On behalf of all of Schooley Mitchell, weâd like to extend a huge congratulations to Stephan Lafreniere on receiving our award for Online Presence. Thank you for all your hard work this past year!
Pictured below are Schooley Mitchell consultant Fred Carter, president, and Ron Whitmer, immediate past president, at the Port Summit Rotary Club’s 8th Dizzy Duck Derby. This fun event raised money for the Port-Summit Rotary Club to continue serving our communities.
The following article was shared by Entrepreneur on September 24th, 2022:
Regardless if youâre a small startup or an established corporation, there will surely come a time to learn how to save money and cut costs. This subject is especially relevant…
By Rob Press
Learning how to save money and efficiently lead a business without wasting resources is a valuable skill. Although planning is a must, you often canât foresee things like pandemic outbreaks, wars nor the financial struggles that follow.
So, how can a business become more resilient in times of trouble? There are some ways to adapt to a possible crisis even before it strikes.
Based on recent Zippia research, 22% of business startups fail in their first year. Additionally, the main reason for small businesses to fail was connected with cash flow problems. Naturally, a lot of your business success depends on planning your finances and setting your budgeting right.
Analyzing your current efficiency is the first step of every good business plan. So, weâll start by performing an audit on all back and front-end operations, workflows, and processes.
Your goal at this stage is to simply gather data, and learn to manage your cash flow and expenses. You need to figure out the ROI and the value of every activity. Additionally, you have to analyze your cash flow and see if your payment dynamic is manageable or if you need to change things. The mentioned information will help you isolate the gaps and inefficiencies.
For instance, make a list of your current fixed and variable expenses. Then, see where you can cut costs and optimize.
Once youâve analyzed your current business operations, itâs time to visualize and plan what you want to achieve. Hereâs where you take action, set a budget or a goal, and stick to it.
Open-source, AI, and cloud technology can be of immense help when trying to cut costs. Many free or affordable tools can help you automate and streamline different operations.
For instance, if you have remote or shift workers, you can try using staff scheduling software to make the entire process more efficient and reduce human errors like overlaps or missed shifts.
Likewise, try to go paperless and start doing business in the cloud. It will give you one centralized data storage location and allow you to allow or deny access to different documents and files for different job roles.
Think of how much youâll save on storage costs alone by going paperless!
Additionally, automating manual, daily, labor-intensive operations saves time. And, time is money! Data entry is the best example of a time-consuming task you can automate.
In some cases, businesses might be forced to lay off employees due to a tight budget. In cases like these, automation can also help replace human labor whenever possible. Of course, laying off employees equals losing human capital. If it comes to that, learn to adopt technology as an alternative.
With all this said, we have to mention that automation is not always the cheapest option. For instance, automating an entire assembly line in a factory requires a large upfront investment. So, shop around for solutions in advance to have the correct financial projections.
Finally, on the subject of cutting costs, we canât forget about virtual technology which allowed many companies to operate remotely, especially during the pandemic outbreak. If your budget is tight, use technology like Zoom instead of traveling for in-person meetings. Or, collaborate on Google Drive and Google Meet and sublet your office space. Get creative and take advantage of technology!
Leading a successful business means constantly observing the market. Your business goal is profitability, so you have to source the best quality product for the most affordable price you can find. Donât get stuck with the first supplier you started working with if there are better ones on the market.
If the product price goes down and you can find suppliers that offer a better price vs. value ratio, ask your supplier to match the price. Otherwise, give a chance to a different supplier.
Carefully read and compare supplier contracts. In many cases, especially if you buy in bulk, you become eligible for discounts. Donât be afraid to practice your rights and negotiate the prices.
In the end, getting a better price from your supplier means cutting costs and improving the overall profitability of your business.
However, itâs not just about discounts. If you plan on designing a way to save costs sustainably, youâll need to fix your end-to-end supply chain. Often, this includes third-party services, fulfillment centers, distribution centers, freight forwarding partners, etc. Youâll need to get creative and find a way to make the entire chain more efficient.
When running a business, a lot of funds go toward payroll. Additionally, as an employer, you probably offer a 401K or a similar retirement plan. The setup and administration costs of these plans can cost you a lot. So, itâs worth shopping around to find a provider with lower fees.
Another way you can bring down your 401K costs is to cut administrative costs by having a safe harbor 401K which exempts your plan from compliance testing.
If your budget is really tight, you could reduce the number of employees on your payroll. Instead, try outsourcing to freelancers or third-party agencies. Outsourcing has become popular among big and small businesses with global market size of $92.5B in 2019.
For instance, if youâre a company unrelated to IT and just need a website, you donât necessarily need a full-time developer on your payroll. Instead, outsource the task to a freelancer or hire an agency to design and maintain your website.
Aside from saving you from high payroll expenses, outsourcing parts of your business instead of doing them in-house will decrease your need for office space and rental fees.
Based on 2022 Zippia statistics:
If youâve decided to decrease the number of fixed employees on your payroll, these are some areas you can consider outsourcing. When it comes to the choice of an external partner, you could go for an agency or hire individual freelancers. Do your research and explore to find the most cost-effective outsourcing strategy for your needs.
In the past, traditional marketing strategies like billboards or TV ads didnât give you a way to capture data and metrics. Todayâs digital marketing efforts are much more efficient in terms of ROI due to data and the possibility of learning and making informed decisions. Instead of spending blindly, you can now make more strategic efforts.
Lastly, donât forget that today itâs all about social proof and native ads that donât really feel like ads. According to a recent BrightLocal survey:
â77% of consumers âalwaysâ or âregularlyâ read online reviews when browsing for local businesses (up from 60% in 2020)â.
We recommend you find a way to provide an incentive for your buyers to leave reviews. The incentive can be anything from a discount or freebies to store credit or anything else that works for your business model.
The next things we want you to analyze are your subscriptions and the services youâre using. To stop overpaying for services, you need to regularly audit the service and value youâre getting and compare it to other services on the market. Donât be afraid to go for the more competitive rate or ask your current service providers to match a better offer.
Do you need such a high company cell phone limit? Are you actually using the landline you pay for? Does your bank offer the best deal you could get?
After analyzing all the services you pay for, youâll cancel some right away and realize you can significantly downgrade others.
Another option is to save by getting annual instead of monthly contracts. Most subscriptions come with a discount for annual licenses. If you can afford a slightly higher upfront investment, this will save you money in the long run.
According to a Statista global out-of-stock product breakdown grocery products, and perishables record the highest out-of-stock value, with 45.5% and 38.9%, respectively. These two product categories are followed by health and beauty care.
Furthermore, 2021 Adobe research shows that when compared to a pre-pandemic period (January 2020), out-of-stock messages have increased a whopping 250 percent during the pandemic (in October 2021).
These stats clearly show the losses your business incurs from improper inventory management. Nobody wants to deal with out-of-stock scenarios, backorders, or the opposite, a warehouse full of dead stock and no interested buyers. Better inventory management means better finances, so optimizing your stock levels is what youâre going to aim for at this stage.
Recent estimates show that retailers were working with around 70% inventory accuracy in 2020. Thereâs certainly room to improve. Looking at historical sales data and analyzing the current demand, trend, and product lifecycle can give you a good idea of your sales projections. Take these numbers into consideration when deciding on the size of your order.
If you can become more agile and use third-party fulfillment or distribution centers, or even adopt drop shipping as a low-risk business model, you can significantly decrease your storage costs.
Last but not least, we recommend working with a tax specialist or a tax accountant who is well-versed in laws and regulations and can help you file taxes correctly and get a favorable tax return.
Small businesses often overlook the importance of a professional guiding them through this area thinking they will save costs. On the contrary, this often ends up costing them more due to improper tax filing or not claiming everything they couldâve.
However, note that your tax consultant or accountant will also charge you billable hours. So, thatâs also an expense youâd want to track. Ideally, the savings and value they provide should match their fees.
Ideally, a good tax accountant should bring you many benefits in terms of cost savings:
Proper financial management is crucial for the overall success of your business. However, note that being thoughtful about your expenses should never come at the cost of your service or product quality.
Saving money and cutting costs in the business climate today requires companies to go through digital transformation and implement technology to find faster, better, and more efficient ways to reach their audience while remaining profitable.
We urge you to use this technology at your disposal to track your expenses on an ongoing basis. Thatâs the only way to prevent unnecessary expenses and cut costs when the budget is tighter. Hopefully, weâve managed to help you learn how to save money in creative ways and remain profitable even when things are tough.
The post Cutting Costs 101 â How To Save Money When Running A Business appeared first on Due.
In the latest survey from The Business Monitor, released by Modus Research, Canadian executives were asked about inflation and how they plan to deal with costs.
Key findings in this release:
More than 8 in 10 businesses anticipate that the cost of doing business will increase over the next year.
Despite the recent easing in the rate of inflation from the early summer, more than half of Canadian businesses think the rate of inflation will increase over the next year (undoubtedly why so many expect costs to increase significantly).
The biggest cuts will be to new equipment purchases, with large numbers also cutting: investing in R&D, office/workspace, recruiting and hiring new staff.
These results are consistent across all sizes of business, regionally and by industry sector.
The number of companies cutting cost this year represents a significant increase over the previous year.
When asked about the costs in these same areas, businesses cut costs over the previous 12 months at much lower levels.
The most sizable shift in the number of companies cutting cost will come in the areas of employee costs, workspaces, and new equipment.
The survey was conducted from August 19 to September 5 using the Modus Business Panel â Canadaâs only purpose-built, probability based B2B research panel. Because the Panel is built using random probability telephone sampling, it is valid to cite the margin of error for this survey. The survey is based on a representative sample of 600 Canadian managers and executives and has a margin of error of +/- 4.0% pts 95 times out of 100. The survey data is weighted by size and region according to the latest Statistics Canada data to help ensure representativeness for Canadian enterprises.
September 2nd, 2022
Dear Adam,
On behalf of Community Shelter Services, thank you for your support of the Housing ‘Fore’ All Golf Tournament that benefited our agency. Your sponsorship helped our event be a great success and raised over $50,000. The kindness and generosity of sponsors such as yourself provides the moral and financial support needed to continue our mission of aiding the homeless and helping them transition into permanent housing.
Your willingness to help your neighbors in need makes all the difference for their better future and your continued support means that you understand just how important our work is in the community. Especially now as the cold winter months approach, we depend on caring people like you to help fund our essential programs.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact e at [email protected]
We send you our heartfelt thanks again, and truthfully, we could not do this without you.
Sincerely,
Katie Confer
Development Director
Community Shelter Services
The following article was shared by Gartner on August 17th, 2022:
Contributor: Jackie Wiles
Many executive leaders will need to make trade-offs in their spending to tackle todayâs triple squeeze of persistent inflation, supply chain disruptions and a tight labor market. But common missteps in cost reduction can undermine even structured programs designed to optimize cost decisions strategically.
âMany more CFOs will start to look for cost reductions if high inflation persists or if there is a risk that higher interest rates will weaken the demand-side of the economy,â says Randeep Rathindran, Vice President, Research, at Gartner. âExecutives should scope now where to secure cost reductions while avoiding seven common mistakes that make it difficult â and potentially impossible â to pursue growth ambitions in the longer term.â
Fewer than half (43%) of leaders actually achieve the level of savings they set out to in the first year of cost reduction. Unrealistic targets are the problem.
Across-the-board cuts penalize the more efficient parts of your organization (demotivating those teams) and can result in eroding important sources of value.
Only 11% of organizations can sustain cost cuts over a three-year period. This is because most cost-cutting strategies are short term and fail to preserve the behavioral change required for smart spending decisions in the future.
Although some costs (such as travel and expense) can be capped by policy rules and restrictions, many removed costs inevitably creep back in as budget owners and managers pursue spending and initiatives in the name of supporting growth. The result is another painful round of cost reductions when the next crisis hits.
Only 6% of organizations consistently invest in growth opportunities without creating excessive complexity. Because of the premium many organizations and their investors place on top-line growth, executive leaders tend to have a blindspot when it comes to complexity.
Complexity drives almost half of the growth in corporate overhead costs. From introducing too many incremental variants of existing products to investing in scope-additive business lines or elaborate management hierarchies, complexity creates:
Direct costs, such as excessive inventory holding or warranty costs from supporting too many product varieties and SKUs
Indirect costs in terms of slower decision making
Only 9% of organizations create enough capacity to take on the growth and innovation opportunities they pursue. Aggressive cost reductions can drain resources from high-impact innovation projects or indefinitely delay funding to a point where competitors can hurdle your organization in the market.They can also promote an environment where innovators donât feel permissioned to request enough multiyear funding required to ensure their initiatives are successful.
Among CFOs polled in July 2022, 66% said they planned to increase investment in digital technology in the ensuing 12 months, and another 32% said they would maintain such spending. Thatâs the highest percentage of any spend category, reflecting the ongoing need to prioritize digital acceleration as a way to:
Permanently reduce the cost of doing business (especially to fight inflation)
Improve customer and employee experience
Outperform competitors during the looming downturn
However, realizing value and scale from IT initiatives requires an actionable digital-investment model and a clear understanding of enterprise digital strategy. A productive CFO-CIO partnership is also critical to ensure funding continues to flow to critical digital initiatives.
Two in five IT leaders regret technology purchases due to unfavorable terms or overpriced fees. It is imperative for an organization to acquire the right set of technologies to support its digital transformation or speed up business processes. However, limited budgets, coupled with pressure to invest in new and disruptive technologies, can drive leaders to invest in technologies that require unforseen implementation costs, generate new inefficiencies and generally fail to meet expectations, wasting potentially millions in economic resources.
Vendor negotiations are a key part of cost optimization strategies, and todayâs high levels of inflation make it even harder to tell if your vendors are tying price increases to their costs or are simply trying to maintain their margins. Make sure to negotiate not just prices but terms and conditions.
Under budget pressure, executives typically look first to lower costs in their direct area of responsibility, such as their function, but itâs critical to consider, too, whether those cost-reduction actions would create or exacerbate risks that threaten the organizationâs value proposition.
Examples:
This article has been updated since its original publication in December 2020 to reflect new events, conditions and research.
Randeep Rathindran, VP and Team Leader, has a primary research focus on the Chief Financial Officer and FP&A leader role, Financial Data and Analytics, Investor Relations, and Finance Technology Optimization key initiatives.
On Aug 27 the Dads of Milton (DoMs) hosted the “Step Up to the Plate 5” event in support of Nelson the Giant and their #Thumpoutbullying campaign. Michael was busy shagging fly balls in the outfield like a kid again at the annual Home Run Derby event.
Over $14,000 was raised for this amazing cause.
To Whom It May Concern:
My wife recently asked me to have some of her jewelry cleaned and repaired, so I stopped in to Breakiron Jewelers to see if they could help and I left very impressed with the level of service they provide.
Breakiron Jewelers is a family owned, second-generation jewelry store in Erie, PA run by the incredibly friendly Linda Breakiron. Showcasing jewelry for every occasion, they have beautiful displays of traditional jewelry and also offer the ability to custom make jewelry for their customers. With nearly 60 years in business, they have undeniable expertise and are recognized as one of Erieâs top jewelers.
When I visited the store, the staff couldnât have been friendlier. Not only did they offer complimentary cleaning, but when they looked at all of my jewelry, they explained what they could do to repair it, and even made recommendations on what I could do to prevent issues in the future. When my wife saw her jewelry restored to beautiful condition, she nearly cried.
I was extremely satisfied with the service I received, but imagine my surprise a few weeks later when I received a hand-written thank you card from Linda. We didnât buy thousands of dollars in jewelry, and the repair wasnât expensive at all, but that card told me that Breakiron Jewelers cares about all of their customers â no matter how much they spend.
As a small business owner, I know how busy it can be to run a business, but that Linda still found the time to show her gratitude speaks volumes about the business she runs and that her priority is making her customers feel special.
If you want to go to an experienced jeweler, where you arenât just taken care of, but also appreciated, make sure to visit Linda and her team at Breakiron Jewelers. The only thing that outshines their diamonds is their service!
Yours truly,
Adam Baker
Schooley Mitchell
Numana is a non-profit organization located in El Dorado, KS. On August 27, 8 volunteer teams, Schooley Mitchell’s Rod Holter among them, worked to package and box meals for Ukrainians in need. In just 2 hours, over 100 cases were assembled which will feed 21,600 people. Numana will organize a packaging event for any business or charity across the United States. If you have a business, church or organization looking for a team building event, please call Rachael Topper at 316-452-5445
Schooley Mitchell consultant Axel Nafthal was recently featured in his local paper, the Annapolis Valley Wire. For the full publication, read here.
by Joey Fitzpatrick
When asked what he does for a living, Axel Nafthal has a very clear and positive elevator pitch.
“I deliver good news to my clients,” he says.
Just as consumers often pay more than is necessary for telecom and other services, so too do businesses. Natfhal works with companies to identify potential areas of savings in the various costs of doing business.
His lengthy career in the food industry prepared Nafthal with the skills of negotiating beneficial terms on behalf of clients. Nafthal worked with food manufacturers, and then later as a broker, negotiating promotional deals between manufacturers and grocery retailers.
“It’s a very competitive and challenging business,” he says of the food sector. “It was fun, but I was not sorry to see that part of my career come to a close.”
In 2016, he became a Kentville-based franchisee with Schooley Mitchell. Similar to a contingency model in the legal world – in which a lawyer represents a client and is only compensated if and when there is a successful settlement – so too is the Schooley Mitchell Model risk-free for the client.
“We help implement cost-effective solutions and cost recovery measures at no cost to the client,” Nafthal points out. “I don’t sell a product or service. I identify areas of potential savings and if the client accepts my recommendations then I share in those savings for an agreed-upon period of time.”
He works with clients of all sizes, most being in small to medium range, with somewhere between 20 and 150 employees.
“There are a lot of companies out there that can use help in cutting down their costs,” he says. “With a smaller company I might be able to save them a few thousand dollars a year, but with a larger client that might in the hundreds of thousands.”
As the largest independent cost reduction consulting company in North America, Schooley Mitchell has extensive research and analysis capabilities. The company has produced more than $450 million in savings for clients across North America.
Schooley Mitchell’s initial focus was in the telecom area, but has since expanded to include merchant services, shipping and courier, waste, electronic logging devices, eSignature, utilities, and fuel.
“We will look at a client’s monthly statements from their current provider,” Nafthal explains.
He will then begin negotiations, first with the incumbent provider.
“We will also go into the marketplace and speak with competing providers to find the best rates for the same or improved service,” Nafthal says. “In most cases, we can find savings by keeping the client with their current provider.”
After a four-to-six week analysis, Nafthal will present his client with a range of options. In about 20 percent of cases, he says, the client is already optimized, with no further savings to be had.
“Even if the client is already optimized they still receive a detailed report at no charge,” he explains. “But 80 percent of the time there are savings to be had.”
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