Daily Task: 15 minutes
Distribute yesterday’s blog post or Quickcast. Instructions here.
Project Focus: ROI
This week, we’re going to improve the ROI on your expenses.
Pull out your expense tracking sheet (or your P&L statement).
First, cut the things you don’t need: apps you don’t use anymore, subscriptions you’re not using regularly.
Here are 10 examples of things a business owner can cut outright to improve ROI:
Excess Utilities: Cutting back on unnecessary utility usage, such as reducing energy consumption in unused office spaces, can lead to cost savings.
Unused Software Subscriptions: Many businesses subscribe to software tools they no longer use. Canceling these subscriptions can save significant costs.
Old Inventory: Products or materials that have not sold in a long time can be liquidated or written off to reduce carrying costs.
Office Supplies: Redundant or excess office supplies, especially in businesses transitioning to more digital operations, can be reduced or sold outright.
Marketing Channels with Low ROI: Advertising on platforms that consistently yield low engagement or returns can be discontinued in favor of more effective channels.
Duplicative Services: If the business subscribes to multiple services that offer similar functions (e.g., multiple email marketing tools), cutting one can streamline operations and reduce expenses.
Excess Storage Space: If the business is paying for more storage than it needs (e.g., warehouse space or cloud storage), downsizing can save costs.
Unused Memberships: Professional organizations, clubs, or networking group memberships that are no longer attended or utilized can be cut.
Unnecessary Travel: Non-essential business travel, especially when effective alternatives like video conferencing are available, can be reduced or eliminated.
Underutilized Employees: Positions or roles that are no longer necessary or can be consolidated with other roles can be cut, provided it’s done thoughtfully and legally. We’ll talk more about putting staff in roles with higher leverage later in the week.
This is mostly the list of “easy” cuts. They’re usually small things that you don’t make time to end. Use your Golden Hour to end those today.
Most of the things you buy are unavoidable: you pay your rent, your suppliers, your taxes and your power bill.
But every dollar you save on expenses falls straight to profit. That makes this an un-sexy but very worthwhile exercise to repeat every few weeks.
Tomorrow, we’ll seek to optimize ROI on professional services.
