With all of the details you had to keep track of while starting your new business, now that you are up and running, there are additional expenses that may blindside you if you aren’t prepared.
Turnover
It will prove more cost-effective to offer your employees attractive benefits than to have to replace them. The cost of replacing a seasoned employee is about one-fifth of a worker’s salary. Keep in mind that your employees are the ones who have the potential to help your business succeed, or they can expedite your defeat. Make sure you offer them a living and competitive wage, adequate insurance, time off, a clean work environment and other perks, so they realize you understand their importance.
Growth
You started a business in the hopes of being successful. With success comes growth. You may have started working out of an office in your home and now you’re looking for heavy haul trucks for sale so that you can move larger quantities of your products to your customers.
As you move from your home office into your office space, be prepared for additional expenses. Weigh the options of renting space versus buying. If you are looking to buy a property, keep in mind that as your business continues to grow, so will your need for space. With an office outside your home, you will also have the additional expenses of insurance, commercial loans or rent as well as utilities. Make sure you don’t bite off more than you can chew.
If you are unsure what the future holds for your business, before making a financial commitment to either a lease or loan, there are temporary options available. You can utilize the services of companies that offer temporary office solutions that often come with office equipment, internet services, and a receptionist. Granted, meeting space and other amenities are shared among the businesses using the space, but it is a cost-effective option if you are unsure of the stability of your business.
Time
One of the biggest costs of running your own business is the cost of the time you invest. It lends to reason that, the harder you work, the more you will benefit in the long run, but to what end? Have a think about how you spend your time outside of work. Are you turning down invitations from friends and family to tie up some loose ends from your day or trying to figure out how to execute the next step in your business plan? If so, you need to remind yourself how important interpersonal relationships are.
As a business owner, one of your many tasks is delegating your workload. If busy work is compromising your quality of life by impacting your relationships, you have to consider sharing your workload. Establishing and, more importantly, maintaining solid relationships will not only help your physical and mental health, it will prove useful professionally.
Safety Net
One of the hardest things to plan for is the unplanned. Don’t subject yourself to being unprepared in light of unforeseen emergencies or changes. A good rule of thumb is to have an emergency fund equal to approximately 3-6 months of operating costs. Even though you can’t anticipate everything that can possibly go wrong, having a safety net to fall back on will help you recover from a situation you didn’t expect to be in.
The costs associated with running a business, no matter how well you think you planned for it, can be unexpected. Speak to other business owners and find out what hurdles they had to jump to help get a better understanding of what you may come across.