More bang; for your less than a thousand bucks: 25 bargains that will make your business better

Entrepreneur, Feb, 2002 by Chris Penttila

Belts are tightening, and companies are cutting back. But there's that old saying: You have to spend money to make money. Luckily, it turns out there are a number of ways to spend a little but gain a lot. From marketing to sales, from employees to equipment, here are 25 tips to better your business for under $1,000, and in some cases, for almost nothing at all.

1 OFFER TIME OFF: Offer a high-performing employee a paid day off for a job well-done. It may cost you anywhere from $50 to $120, but you'll be rewarded with a happier employee.

2 CONSIDER A CO-PROMOTION. Cut marketing costs by trying a co-promotion, where you split the cost of sponsorships, bill stuffers, fliers, newsletters and ads with another local business. A co-promotion works best when it ties together businesses that share the same target audience. By partnering, you'll have options that would otherwise be too costly. "A co-promotion presents a lot of new opportunities," says Steve Dubin (next page), president of PR Works, a public relations and marketing firm in Norwell, Massachusetts, with $1.5 million in annual sales. "You can do things that would otherwise be unattainable."

Jeff Votja, 38, is owner of Raleigh, North Carolina-based Stockton Graham & Go., a 71/2-year-old coffee roasting company with nine employees and annual sales of $1.2 million. One of his co-promotion tactics is splitting the cost of trade show booths with his vendors. They also share the cost of printed materials and staffing at the events. "We generally save at least half the cost we'd expend otherwise," he says. "It's very effective."

3 TREAT WITH SWEETS. Springing for bagels and muffins on Fridays, mochas on Mondays or birthday cakes for employees are all inexpensive ways to make people feel valued. Food is a "nonverbal way of communicating to employees that they are important," says Alex Cone, CEO of Codefab Inc., a 26-employee technology firm in New York City with sales of about $5 million. Cone spends $200 a month on bagels, birthday cakes, coffee and sodas for employees-small expenses that go a long way. "It doesn't cost that much, and it's good for employee morale," says Cone, 41, who adds that employee turnover at Codefab is low. "Budget the luxuries first, or you'll never get around to them."

4 MAKE CUSTOMERS' LIVES EASIER. Why not invest in technology that makes it easier for customers to buy from you? One option is Tele-check's Eclipse Terminal, a small, countertop device that lets you enter checks electronically and scan credit, debit and EBT (Electronic Benefit Transfer) cards at the point of sale. Funds are delivered electronically to your account two business days later. Hypercom offers a similar terminal, and eFunds and International Check Services offer their own e-transaction options. Another benefit: Many of these products scan account databases for problem customers before purchases are made.

You can make life easier on your Web site, too. Consider adding a service such as PayPal, a real-time, encrypted online service that allows customers to enter their credit card numbers securely online. Under its standard plan, PayPal charges merchants a small percentage of each sale plus about 30 cents per transaction.

5 BE A JOINER. Spend $600 to $700 to join a few business groups and generate new leads. Annual membership costs can vary, but the rewards-gaining new clients and meeting peers, among others-are big. If you can't afford to attend conferences, as a member you'll still be able to take part in the group's online chat groups, write articles for the newsletter and get involved in your local chapter.

6 ASK FOR SOME FEEDBACK. It always pays to know what customers are thinking. One product, Survey Solutions by Braintree, Massachusetts-based Perseus Development Corp., helps you create single-page surveys to be distributed by e-mail or posted on your Web site. For $229, the company collects all responses, tabulates them and summarizes them in a report. "Small businesses fear that one unhappy customer means there are seven others," says Jeff Henning, co-founder and chief technology officer of Perseus. "This is a way to be proactive." You can use surveys for market-testing new product ideas, too.

7 VISIT YOUR LOCAL SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER (SBDC). Need business advice but can't afford a private consultant? Then check out your local SBDC. There are 1,200 SBDCs across the United States where consultants dispense advice to entrepreneurs. Low-cost workshops in franchising, business planning and marketing are also available. "Most of our workshops are at no cost or just cover the cost of the materials handed out," says Donna Ettenson, director of operations at the Association of Small Business Development Centers (ASBDC) in Burke, Virginia. For a location near you, check out ASBDC's Web site at www.asbdc-us.org.

8 BUY A DIGITAL CAMERA. Today even the most expensive digital cameras cost less than $1,000, and you can find some for $300. A digital camera is a handy marketing tool. In a matter of minutes, you'll be able to e-mail your customers and suppliers crisp photos of your product line, produce digital images for use on your Web site, and create photos for fliers without hiring a costly photographer.