Читать книгу 19 Ways to Survive in a Tough Economy - Lynn Spry - Страница 30

In order to make the best reduction choices for your company you must commit to clearly identifying costs that are required versus the costs that are desired.

Required business expenses are those expenses that your business cannot survive without. This will be a very short, specific list that includes only those bills that must be paid for your company to remain open. For instance, every business must have the appropriate licenses, and the cost to get licensed can range from the trivial to the exorbitant. The licenses are a good example of critical bills. If you failed to pay them, you would be out of business. This list should not include luxuries that you would like to have to stay in business (e.g., break room coffee service would not be included in this list). Your company can still do business even if it doesn’t serve employees free coffee. Therefore, this list should represent only those items that you must have to survive.

There are also items that may be required for one business and only desired for another. Items such as rent, utilities, and licensing fees are required for any small store in a strip mall. Without these items, the store couldn’t exist. However, if you are working in a consulting business and rarely use an office or you work at home, “rent” may not be on your list, even if you currently have a lease for your business. This list is meant to represent your company’s list of only those items that cannot be sacrificed or eliminated.

Now that you understand what to include, go through each bill and determine if each is required or desired. Expenses may include rent; utilities such as water, electricity, and sanitation; insurance; state fees; licenses; phone; Internet; loans; bank fees; and credit card fees. After you total all of these required items, you will have your business’s minimum expense list to stay in business. Now compare that number with your lowest net revenue for the last 12 months. If, in your worst month, your revenue isn’t higher than the total of your minimum expenses, review your bills again to determine if any expenses can be removed from the required list. Look hard, and remember, nothing is permanent. Anything you drop now can always be added back later. You want to make money now, not in two years, so cut deep!