Each Monday we focus on one activity you can do today or over the next week to build yourself a better business. These short, actionable posts will show you what steps you need to take to take your business to the next level.
In case you’ve missed the previous posts, you can catch up here: 20 Days to Build A Better Business.
This is Day 17: Turning costs into revenue
In most businesses, owners see staff as a cost to their business. However, professional services firms such as lawyers or accountants see them as revenue opportunities. The more time their staff spend on client related work the more they can bill the client.
Many businesses owners recognise that rent is a cost, yet add to that cost by hiring external meeting rooms to hold internal meetings or “away days”.
Looking at your costs as potential sources of revenue though could not only save you money, but generate a significant additional source of revenue for your business.
For example, if you have space in your office to hold meetings, you could hold customer seminars or workshops and charge attendees, the revenue earned could easily pay several months rent.
If you have capacity in your warehouse, maybe you could sub-let space to other local businesses needing maybe a rack or two? Maybe you’re a garden furniture supplier and you generally have full a full warehouse in winter, but an empty warehouse in summer, by partnering with a retailers you could hold Christmas stock for gift manufacturers or retailers.
If you have capacity in your IT Development team maybe you could “rent them out” to other companies needing their skills but unable to afford their own.
Providing these services could bring you closer to your customers by providing really valuable services which will not only help them out but generate a useful source of income for yourself and reduce your own operating costs.
What do you think? Do you have any ideas you’d like to share to turn costs into revenue?
