You’ve probably heard that you need to spend money to make money. While the jury is still out on how true this actually is, the reality is we do have business expenses.
My business can’t run without a virtual assistant, an accountant, and an email marketing system. Not to mention all the little things that pop up along the way, like when I break something on my website and need to call my web designer to fix it. Or, what about business expenses like travel, gas and hotel stays?
As you can see, we do need to spend some money. The question then becomes how we can make the most out of it. If we’re going to be spending it we might as well make it work for us, right?
Use a credit card with a sweet rewards program.
I pay for all of my business expenses with a credit card. Not only because it makes it easier for my accountant to have everything on the same card, but because I want credit card points. More specifically, I want to be able to redeem the free flights and hotel stays.
I’ve been traveling by means of credit card points for almost four years now, and I recently booked free flight number 15. The only reason I’m able to do this is because I make sure I’m getting points when I’m paying for business expenses.
For example, Chase recently came out with their latest credit card, the Sapphire Reserve. As a promotion, they were offering 100,000 points when you spent $4,000 in the first three months of opening the account. That’s about $1500 of free travel and it was easily attainable thanks to my business expenses.
The free travel lets me go to conferences to further the opportunity to grow my business or simply take a random trip when I feel like it. The point is, there’s no shortage of points thanks to my business expenses.
Check for ROI.
Another thing I do to make sure I’m getting the most out of my business expenses is to periodically check for ROI.
Just like we check our personal finances to make sure we’re not overspending, we need to do the same with our business expenses.
More specifically, we need to see if we’re getting a return on our investment. In other words, is this business expense paying for itself in some way? If the answer is no, there’s one of three things going on:
- You haven’t given it enough time. (Some investments take time.)
- You need to adjust how you’re using it. (It took me almost a year to fully start using parts of my email marketing system.)
- You need to drop it.
By keeping your eye on the ROI, you make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing money and potentially running into some cash flow problems.
Check for deals before you purchase.
What better way is there to get the most out of your business expenses than not paying full-price? With a little extra effort, you can make sure you’re saving some money. Here are some of the ways I’ve done that in my business:
- I’ve gone through affiliates and referrals that were offering discounts.
- I’ve negotiated with the service provider.
- I simply asked if there were any promotions.
- I keep an eye out for special deals I know happen once or twice a year.
Instead of paying full price the next time you’re in the market for a business investment, see if there’s a way you can save some money.
By maximizing credit card rewards, checking for ROI and avoiding paying full price, you’ll always ensure that you’re getting the most out of your business expenses.
