
56. Manage Public Relations
If you wish to save money on traditional press release services, you can consider opting for ExpertClick news releases. For an SME, you are provided with 52 news releases in a year, that are automatically sent to news services of your liking. You can register at www.expertclick.com
57. Inexpensive Banner Ads
With PointBanner.com you can get professionally designed banner ads for a small fee.
58. Find Deals on Twitter
Many firms use Twitter to broadcast deals and offers as well as promotional coupons. Simply follow the ones you are interested in, or even use the search bar to locate deals of your interest.
59. Yola.com
If your business' website does not require many grand features, you should consider opting for Yola.com instead of conventional hosting. Their Bronze plan lets you add custom domains, have 2 GB of storage and even gives you Google AdWords credit worth $50. Most importantly, Yola.com websites are known for their excellent SEO features.
60. Use Jaya123.com
You can use Jaya123.com to manage data such as customer lists, invoices, sales reports, etc. It helps you take care of customer management, billing, sales reporting, etc. - all on the web!
61. Use PayPal
PayPal.com is an online service to send and receive payments. In India, you cannot use PayPal to make payments (unless you fund it using your credit card). However, you can still receive payments from different parts of the world, and that too at a nominal fee. If you have international clients, PayPal should be considered as a payment mechanism.
Cloud computing
62. Scale Your Usage
Cloud computing lets you scale your usage and opt for only those services that you really require. This in turn brings down the overall cost. You should buy storage in bulk to lower acquisition cost, if possible.
63. Pay As You Go
Cloud computing also has a pay-as-you-use model, in which you pay for only the section of storage that you actually use. Obviously, such flexible pricing cannot be offered with local storage devices and you should make full use it.
64. No Running Cost
Running cost comprises of recurring expenditures such as physical maintenance, upgrades, personnel salaries, etc. Cloud computing too has a recurring fee at times, but even that is lower as compared to the running cost of local storage, and this can contribute well to your cost cutting.
65. Online Storage Services
You can opt for online storage services such as Box.net or Mozy, that offer both free and paid accounts. If your usage is small, even the free account of 2 GB storage will suffice, though it does make sense to invest in the larger plans catered for SMEs.
66. Online Collaborative Suites
Further more, you can also employ cloud based services such as Google Docs or Zoho Office to power the productivity of your organization. Such suites offer solutions such as Office apps and even storage methods and thus are ideal for business usage.
67. Amazon Web Services
You can register for Amazon web services to harness the power of cloud. Apart from storage and application hosting, Amazon also offers Virtual Private Cloud servers. Plus, you can even make use of hosted enterprise database softwares in the form of DynamoDB and Amazon's Relational Database Service. To register, simply head to http://aws.amazon.com/
68. Carbonite Backups
If you are looking for a budget-friendly way for cloud backups, you can sign up for Carbonite.com - they have special plans for SMEs and home businesses that are 1/3rd the price of usual plans. You get a decent storage space that can be used for backups.
69. Basecamp
Basecamp.com lets you manage and co-ordinate your projects, tasks, discussions and decisions. It can send you email reminders and reports and help synchronise between team members. There is a 45-day free trial, following which you can choose a plan on the basis of your needs.
70. Campfire
Campfire is an online collaboration tool that lets you have real-time chat with your co-workers, team mates or clients. The benefit of opting for such real-time chats is that you need not travel to meet your clients, and your employees can easily work remotely, thereby saving in terms of electricity overheads for your office.
71. Backpack
Backpack.com is a group intranet and business organizer tool that can help you keep all your important documents in one place and even share them. It is way cheaper as compared to desktop based alternatives.
72. Highrise
Highrise.com lets you keep track of business contracts, proposals and deals. You can even save and organize notes directly from email conversations. Obviously, Highrise can eliminate the need for desktop based tracking and organization tools and help you save on licensing fee for the same.
Open source
Open source softwares can be used as excellent cost effective alternatives for their proprietary counterparts. We shall now take a look at some of the major open source softwares that can be used by SMEs:
73. Word Processing, Spreadsheets, et al
The standard solution here includes the likes of Microsoft Office or WordPerfect Office. However, you can save your funds by migrating to LibreOffice - a totally free and open source solution. Alternatively, you can consider employing individual open source softwares such as Abiword for word processing and Gnumeric for spreadsheets.
74. E-Mail
On the proprietary front, the most common option is Microsoft Outlook, that comes as a part of Microsoft Office. However, you can consider using the open source and free solution Mozilla Thunderbird.
75. Image Editing
GIMP is a wonderful image editing software that is both free and open source. Plus, if you need to work with vectors, InkScape is the way to go! LibreOffice also comes with an image editor named Draw.
76. Accounting
GNU Cash is a small business financial accounting software that is available for Linux, Mac and Windows. You can track your bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses, and perform many other operations. You can download it from http://www.gnucash.org/
77. HRM
OrangeHRM is a professional HRM software that is extremely popular and is backed by excellent support.
78. Anti-virus
ClamAV is an open source anti virus solution that supports multiple platforms, including Windows.
79. Content Management Systems
Most CMSs are open source, however, not all are free. Instead of opting for paid options such as Expression Engine, you can go for free ones, like Drupal or Joomla!
Productivity
80. Track Invoices
FreshBooks.com is an online service that lets you track and organize expenses as well as invoice your clients. There is a 30-day free trial, following which you can manage up to 3 clients per month for free. Of course, there are bigger plans too.
81. Use Remember The Milk
Remember The Milk is a very popular to-do list and task management software. It is available for multiple platforms, including Android, BlackBerry, MS Outlook, Google Calendar and GMail. Signup is free, and it is one of the most budget-friendly task management options out there.
82. Use Yammer
If you are looking to build community and team spirit at your workplace, or need a collaborative solution (with a slightly 'informal' touch), you can use Yammer.com - the service is absolutely free, and it operates almost like Facebook, except that it is more geared towards organizations.
Logistics
83. Electronic Data Interchange
In the past, logistics used to be slower but today, in the age of information technology, the process has become much fast paced. Having an electronic data interchange handy can save cost by helping in business data transfer. For example, the manufacturer will send an order to the supplied with a specific delivery data. The supplier, in turn, will arrange the required transport with the transportation. Naturally, having a proper model for this process in place can save both time and money.
84. Use Third Party Elements
Using third party elements for logistics can free up assets and time, thereby enabling you to focus on core issues. Further more, modern techniques such as EDI and GPS can help you keep an eye on logistics and efficiency.
85. Strategic Locations
In order to save money on logistics, it helps to keep a strategically situated distribution system - this will reduce the amount of money spent on transportation and maintenance of inventory. Further more, it helps in enhancing customer satisfaction and delivery of services on time.
Wide-spectrum measures
86. Eliminate the Landline
Traditional telephony generally costs way more than VoIP, especially if you engage in long distance or international calls. You can consider reducing the role of traditional landlines in favor of VoIP.
87. Eliminate the Fax Machine
Even though modern fax machines can work over VoIP, sending or receiving a fax incurs many charges, the least of all being paper and ink. You can always rely on email attachments for sending and receiving files, etc. However, if you do need to send in the occasional fax once in a while, you can consider web based services such as http://www.faxzero.com/ - the service is free, but they will place ads on your fax. If you do not want the advertisements, you can register for as low as $1.99. Alternatively, you can use http://www.packetel.com/ that provides you an online fax mechanism for $3.95 per month - surely, this is not free, but you will still save in terms of paper and printer ink in the long run.
88. Reconsider Snail Mail
Many businesses have learnt the hard way that they end up paying extra when bills that were mailed on time take weeks or even months to get to their destinations. Of course, to a certain degree, snail mail is vital. However, you can lessen your dependence by paying bills online whenever possible, using FTP servers or other electronic file sharing applications.
89. Travel Wisely
If travel is a vital part of your business, you already are aware of how expensive it can be at times. Obviously, you cannot outright eliminate travel charges, though you can take certain steps to ensure that it doesn't burn a hole in your pocket, like, for instance, considering video conferencing as a viable alternative to avoid travel. And, if you do need to travel, use technology to the optimum - booking directly from a hotel's website will get you deals that may not get via travel website.
90. Telecommuting
If your office is overgrowing its space, instead of looking for newer office space, you can consider asking some of your employees to telecommute. While this does seem bit far-fetched, in the long run, telecommuting employees can even be kept at a lower pay scale. Obviously, this cannot apply to your Chief Software Architect - but those with lesser roles can be considered for telecommuting.
91. Physical Security
If you are considering a security mechanism such as an alarm monitoring system, ensure that you opt for one with a dedicated cellular uplink. Also, do not over-invest. At times, security companies may cajole you into buying sophisticated equipments that might be overkill as far as an SME's security is concerned.
Etcetera
92. Proper Placement of Human Resources
Utilizing your employees to the best of their ability is a wonderful way to cut costs. First up, you need to figure out the modes in which a given worker is the most productive at work. At times, workers may feel disengaged as they might find themselves in the wrong role. The key here is to allow your employees to expand their roles to a certain degree - this will enhance productivity and provide better cost-cutting in the long run.
93. Track Cash Flow
The best way to deter wasteful spending is to keep an eye on the cash flow. The process is simple: invest in supply only if you have the demand. Take a look at the cost of energy, office supplies, telephony, etc. This will ensure that you do not spend more than what is actually needed.
94. Be Organized
It goes without saying that if your business lacks proper organization and order, you will have a tough time identifying your priorities. Thus, if you wish to make cost-effective and wise decisions, it helps to have things properly organized and laid out.
95. Track Things Well
It will be impossible to cut expenditures if you don't keep a track of them. Thus, it becomes all the more vital to keep track of the expenditures, both to and fro.
96. Do Your Research
When it comes to saving money, quick decisions do not suffice. As a result, you should take your time to explore the available options before deciding on a particular choice.
97. Go Mobile!
While this seems far-fetched, you can even consider running your office from home, or create a mobile office that lets you take your work wherever you go.
98. Consider Outsourcing
You can even consider outsourcing certain areas of your work, such as publishing blog posts, maintaining the social networking pages and keeping the documentation updated to independent contractors. Generally, such outsourced workers cost way less than hired full time employees.
99. Keep Clients Happy
You may be wondering how keeping clients happy can help you reduce costs, but it isn't too complex a thought. A happy client not only comes back and gives you repeated business, but also spreads the good word and makes new recommendations and referrals about you to his friends - you may consider it to be free marketing!
100. Pay Attention to Ergonomics
Technology is supposed to help us, not hurt us. You should take care to ensure that the machines you use do not compel you to pay expensive visits to the doctor. The keyboard should allow wrists and shoulders to be in a neutral position and have low key pressure. Similarly, the mouse shouldn't force you to twist your arm, and so on.
101. Give a Chance to New Talent
If your business is expanding, look for ways to hire interns and entry-level employees. Of course, it is easier to select the experienced worker, but an entry-level employee can do efficient work and at