Money Wasters?

There’re a few things that seem to be common money wasters in our lives and businesses. The thing is that these items are different for different people. Some may find coffee a waste of money but will go out to eat for lunch every day. It's all about perspective. I prescribe to the thought that, assuming there's a budget and you can afford to make the purchase, to buy your coffee and/or your lunch, but to realize that you can't have everything. If you want to stop for coffee every morning, then you may have to give up something else. Regardless, the following are a few ideas to get the wheels turning and possibly a conversation started.

What does this look like?

• Location. A great location is awesome, but you may be able to save a substantial amount by moving into a slightly less desirable area. I don't mean into a bad area or one that makes no sense for the company. For instance, where I am, real estate in downtown is drastically more expensive than the area I'm located in, which is just barely ten minutes outside of downtown. Therefore, I'm very close, yet I saved money and got more for my money.
• Quality is important. I'm not saying to waste money on "designer". What I am saying is that a quality item tends to last longer and require less maintenance. This means less downtime and more time building up revenue. There's definitely a balance, but cheap (not to be confused with inexpensive or a good deal) tends to cost more in the long run.
• Continuing Education. I believe it was Mark Cuban that said something like if you take a course, that seems expensive, but you get one idea that propels the company, then it's worth it. Investments in education can encourage not only yourself, but also your team to be thinking of ways to improve/become more efficient and give them the tools to do so. This has the potential to help the company sure, but it also helps to build unity and make the team stronger giving the company a stronger foundation.

What to remember: Every company needs to assess what they're spending money on, know that what one company spends money on may look very different from another, and to always be open minded to new ideas.