5 Ways Your Technology Consulting Firm Can Save Money

If you’re starting a technology consulting firm, you know the costs can quickly pile up. An article on Inc.com offers money-saving tips from the Young Entrepreneur Council. Here are five of the tips offered by successful entrepreneurs that can be useful for an IT service company:

Get good tax advice—the earlier the better – Don’t wait until the last minute, when it might be too late to take advantage of write-offs, retirement contributions, or other opportunities.
Negotiate everything – Good advice, especially in this economy. The article notes that prices for business-to-business (B2B) services and products are usually negotiable. Make negotiation a policy to keep your technology consulting firm profitable.
Experiment with outsourcing – Consider outsourcing for areas that are not your strength. You can easily find content writers to help with your website or marketing materials. Even accountants are available from Internet placement companies. The article suggests Supreme Outsourcing, Guru, and oDesk.
Try interns – Again, especially in this economy, you can easily find skilled college students and graduate students who will trade work for live experience on their resumes.
Refuse some business – This may be the hardest of all, but could also end up being the most profitable step you take. You want clients who need and pay for your true value, and who will be returning customers and/or offer valuable referrals. The quick and easy clients are tempting, but unless your electricity is about to be cut off—trade the time you would spend on a go-nowhere one-off job to network yourself with high-quality, long-term clients.