As a small business owner, the financial aspect of business operations can be daunting. Even ‘small’ expenditures can make up a big chunk of your spending. It can be overwhelming to budget accordingly, especially during the summer months when business operating costs, especially energy, tend to skyrocket.

Being mindful of your energy usage can help you cut down on spending. Think about your business practices and evaluate how you can better utilize the resources you have available and allocate your funding in a way that is sustainable both for the environment and your organization. Your company will save money, function more efficiently, and lessen its impact on the environment.

How to Minimize Your Small Business Expenses this Summer - 8 Tips

1 - Keep Business Travel to a Minimum

Summer is a popular time for meetings and conferences, but for a small business, travel expenses can be a threat to your budget. Coordinate with your colleagues to make your meetings digital using websites like MyMeetings. They make conference video calls easy to set up. You can even share files electronically, so your colleagues still receive all pertinent information although they aren’t physically face to face.

Online meetings reduce the cost of travel expenses for all parties, which also reduces your environmental impact of traveling back and forth. And if that’s not enough, you can rest assured that you will use fewer resources than you would if you were to print out materials for in-person meetings.

2 - Take Advantage of Energy-Saving Measures

Saving energy saves your business money. One of the easiest practices for saving energy is to utilize natural light. During the summer, daylight lasts longer, so you can get away with turning off the lights and cracking open the blinds.

If you have the financial means, you can also reduce long-term business costs with double-pane windows that insulate better than single-pane windows. While it may be costly upfront, the windows will last for years and can help keep hot or cold air in and reduce your electric and gas bills.

3 - Cut Utility Costs

Want to easily reduce your small business utility costs? Get in the habit of turning off all lights in your workspace before leaving at the end of the day and before heading into the weekend. You can also pre-set your thermostat at a certain temperature and schedule it to run during certain times of the day. This will keep your bill from unexpectedly rising.

4 - Reduce Paper Usage

Go green by switching to digital practices where applicable and reducing paper usage. Instead of printing dozens of pages for a meeting, email an online version to your clients for them to utilize. Change your printer properties to print double-sided if you still need to use paper so that you are still cutting your usage in half.

5 - Establish a Recycling Program

If you find your company struggling to fully cut down use of paper, the least you can do is establish a company recycling program. If you don’t do a ton of printing and have little need for ink, you can also purchase recycled ink cartridges at a lower cost. You will feel good giving back and being mindful of your waste.

6 - Telecommute as Much as Possible

Chances are if your business is up-and-coming, you can handle a lot of the day to day operations without needing to be in the office. Encourage your staff to telecommute when possible to cut both their transportation costs and the costs of operations.

Take advantage of cloud software that allows you and your staff to access all your files electronically. That way you can work effectively from any location. Your staff will love the change of scenery, and your budget will get a boost.

7 - Create a Carpool Schedule

If you don't have the flexibility to telecommute, carpooling with coworkers is an easy fix to reduce the financial and environmental costs of traveling to and from work. Plus, it’s a great way to get to know your coworkers outside of the office.

Set up a carpool rotation with coworkers that live nearby so that only one of you is driving to work each day rather than a handful of you. If you are all headed the same place, why waste the extra gas?

8 - Share Resources with Other Small Businesses

If you’re in close proximity to other small business which use similar resources, sharing your supplies can cut costs drastically. Having to buy items in bulk can be a huge burden for small businesses, even if you use the supplies over time.

Sharing with like-minded businesses will help the co-operating organizations reduce initial costs and minimize wasted resources.

Don’t sweat the summer expenses. You can increase your energy efficiency, save money for your small business and your staff, and continue to operate seamlessly.

Jayson Goetz is a strong believer that you don't have to be wealthy to live a rich and full life and wants to share tips on how to do exactly this. 

Whether it’s saving money tips, smart everyday hacks, or budget travel, he hopes to inspire others to do more with less.

You can reach him here on LinkedIn or Instagram.