We all feel the pinch in January, but if you're moving into February with a little too much excess weight in the form of unnecessary overheads, your freelance business will suffer.
These tips were written with freelance translation in mind but they apply equally to many other freelance service providers.
1. Throw away all stationery catalogues
Those offers of free coffee makers and sports bags are often enough to tip you off the bandwagon and buy 50 reams of totally unnecessary paper. (Embarrassingly, I've been there.) When you need something from the stationery company, write a strict list and shop online. Buy in bulk if it will save you money in the long run but remember your precious office space...
2. Make sensible use of business charge cards
If you have a business charge card which provides one month's interest free credit on purchases for example, also open a savings account. Each time you make a purchase on the card, transfer the money you will use to pay it off into the savings account to earn you interest for a month and have the direct debit to pay off the charge card set up to draw on the savings account. Interest earned will effectively reduce the overall cost of the purchase.
3. Speak to your accountant
Depending on your line of work and your location, you may be eligible to claim a percentage of your household bills against tax. OK, this is not strictly speaking a saving on your costs but it makes sense for you personally as it maximises income.
4. Pick and choose the courses you attend
Continuing professional development is essential for translation and other freelance services alike. Clients want to see up-to-date credentials. Before you shell out for a course or event though, call the organiser with a list of questions. Quiz them about how useful this course will be for YOU. If you know other freelancers, see if you can get a group discount by booking together - big companies do, so why shouldn't you?
5. Have a 'one in one out' policy
Everytime you buy a new piece of equipment, sell the old one and use the money to offset the cost of the new item. Even better, part exchange items where possible.
If you're looking for cost-cutting tips for setting up a freelance business, then look no further than FreelanceSwitch, one of my favorite web stops of the day.
These tips were written with freelance translation in mind but they apply equally to many other freelance service providers.
1. Throw away all stationery catalogues
Those offers of free coffee makers and sports bags are often enough to tip you off the bandwagon and buy 50 reams of totally unnecessary paper. (Embarrassingly, I've been there.) When you need something from the stationery company, write a strict list and shop online. Buy in bulk if it will save you money in the long run but remember your precious office space...
2. Make sensible use of business charge cards
If you have a business charge card which provides one month's interest free credit on purchases for example, also open a savings account. Each time you make a purchase on the card, transfer the money you will use to pay it off into the savings account to earn you interest for a month and have the direct debit to pay off the charge card set up to draw on the savings account. Interest earned will effectively reduce the overall cost of the purchase.
3. Speak to your accountant
Depending on your line of work and your location, you may be eligible to claim a percentage of your household bills against tax. OK, this is not strictly speaking a saving on your costs but it makes sense for you personally as it maximises income.
4. Pick and choose the courses you attend
Continuing professional development is essential for translation and other freelance services alike. Clients want to see up-to-date credentials. Before you shell out for a course or event though, call the organiser with a list of questions. Quiz them about how useful this course will be for YOU. If you know other freelancers, see if you can get a group discount by booking together - big companies do, so why shouldn't you?
5. Have a 'one in one out' policy
Everytime you buy a new piece of equipment, sell the old one and use the money to offset the cost of the new item. Even better, part exchange items where possible.
If you're looking for cost-cutting tips for setting up a freelance business, then look no further than FreelanceSwitch, one of my favorite web stops of the day.
1 comments:
these are really useful tips - and your comment about paper reams made me laugh! I've also made the mistake of thinking the stock levels in my stationary cupboard needed to rival those of some large multinational with 200 or so employees... :)
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