When times get tough, costs are rising why not cut your small business costs by moving your office home.  Becoming a home based business lets you reduce or eliminate the cost of:

• Office or Store rental

Instead of paying rent, you can get a tax deduction for your office space.

• Commuting

Auto expenses drop dramatically when you can walk to your office.

• Business related travel

Some travel to and from your home becomes deductible.

• Food

Coffee breaks and lunches are far less expensive at home.

• Insurance

Riders or endorsements on your homeowners insurance policies may cost less

• Personnel

It is relatively easy to become a virtual company with your personnel working from their homes.

• Taxes

Possible deductions include a portion of homeowners’ dues and real estate taxes, furniture, converted to business use and a portion of the cost of entertaining business associates at home.

By moving to a home based office usually allows companies to lower their costs and continue to maintain or even increase margins.

In addition, working from home is eco friendly which is a definite plus for most companies and an added value in the eyes of most customers.

One final thought, get legal advice before making the leap to a home based business to make sure you can operate a business out of your home legally.  There are a lot of issues to look at such as zoning restrictions and more before taking the leap.

When times get tough grabbing new business becomes the number one focus for all small businesses.  It costs small businesses twice as much to gain a new customer as it does to hold on to an existing customer.  Here are six actions that any small business can take to retain customers.

• Provide a progress report.

Show your client the work you have done and the progress you have made with real results achieved.  By providing something the client can reward and react to, questions are answered and suspicions are eased.  More importantly, a customer may realize that they need additional work.

• Meet face to face.

Meeting people in person says you are interested in your client’s business and gives you an opportunity to literally see things that you can help address.

• Avoid Jargon.

Use terms the customers can readily understand.  They will feel more comfortable and sense you’re working with together as a team.

• Ask for feedback.

Throughout the work process, show the customer by word and deed that comments are taken seriously.

• Tune your offerings.

As proud as you may be of your product, remember it’s being made for the customer. Make certain you know exactly what your customer wants.

• Be open to changes.

For any number of reasons, customers’ needs change. Customers know they are valued if you show a willingness to work with them.