As we head into the final quarter of 2022, it has become even more demanding to run a profitable small business, thanks in no small part to the ever-increasing inflation. SMB owners have had to look for unique ways to keep their businesses afloat during these troubled times. Here’s how some business owners are dealing with inflation.
The one strategy I am using is to rethink my expenses. I sit with my team and review our production costs to see what expenses we can cut down on. After all, it’s crucial to economize as much as possible to save more money. This will only benefit us in the long run and strengthen our cash flow. Another strategy that I’m using is to change my pricing. This is something that I was very hesitant about because I didn’t want to disappoint the customers and lose them. But, after persuasion from my team, I was on board with the idea. After all, they made me understand that loyal customers will stay no matter the prices.
Andrew Johnson, Prime Seamless Gutters and Roofing
Inflation has made it difficult to continue producing goods and services due to the price surges in raw materials. Due to this, I had to automatically increase the price of finished items to run my business smoothly. But my clients were not happy about this, which caused me to lose most of my customer base. I connected with local suppliers and asked for discounts to tackle this issue. After researching different suppliers, I managed to find one that was within my budget. So, I signed a contract with them to keep my production costs down. As a result, I gained back new clients, and my sales increased.
David Lee, Neutypechic
My biggest strategy to fight this inflation is to shift to a remote work model. I’ve sent my entire team home and leased smaller office space for days it is unavoidable to come to the office. Remote work has helped me save so much capital on utilities and office rent. Another strategy I’m using is to hire freelancers on a project-to-project basis. Hiring new employees is much more expensive than working with freelancers. These gig workers have lower rates and surprisingly great work ethics. This has also enabled me to save some money in order to combat inflation.
Elisa Bender, RevenueGeeks
The automation of workplace operations has helped the company in these difficult times. We are now coping with inflation much better and the distribution of responsibilities between the workforce in a better way than before. It has led to saving costs on primary business operations, leading to revenue increase for normal service resuming. We have completely shifted to a remote business model, attentively focusing on social media growth.
Jessica Kats, Soxy
As a way to counter inflation, I’ve allowed my employees to work from home three days a week. Therefore, the cost of supplies has substantially decreased since we don’t require as many items like food and stationery. Additionally, our utility costs have also gone down because employees don’t use the office’s electricity and heating and cooling systems as much. This way, we have been able to partially compensate for rising inflation.
Alan Duncan, Solar Panels Network
For my business, I have modified our inventory to save up on costs. We maintain a minimum inventory. This helps us save on costs by buying the minimum number we need to store the excess inventory. We have also found local sources for our supplies. This has helped us reduce our transportation costs. When it comes right down to it, slashing the inventory and transportation costs has gone a long way toward helping us deal with the big blow of inflation.
Alex Williams, Findthisbest
