GoFaxer Blog

So your fax machine has broken. You’ve got a small business, not a lot of cash flow. With a recession looming, a new fax machine is hardly something you want to spend money on.

But wait my friend. Don’t hang your head in gloom. It’s a brave new world, where fax machines have died and new and better technology has replaced the old. It’s a time when all has gone digital.

Most of your documents can be sent now through email as an attachment. But in those instances where it needs to be faxed, or you need to receive a fax, you need a fax to email account. No more need for paper. No more need for bulky fax machines with toner and a table. No more need for long lines and waiting for an open phone line.

Fax to email is so convenient. It works just like email. You attach the document, and send it through the internet, but it shows up on the other person’s fax machine. And when they send you back a response through their fax machine, it shows up back in your email inbox. Multiple faxes can be sent and received at one time!

It’s so inexpensive compared with the costs of a fax machine. So no longer fret. It’s a bright new day.

When the blue chips struggle, it’s definitely reason for pause for small businesses. Such was the case for General Electric, which reported 6% decline in first-quarter profits. They’re earnings were $4.3 billion, down from $4.57 a share.

So what does this mean for small businesses? Well, first off, it means that a recession is pretty much in the cards. I hate to say it, but it’s seeming pretty darned likely these days when every day there’s new bad news. This just adds to the pessimism.

I’ve discussed the many issues associated with preparing for a recession on here. But it’s probably worth repeating a few warnings.

The first and easiest advice I have to you and your small business is to cut costs wherever you can. These need to be intelligent cost cutting techniques that want cost you sales. Remember that the goal of all of this is increasing your profitability to shore up extra cash during the downturn. So don’t go hurting yourself in an effort to help yourself.

I’m talking about making intelligent cuts, like ditching the fax machine for an Internet based email fax service like GoFaxer. I’m talking about spending a little less on the office renovations. I’m talking about saving energy costs by switching to more efficient light bulbs. All of these savings will go to your bottom line and help you through this time.

So you know that your company needs to go green. Everyone’s doing it. It’s important. Everyone agrees. So you better get to it.

But in the long list of thing to do for entrepreneurs, especially those who want to actually grow their business during an entire market recession, being environmentally friendly might not be at the top of your list.

So what can you do? Start simple. Pick a few easy things to do in the coming months and go from there. One of the easiest and simple things you can do is really push a paperless office in the coming quarter. Make it a company initiative to use less paper.

You can do this by getting rid of the fax machine and using an email fax service. You can do this by encouraging people to print up less documents, to send more documents electronically, etc. It’s easy.

Once you’ve got that out of the way, you can look into switching some light bulbs to more cost efficient ones. You can even look into some really big things like solar power and new heating systems.

The list of green things to do for your business is endless, but don’t get overwhelmed by the list. Start at the top, move down from there, and watch your company expenses go down. You’ll feel good about doing something positive for the world. It’s worth your time.

Gasoline prices are going up, incase you didn’t notice. The Business Journal reports: “Regular grade gasoline retail prices are projected to peak at just over $3.60 per gallon in June, according to the Federal Energy Information Administration.”

This is expensive for your business and expensive for your employees. It’s going to affect your employees’ costs to commute to work. And the general operating costs of your business are going to go up.

Gas prices affect everything in the market place. Every physical good must be shipped at some point or another. Shipping prices have gone up dramatically.

I heard a report that gas prices have gone up so much that many private truckers are driving to keep from losing money rather than make money. We can’t afford for our whole trucking industry to die, so we’ll have to support them with higher prices for shipping.

So what can you do? For one thing, you might want to encourage your employees to work from home. By cutting down on gas expenditure, your staff will be able to survive the recession. Services like Internet faxing and email will allow them to work from home, are relatively inexpensive, and will only be going down in price.

In terms of your business, you’re going to want to cut costs even more dramatically in the coming quarter to prepare for the increase in overall prices that will be coming.

The news about the economy has been nothing but bad over the last few months. I wish I could say that changing to an email fax service will save you enough money to make it through, but frankly, it won’t be enough.

So I’d like to review a series of posts I wrote a couple of months ago, when the recession was still a question rather than a near certainty.

I said in Part 1 that recessions can actually be a strengthening period for your business that will yield stronger growth when the economy rebounds.

In Part 2 I outlined opportunities that don’t typically exist outside of a recession.

I discussed in Part 3 some serious ways of cutting costs.

In Part 4 I talked about ways that you want to actually spend money during the slow-down.

And in Part 5 I talked about new and interesting lending opportunities that were available for good businesses while the Fed cuts interest rates to try to stimulate the economy again.

The best businesses find the opportunity, wherever it is. And even during a recession, there will be opportunity. You just have to know where to find it. So please review this series of posts, and start finding new and interesting opportunities to keep your business strong during the weakened economic state.

Every company does what it can during a recession to keep their expenses as low as possible . You might change your light bulbs to save some money on electricity. You might switch from fax to Internet fax—another great option. But then you might also put into motion a hiring freeze or an end to all benefits.

This may be what’s required to keep your business out of the red, but be very cautious my friends. Remember that business, at it’s most basic, is a game of recruiting. You want to lure the best and brightest minds to your team and you want to keep them there.

This truth remains true even during a recession. And even though jobs may be more scarce out there, there’s always going to be a place for your top players somewhere else. And if you start cutting back dramatically on their pay and benefits during the slowdown, the ones who can leave, will be the most likely to do so.

Again, you want to cut back on the fat, but retain all of your muscle. Don’t make choices during the slowdown that hurt your core infrastructure that you’ve spent a lot of money to build. If you can slim down while staying strong you’ll survive and even thrive during the coming months.

You know, I’ve realized that when I get sick it’s really easy to let things go. I don’t clean my house like I should. I don’t eat healthy. I’m less responsible with my finances.

But this is the time when healthy living is the most important. Why do we fail to live healthily when we’re sick?  Because we’re tired. We’re depressed. We’re unmotivated.

As our economy goes into what most experts are suggesting is or will be a recession, it’s easy to stop doing business like we should. It’s easy to let the little things slide. But there’s never been a more important time for diligence with your business.

Now is the time to make smart decisions concerning your business. Don’t put off switching to email fax, if you haven’t already. Don’t neglect running new and more innovative marketing campaigns. Don’t neglect hiring new and invigorating individuals.

I know that it’s a scary and somewhat depressing time. But this is where you choose what you’re business is made of. Now is the time to be healthy when the business world is sick. Making those tough choices during the tough times will make your company come out of this recession stronger than ever and ready for long term prosperity.

With a recession or economic slowdown here, it may be time to invest in new systems like email fax that will increase your profitability. It may even be necessary to invest seriously in major and expensive innovations to your infrastructure.

What? Did I read that right? Is he really suggesting that I spend a lot more money during a recession? I am. I’m not saying that you should spend more money on executive perks. I’m saying, it’s time to innovate. It’s time to spend money on big things that will improve your companies success and profitability dramatically.

The reason it’s a time to invest is it’s a perfect time to borrow. During recessions interest rates go down. The bank lender’s criteria may be stricter, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If the investment is solid, if your business’s basic health is good, you’ll be able to land some amazing financing during this period.

John Tozzi at BusinessWeek.com says:

“Banks are still looking to lend to companies that have the ability to repay, according to Rebecca Macieira-Kaufmann, executive vice-president and head of Wells Fargo’s (WFC) small business segment. ‘In any economic environment, we’re going to want to look at a profitable business, an established business that has a history,’ she says.”

There is certainly a risk, trying to grow during a slowdown, but be smart about it and be bold. You could make it through with a smart return on your investment.

Now is the time to spend money on your business in ways that will either increase your sales or decrease your over-all expenses. Unfortunately too many businesses stop spending money during a slowdown. For example, if switching to email fax saves you money and makes you more efficient, it doesn’t matter whether we’re in an economic boom or a recession, you’re going to make more profit from the practice.

One area that you cannot slack on spending is marketing. This might go counterintuitive to your instincts. But you may have to spend more money if you want to make more money. I’m sounding like a traditional marketing manager who wants to spend indiscriminately to increase the size and scope of their programs. But I’m not advocating spending willy-nilly. I’m suggesting better, smarter marketing programs, and more of them. Because a good marketing strategy will make you more money. So why not do more of it?

Let’s say that your business puts 4% to the bottom line. If you spend that 4% on new marketing strategies, where much of the expenses are already fixed elements of being open for business, most of the increase in sales will go directly to your bottom line increasing it to 10%. You may be spending more than you were before, but you’ll be making more profit.

So start spending darn-it!

It’s time to cut unnecessary expenses. It’s easy to get sloppy about this when your small business is growing dramatically, you’re making a profit, and the future seems brighter than summer. But with an economic slowdown eminent, it’s time to get Edward Scissorhands on those expenses. An article at BusinessWeek.com by Jeremy Quittner outlines one business’s cost cutting:

“In 2007, Polla Tray sent $30 bottles of champagne to customers as holiday gifts, rather than the $45 box of chocolates she gave the year before. She asked her sales staff to stay with friends and relatives when they traveled and to book flights during off-peak times. Those changes helped Alchimie slash its $20,000 annual travel budget by 15%.”

The key is to cut costs for things that aren’t vital to increasing your sales. You may need to have less company lunches. Maybe hold off on that conference room renovation. Do spend money on email fax, new marketing campaigns, and better systems that benefit your customers.

I like the example of Polla Tray choosing a different customer gift. Maybe the $30 bottle of champagne will actually have a greater perceived value than the $45 dollar box of chocolates. By getting serious about cutting costs, you may actually find better ways to do business.

So feel free to get out the scissors. And make this a strong time for your business.