The Efficiency Exchange: Cutting Costs For Non-Profits By Reducing Waste, Overcharges & Inflated Rates, The Easy Way
If I’ve learned one thing in my time on this planet, it’s this:
It’s not possible to be an expert in everything — and getting expert help is always… well, helpful.
The trick is to know when it’s going to save you money, frustration, or heartache, but also what it’s going to cost you, and whether it’s worth it.
Here’s something that can help — some experts won’t even charge you unless they save you money… though of course, that only works in certain industries.
If what you’re looking to do is save money for your non-profit though — you may be in luck, because that takes a special kind of expertise.
Cuts, Clutter & Clues
This piece of advice is the key, right here — don’t gut your non-profit to save money, unless you’ve tried everything else first, including these specialists we’re going to talk about.
In my experience, the solution isn’t cutting services, wages, incentives, or programs — it’s eliminating totally needless costs, that won’t hurt your program at all.
I know you’re probably thinking — “I’ve done that already!”… but you’re wrong.
You’ve eliminated some unnecessary expenses, I’m sure. As we discussed earlier though, it’s impossible to be an expert in everything, so unless you’re an expert in cost cutting…
It may be worth talking to someone who is.
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They can follow the clues to find extra expenses hiding in your cluttered bills and reduce your costs without cutting your effectiveness.
Extra Expenses, Evaporate!
Imagine this — you’ve been paying electricity bills for years, but you’ve been slightly overcharged the whole time.
That’s not just an expense you won’t have to pay next month, the right experts can help you to get that money back, so you’re practically making money.
It’s more common than you think and can happen with any bill or utility — unless you scrutinize them all extremely carefully, you probably have at least one overcharge waiting to be found, right now.
That’s not all though, you can do more than just reduce your utilities, you can also save money on services, without eliminating them.
Service Savings, Simplified
In business, they say, it’s who you know, not what you know — but I say, that needs to end.
Right now, it’s likely that you’re paying more for less, simply because a provider was a known quantity or an easy solution, but that’s just wasteful.
A specialist can help you to track down each service you’re paying for, and make sure you’re not getting taken for a ride.
Have you been paying too much for years? They’ll try to help you recoup everything you’ve lost.
Even in the worst-case scenario, where you can’t get your money back, they can help you find a new, better service provider at a lower rate, or negotiate for a better rate with the same provider.
The point is, whether you’re running a new non-profit, or you’ve been in these trenches for years — there are still new ways to cut your costs, without cutting your usefulness.
It’s the best of both worlds — and it can even help you to do more, with less.
