Times are tough. One cannot turn to a single media outlet and not see it in the news, on the ticker, or on the radio. To an outsider, they might think that we are obsessed with how bad things are. Today for example, every media outlet has notified all Americans that there are at least 600,000 Americans without jobs today. That is a lot of people. But what are we doing about it? President Obama is rolling out a $800 Billion stimulus package. (Don’t worry, our kids will thank us for their massive debt..)

As a business owner or even as a manager, we must take a pro-active stance on this economic downturn. People are worried about losing their jobs daily. Are you taking all necessary precautions to avoid “downsizing”? Here are some tips on how to get more bang for your buck.

1. Trim the Fat
Take a close look at your spending and expenses? It helps to classify each one (if you aren’t already, you need to start now) by category. Then take each category and break it down. For example, “Office Supplies”. We are all familiar with this broad category. Looking at your ” Office Supply” purchases for the last three months, you need to ask yourself these questions:
Who is requesting office supplies?
Is it warranted?
Are these supplies necessary to operate our facility?
If these supplies are necessary, can we save by buying in bulk one time every three months, instead of monthly purchases?
Once you have a better perspective, you must act quickly and effectively on your analysis. Whether it is not buying name brand products, or cutting out the “condiments” for coffee, or just buying in bulk, you must act on it.

2. Re-evaluate Your Vendors
Where do you spend the bulk of your money? If you sell products, raw goods, or finished goods, then you are paying someone something. A fabrication company is paying for tooling, the retailer and the restaurant owner are paying suppliers. Are you getting the best possible price for the products or services your are buying? When is the last time you checked? If you let your salesperson know that you are checking out their competitors, it will light a fire under them, and if it doesn’t, that is your first red flag.

3. Outsource When Possible
Ask any business owner what their biggest hit on the bottom line is. 90% of the time you will hear employee pay. Whether you are growing or reducing, outsourcing is a great way to take the sting off of the bottom line. The company that hires a mid-level IT professional will spend around $60,000 a year on the salary. Let’s add insurance and 401K matching. Now you are looking at spending $75,000 for the same employee. Now lets say that your IT pro is efficient and keeps your ship running smoothly so that he doesn’t have to bust his hump everyday working on tech stuff. So let’s look at the big picture- $75,000 a year for an employee who may or may not have to work everyday to keep things running. If you outsourced your IT department, you would be spending a fraction of this. Even to say 25% of $75,000 would be a substantial amount of work for an IT firm, even if you were paying them by the hour.

4. Look at Energy Resources
Green is big, and getting bigger. When we were kids, there was only one place to get electricity from and that was the local co-op. Now you have literally dozens of companies to choose from. Doing the legwork to research all of these companies to find out what their rates and benefits are can be the worse part about this process. The best part is you are probably going to find out that you are spending too much and have an opportunity to save. (That is what we are trying to do, save money, right?) Be careful when searching online though, there are a lot of “energy brokers” out there who have already done the homework and want to charge you to tell you what they think is the best option for you. Often times these “energy brokers” are employed by certain energy companies or they are paid affiliates. Go to each company site, write down the 800 number, and call yourself. Only you know what your needs are and who can fill them.

5. Network
One way to save money is to trim the marketing budget. Do you ever feel like you are rolling the dice with the new marketing campaign? What if you get absolutely no business from the commercial you spent thousands and thousands of dollars on? How is the ROI looking then? One way to gain exposure and web presence is to do a little free self marketing. Make sure you are listed in every yellow page, white page, super page, and directory out there. There are a lot of them and a majority of them are free. Then start a blog, touting your professional knowledge, and sharing with the world that you know your stuff. Do some research on the best adwords for your business, and incorporate them in your content. Get connected to other professionals in groups like Linkedin. There are a lot of companies out there that do this type of work, so you could technically outsource it if your time is more valuable spent elsewhere, but it is not that hard to get started. It is just the keeping on going that gets a little rough. But you can do it.

We are going to make it through this rough patch. My grandfather was a rancher, and there would be times when there would be months without rain, but I never saw him worry. He would always tell me that it has to rain sometime, it’s just sometimes later that what we want. We will feel the relief from this financial stretch sometime, but just like the rain, it will come in due time. But in the meantime, do the little things that you can to make your dollar stretch farther.

PSS Enterprises

http://pssenterprises.com

http://blog.pssenterprises.com

1-800-285-2448

Microsoft Response Point VoIP PBX phone system software offers small businesses scalable phone systems for up to 50 users. VoIP-enabled phone systems have built-in voicemail, auto attendant, speech recognition, call forward & transfer.

PSS Enterprises

Phillip Smith Sr

PSS Enterprises

www.pssenterprises.com

1-800-285-2448

121 W HICKORY

DENTON, TX 76201

PO BOX

Lake Dallas, TX 75065

Easy to use

Response Point lets you access phones, contacts, and features using only your voice—all with the push of a blue button. Thanks to Microsoft’s award-winning speech recognition technology, you simply tell your phone what to do.

Easy to manage

Management of standard phone systems requires extensive training and networking expertise. Response Point empowers you to complete phone moves, additions, or changes with just a few quick mouse clicks. Microsoft’s familiar and intuitive visual interface guides you through the simple installation process, step by step. And integration with Microsoft Office Outlook means you can use the Response Point Assistant to voice dial your Outlook contacts, enhancing the way you already communicate.

Easy to grow

Response Point empowers you to expand your phone system as your business grows. Average PC users can add new phones in minutes. And by leveraging the benefits of Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Response Point makes it incredibly easy and cost effective to add new phone lines—without the wiring hassles of a traditional phone system.

Response Point puts powerful technology—previously too expensive and complicated to install and manage—right into your hands. Delivered on industry-leading hardware from D-Link, Quanta, and Aastra, Response Point is a complete, affordable phone system that grows with your small business.

Phillip Smith Sr

PSS Enterprises

www.pssenterprises.com

1-800-285-2448

121 W HICKORY

DENTON, TX 76201

PO BOX

Lake Dallas, TX 75065

Top Ten Reasons To Use Windows Small Business Server 2008

Windows® Small Business Server 2008 (SBS 2008) is an integrated server solution that helps you protect your business data, increase productivity, and present a more professional image to customers. Windows Small Business Server 2008 delivers enterprise-class technologies for data backup and restore,

e-mail, remote access, file and printer sharing, internal Web sites, and support for mobile devices—in one fully integrated solution.

1. Get a comprehensive, all-in-one solution.

Windows Small Business Server 2008 takes the guesswork out of selecting software for your network. It brings together the Microsoft® product technologies that businesses need most into a single solution. These technologies are integrated into one product, making it easy for PSS Enterprises to install and manage.

2. Stay connected to your customers, vendors, and suppliers.

With access to contacts, appointments, and files from any Internet-connected PC or mobile device, you can be responsive to customers, vendors, and suppliers even when you’re not in the office.

• Access the facts you need, in real time.

• Respond to customer inquiries more quickly and accurately.

• Stay connected while on the road with remote access capabilities from a Windows Mobile® phone.

3. Protect your business and prevent data loss.

Windows Small Business Server 2008 helps protect your vital business information from loss by backing up the data on your network, and enabling you to recover accidentally deleted files. SBS 2008 also enables you to recover data on your network in the event of disaster. With easy-to-use interfaces, you or your IT consultant gain better control of your data, PCs, and network.

4. Access business information and resources

from virtually anywhere at any time. Be productive whether you’re out of the office, at home, or on the road. Windows Small Business Server 2008 gives you secure access to business contacts, calendars, e-mail, files, your desktop, and even shared resources from any Internet connected PC, from virtually anywhere at any time.

5. Increase your business capacity.

Streamline business processes and improve day-to-day efficiency with Windows Small Business Server 2008. It helps automate daily processes by providing a central repository for storing and sharing information more easily—and helps simplify communications with familiar Microsoft technologies.

6. Stay safe with anti-spam and antivirus protection.

Windows Small Business Server 2008 offers anti-spam and antivirus technologies to help protect your business information and your intellectual property from malicious attacks, viruses, and spam.

7. Keep your network healthy and up-to-date.

Windows Small Business Server 2008 provides you with the latest updates to minimize downtime and help ensure network health by keeping your PCs and servers current. Easy-to-read “green check” reports give you a quick view of Microsoft software updates, PC and server status, antivirus status, and backup progress.

8. Take advantage of powerful technologies designed and priced for small business.

Windows Small Business Server 2008 includes multiple technologies optimized specifically for small businesses at an affordable price. It enables you to share resources and equipment, such as Internet access, printers, and fax machines, so you get the most value from your technology investment.

9. Get the flexibility and scalability you need.

As your business needs change, Windows Small Business Server 2008 enables you to grow. You can easily add users, servers, and applications. It supports your critical line of business applications and is designed to integrate with your existing Microsoft technology.

10. Create a bigger presence in the market.

Differentiate your business and present a more professional image to prospects and customers. Windows Small Business Server 2008 offers e-mail marketing capabilities, business Web sites, and tools for creating your own Web site.

Provided by Microsoft

PSS Enterprises

www.pssenterprises.com

1-800-285-2448