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15 Smart Ways For Businesses In A Growth Stage To Save Money

Forbes Coaches Council

As the old saying goes, “You have to spend money to make money.” However, it’s critical for a startup business to stay lean if it wants to ensure healthy growth. There are multiple potential financial pitfalls that could set a business back during a growth period, from hiring employees too soon to making risky investments.

While the ultimate goal is to get into an optimal rhythm in terms of cash flow, saving wherever you can is important at this time. Below, 15 members of Forbes Coaches Council offer their top tips on how to save money when a business is in a growth stage.

1. Focus On Efficiency

When a company is in a growth stage, focus on efficiency. This isn't sexy, but it's the truth! It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of growth and think that you need to throw money at all your problems. But it's just not true. You can double down on the things that work and cut the things that don't; you'll find yourself with a lot more money in your pocket than you would have otherwise. - Willena Long, Career Boss Academy

2. Go Where Your Customer Is

Understand your customer segment and how to reach them. Marketing is not the same as sales, and brand recognition doesn’t necessarily translate into revenues if the people who know your brand are not the buyers. B2B businesses need very different tools than B2C. Go where your customer is, not necessarily where you are. - Bill Berman, Berman Leadership Development

3. Be Aware Of Online Memberships

I believe money needs to come and go; it has to be in flow. As we attract money, one needs to allow money to “get out” and not be “stuck.” My piece of advice is to be aware of the renewal of online memberships. Is it something you need or something you forgot you have? If it’s the latter, there is no positive flow to reinforce the energy of money fluidity. - Gorana Sandric, Sandric Consulting GmbH

4. Perfect Your Pitch

Invest some time into getting free publicity. There are so many ways you can get exposure for who you are and what you’re doing that cost nothing except a bit of time. Learn how to create a perfect pitch, and then find ways to get yourself free publicity through media, podcasts, blogging, vlogging and social media outreach. - Bronwen Sciortino, sheIQ Life Pty Ltd


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5. Consider Your Evolving Cash Flow

What story is your cash flow telling? How is it evolving each month? What are the key financial variables that affect the cash flow? Which of these variables can have an upside? How do the company sales, profit and cash conversion cycle strategies affect cash? What are the ways to improve cash? What opportunity in pricing strategy, operations productivity or market position can affect cash? - Dennis Foo, Pu Xin ASPIRA Advisory Limited - Shanghai | Hong Kong

6. Leverage All Resources

Conserving cash and keeping a hawkish eye on cash flow is important for a startup. So being able to leverage “other people’s money” is a great strategy if the business can do so. This is not just about cash but resources in general. How might you tap shared services instead of hiring your own? What can be DIY or automated efficiently? Productivity and efficacy are key boosters for startups. - Thomas Lim, Thrive Consulting Pte Ltd

7. Spend Intentionally

Invest in processes and items that are on a needs-only basis. Be intentional and have a purpose for what the investment or expense is going to help you do. It can be easy to invest and spend money on processes that will grow your business exponentially, but it’s also important to have that cash flow as well as the ability to pay back debt that is reasonable. - Lauren Najar, Lauren Najar Coaching LLC

8. Listen To Your Gut Before Making Major Buying Decisions

Ask yourself this one question before buying anything: When this shows up on the balance sheet next review, will it make me glad I bought it? If thoughts of the purchase bring you down in energy in the future, it is not the time to buy. Your gut knows. Listen to it. I ask myself this question before making any major decision to buy. - Dr. Jayne Gardner

9. Hire Multifaceted Team Members

Look to hire people who can truly wear multiple hats and hire not just for the role in question but the one that hasn’t been questioned yet. Startups must thrive in the gray areas and anticipate the unknown—in order to do this, you must be agile and smart with your talent hiring. People with diverse backgrounds may be able to do more than expected as long as you prepare them in advance. - Joshua Miller, Joshua Miller Executive Coaching

10. Know The Difference Between Costs And Investments

Be clear about the difference between investments and costs and spend accordingly. Invest in areas that will truly leverage your time and allow you to bring even more value to the business. This approach can accelerate your results. Look at any expenditures based on their overall importance to growth and the right time to make them. - Neena Newberry, Newberry Solutions

11. Curate A Clear Strategy

Be diligent with your priorities and have a clear strategy; this will guide your decision on spending. Then when you line up your spending with these priorities, be rigorous about shopping around for the services you may be looking to engage with. There are a million ways to achieve the outcome, and part of being fiscally responsible is ensuring you have done your research on what will help grow your business. - April Sabral, April Sabral Leadership

12. Prioritize Decisions For Next Year

It’s a misnomer that startups do most of the growing. Mid-size businesses tend to grow faster and provide more jobs than startups. The trick is to prioritize programs and expenditures this year that will produce meaningful growth next year. I structure leadership councils to grapple with one core question: “What one thing should we do now to accelerate us toward our BHAG (big hairy audacious goal)? That yields growth. - Randy Shattuck, The Shattuck Group

13. Know When To Negotiate

Negotiating everything is a great way to save money when a company is in a growth stage. Just because you’re new does not mean you don’t have buying power or can’t exercise influence. The savings you negotiate can be redirected toward more staff, better benefits for your existing staff, tech support or a customer relationship management tool that will strengthen your workflow processes and save even more money! - Cathy Lanzalaco, Inspire Careers LLC

14. Automate Processes

The secret lies in the application of cutting-edge technologies. By automating processes and integrating available tools, a growing firm can reduce operating costs. For instance, use a unified platform to send campaigns, advertise on social media and boost search engine exposure. This will lower the time and money spent on such complex processes, allowing for a greater focus on corporate growth. - Nabil Bouassaba, Ai 4 Ei

15. Fix Your Leaky Pipelines

Map out the user journey and look for ways to improve conversions at crucial decision points. We recently did this for our app, focusing on organic traffic. Three improvements resulted in an 89% revenue increase. This was money we were just leaving on the table by not optimizing conversions. Now, we have a stronger base to scale from. - Gabriella Goddard, Brainsparker Global

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