Possibly the greatest source of stress for any business owner and particularly in recessions or times of crises, but when times are difficult the question is not necessarily how I can make more money but more often than not it is how can I save money. A critical look at the finances of any business will quickly indicate what the largest overheads are. The first question to be asked therefore is which of these overheads you could do without.

It may not always be apparent at first glance what overheads you can do without. It is also very important to know that every single overhead is capable of being removed, it’s just a question of how. For example, if you are a small company and your rent is your single greatest overhead then it is possible to escape from your lease no matter how ironclad using an SME version of Examinership. While this process is often perceived to be very expensive it can in fact be very cost effective.

In addition to the above it is important to understand that not all money is created equally, and some is more expensive than others. Thus, you should review to see what is your most expensive money. An example of this might be credit card usage or debt at 15% APR or a personal loan. You should see if it is possible to consolidate these more expensive loans into the likes of a mortgage which traditionally would be at a much lower interest rate.

All in all, finance is about boxing clever rather than hard. Understanding what you can or cannot do and making sacrifices while maintaining your strategy and ability to trade.