Creative is often overused and laced with negative connotations in the world of money and business. Led with stories of wrong doing or sacrificing people over profit, it can seem daunting to even think on how to create more efficiency in business and managing your money.
But…..it’s not always that way and we’re here to share a few ideas to help get you moving in the right direction!
- Yeeeeeesssssssss! Inflation is coming down a bit, registering around 4% which is less than half of what it was a year to a year and a half-ago.
But……Prices are higher than ever and costs are coming down slightly, however they may never come back down to where they were and we have to own that and make proactive adjustments.
You are likely going to have to raise your prices, even a little to stay competitive and stay in business. I know you don’t want to add fuel to the fire so here’s a great way to make it happen.
Increase your pricing with targeting and use data to fuel the fire. Look at areas where:
- Margins are small, maybe too small and make adjustments upward
- Target high quality clients, areas or regions you know could afford more!
- Be selective and be diligent, don’t raise it on everyone and scare away your community.
2. Well how on Earth am I supposed to make this work if I have to dial in and target only part of my business?
We have an idea, take inventory of your offers and determine just how much you are putting out and whether or not you can save a little more here and there.
It’s called “shrinkflation”, the idea of offering a little less for the same price rather than increasing prices. Unfortunately, the cost of doing business can rise over time and the benefit of leaning on “shrinkflation” is you aren’t raising prices.
- Larger companies like Amazon use shrinkflation to keep pricing stable.
- Your clients are likely to be happier with consistency and more understanding of costs rising.
- Again, look at your offerings and make targeted adjustments. Not everything needs to be cut by 10% and it’s up to you to determine when and where you can make the change.
3. What if I have spent all of this time saving up and cashflow isn’t an issue but cost is?
Get that money to work for you, where and how you can make it happen! If you have extra cash, get it working for you by:
- Leveraging high yield savings accounts
- Utilitizing the higher treasury bond markets
- Purchasing a CD (certificate of deposit), if you don’t have an immediate need for cash.
There are many options, from three months to six, nine, twelve and longer. Many owners are using this opportunity to layer in different ways to increase the value of their money, switching vehicles every 90 days or so.
Whatever you do to stay ahead of the game, beating inflation is within reach and when you take a proactive push to get ahead of it no one can hold you down.
Have ideas on keeping business lean, building smarter or creating a lifestyle around your business? Share them with us!!!
