Keeping expenses in check is a dance all business owners and self-employed people must learn. Every time you feel like you’ve got the ideal balance, you get spun back into more challenges and financial setbacks. With an open mind and a focus on the long-term, you can master this gig.

Here are 5 creative cost-cutting ideas to get you off on the right foot:

1. Move to an All-Inclusive Serviced Office

Renting an office space as a solopreneur is a major drain, no matter how much it helps you to feel productive. It is simply not worth the overheads when there are much cheaper solutions available. Melbourne's best serviced offices are in central locations, providing you with everything you need (including wifi) at a fraction of the cost of renting. You’ll find the same is true in most major cities, with these office spaces offering the flexibility to add features like meeting rooms and virtual assistants, but only when you need them. 

2. Encourage Remote Work and Meetings

If doing business in the pandemic era has taught us anything useful, it’s that far more can be done remotely than we previously thought. Put your video call subscriptions to use and schedule most of your interviews and meetings to be online or over the phone. This will reduce expenses such as room hire, travel, utilities, catering, and even tech costs. Save the in-person gatherings and lunches for your most important client meetups, major presentations, and team bonding events. 

3. Allow Interns and Work Experience Placements

Plenty of students and early career professionals are seeking internships and work experience opportunities throughout the year. If you require an extra hand with any smaller tasks in your workplace, it may be worth your while to seek out interns from time to time. Just be sure to always abide by the Fair Work standards for internships and ensure their tasks are distinct from that of an employee. The idea is to give students some practical insight and valuable experience in your industry. Choose wisely, as the right intern may have the potential to be a future employee. 

4. Print Less

This is a simple one, but have you ever stopped to think about the costs of coloured ink and different paper types? Reduce your waste, energy usage, and expenses by cutting down on printing, laminating, and the like. Where possible, stick to sharing digital files and documents, and host most of your meetings online. Saving money on printing in 2021 may sound mundane, but it is actually one of the easiest tips to sustain long-term. If you are operating your business all year round, every cent counts.

5. Keep Track of Expenses

It is an obvious point of advice, but that doesn’t mean everyone follows it. Whether you do your own bookkeeping or outsource, make sure that you are familiar with what your expenses actually are. You don’t need to do this constantly, but having an idea of your monthly or weekly outgoings will serve you better when you have a new financial decision to make. This way, you can be practical about what expenses you can or cannot afford.

When it comes to successfully cutting down expenses, it’s not always about making a lot of different changes to get rapid results. Rather, you need to make the right changes – ones you can sustain long-term. This way, you will consistently keep some costs low without any extra stress. Which cost-cutting change are you able to commit to today?