If you’ve been keeping up with our content on how to effectively tackle the minimum wage problem as a business owner, then you’ve already learned quite a bit. In previous articles, the options of hiring employees who live in other states, outsourcing offshore employees, and increasing costs in specific ways have been discussed; implementing one or more of these options will not only keep your head above water during these difficult economic times, but will help your company thrive, expand, and profit. 

The last option we want to hit on and a super simple way to dodge the effects of a spike in the minimum wage is to reduce costs. 

This might sound easier said than done or maybe even seem a bit cliche. However, there are various commonplace and outside-of-the-box ways you can save money as a medical billing company owner. The best part is––the ideas that you will read about below aren’t that difficult to implement, and you can start on several of them at once to reap even more benefits. 

As the owner of a medical billing company, you want a better return on investment, so start reducing unnecessary or redundant business costs immediately.

Find creative ways to reduce costs that fit your business model

Business models are made to create a high return on investment—this is everyone’s end goal. Many employers who will be affected by the increase in the minimum wage are concerned about their bottom line and if this change will lower their ROI. 

The experts at Forbes discuss how finding creative ways to reduce costs will help with surviving the increase in the minimum wage. 

“Most successful businesses are already proactive in hunting down extraneous, inefficient costs and weeding them out. Instead of cutting payroll to make your margins, consider making an investment upfront that will, over time, drive down costs to a point at or below what you would lose in payroll increases.” 

Business owners can look in each corner of their company to identify areas that can be reduced, such as in the areas of marketing, recruitment, customer service, supplies, technology, etc. They should look at both production costs and overhead costs. 

Suggestions for reducing costs in 2022 include:

  • Rely on modern marketing, such as boosting your social media presence 
  • Use the correct technology for what you need
  • Go digital and use less paper
  • Double-check insurance policy rates
  • Use time-management programs to increase productivity
  • Re-think your location
  • Cut down on production costs
  • Consider your company’s traveling needs 

There are things you can do immediately to begin reducing the amount of money you pay on a monthly or yearly basis. By cutting costs, you will be able to do more with your business funds and will be more financially secure when wages rise even higher.

Take a deeper dive into these five 

  1. Change the way you market your business

One of the easiest ways companies lose money is through choosing ineffective, costly, and outdated marketing strategies. We are in the age of networking and social media. Become an expert in those two things and ditch the antiquated ways of getting your company out there and well-known––it’ll be worth it in the end.

Take in the latest statistics about social media marketing:

  • There are currently over 3.6 billion people who use social media around the world. 
  • The average person spends about 144 minutes on social media per day.
  • 90% of US marketers name Instagram as the most important social media platform for influencer marketing
  • 96% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for organic content distribution and 83% for paid social, making it the top most-used platform in both content distribution types.


If you own a medical billing business and are tired of pitching emails, newsletters, and posting expensive print or television advertisements, getting on social media––whether that be Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, or Instagram––and marketing your services that way, you will not only be more efficient, you will save money in the long run. 

Steve Olenski, a marketing expert, writes about how companies can save money by making the switch to social media marketing in an article in Forbes. 
According to a 2015 Forrester Research study, of marketers who plan to transition spending from traditional mass advertising to digital marketing, digital advertising spending will receive 10%—the second-largest share—of the B-to-B marketing budget this year. Marrying

advertising in the online space with free or inexpensive tried-and-true marketing programs helps businesses stay lean in spending while growing revenue.

He says that by growing your company’s social network, paying close attention to search engine optimization, incentivizing those who refer to you, and sharing valuable content, you are on your way to attracting more loyal customers and increasing profits. 

Modern marketing isn’t all about social media. 

Don’t forget to network, network, network! Step outside your comfort zone and connect with like-minded people. This is an easy, and free, way to get your company’s name out there, to bounce ideas off other professionals, and hopefully get new clients or customers. 

Ultimately, you need to choose between updating your marketing techniques so that you can save money in the long run.

  1. Use the most effective technology 

Updating your technology is similar to updating your marketing strategy in that it needs to be out with the old and in with the new. Many companies tend to keep technology around that is more on the tired side and have the mentality that if it’s not broken, then why fix it. 

However, your inability to let go of an old copier or landline is taking money straight out of your pocket for no good reason. 

A few tech items to assess immediately––if your business uses these––are the landline, broadband internet, scanner, copier, and type of smartphone you own. Most of these can get antiquated and used up quickly, with newer and better models out each year. This isn’t to say that you must run out and buy the latest 2022 high-tech copier, but you need to evaluate your technology to ensure that it is:

  • Efficient
  • Effective 
  • Time-saving 
  • Economical 

Here are two great examples of equipment that can be donated or recycled: the scanner and the fax machine.

Nowadays, digital documentation is much more user-friendly and less complicated than physically scanning or faxing a document. There is free or cheap computer software that can do this for you––there are even smartphone apps for this. It’s faster, you don’t have to save it as a PDF, create a file name, go store it in a folder, go find it later, attach it to an email, etc.  

Another example of a task that can be done digitally and cheaply are the use of onboarding and training programs. As a medical billing business owner, you need to be able to connect to and collaborate with your team whenever you need to––and some of your employees may be working from home or offshore. Using technology to engage, connect, train, and monitor your employees is the best and most efficient way. And it’ll save you money in the long run. 

Lastly, sometimes technology can be used to replace certain tasks that an employee does, freeing them up to be used elsewhere. This isn’t intended to completely replace their position within the company, but to allow employees to be used where they are most needed. Using automation technology is essential for owners and managers who want to save money.

  1. Reconsider the current location 

Comparing before and after COVID (when everything was shut down) did you change how you run your business? Do you now require all of your employees to physically come into the building, or are you allowing some or all to continue working remotely?

This pandemic has truly changed the way people work. Many bosses are coming to realize that not everyone needs to be in the office to get the job done. 

If you’re in this position and only a certain number of employees are required to physically work in the building––and if you’re okay with allowing others to remain remote––it may be time to downsize a bit and save big on rent. 

Did you know that a work area can remain unused 60-80% of the time, which has real implications for your office space and your budget?
Here are some ideas from Unispace, that could not only make your savings but could even generate you revenue.

  • Temporarily close off one or more floors or zones
  • Return some office space to your landlord
  • Sub-let some office space
  • On a shared-cost basis, invite in a partner, an academic collaboration, or even a client
  • Open up some paid space for coworking, incubation, or spin-out (all under your own control)
  • Outsource certain functions so you no longer need the office space (because you’ll no longer need the employees).

It is beneficial to at least think this option over. If you’re not using it, then you might as well lose it.

  1. Lessen your company’s carbon footprint 

With the recent wrap-up of the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, this is a huge option to consider and it not only has economic benefits for you and your company but there are humanitarian benefits as well––not to mention that there may even be some tax breaks in going greener. 

You don’t have to go 100 percent green, but choosing one or more of these ideas can go a long way. 

  • Choose digital options over paper
  • Travel less often (there is now Zoom!)
  • Encourage remote work
  • Reduce, reuse, recycle
  • Use solar energy
  • Upgrade cooling/heating 
  • Change out lightbulbs to LED
  • Be more sustainable 
  • Ship smarter 
  • Use less water and electricity
  • Invest in renewable energy
  • Switch to green appliances
  • Unplug when not in use

Ultimately, it will take an enormous village to make a change in the earth’s carbon footprint. Make a choice and band with your employees to lessen yours to not only save you quite a bit of money but to help the world achieve a major goal.

  1. Don’t hesitate to utilize freelancers 

The last cost-saving option we will discuss is the use of interns and freelancers for specific projects or tasks. Currently, there are several million freelance workers in America and many more around the world looking for their next client. Freelancers are individuals who are their own boss, may or may not own a business, and find clients who need jobs done for them and get paid for it. 

For instance, you may need someone to redesign your company’s website. Of course, this can be done by hiring someone who works for a design company that you Googled. Or you could find someone who is just as good to work on your site at a much lower cost. One great benefit of hiring a freelancer is that both you and s/he can compromise on the cost. Others are that you don’t have to pay freelance workers benefits, nor do you have to pay them when they’re not physically working on your predetermined project. 

Instead of training someone to write content for your website, hire a freelancer. If you need someone to help you out with coming up with new marketing strategies or looking into SEO––hire a freelancer. 

You can easily find freelancers willing and ready to work online and on apps created for them. 

Hiring a freelancer is one creative way that you can think outside of the box to tackle the minimum wage problem. 

Conclusion

As a business owner, there are steps you need to take now to manage the rise, and continuing rise, of the minimum wage. 

Look into your options and be proactive so that you have a plan in place when the raise begins to affect your company. 

By finding unique and innovative ways to cut costs within your business, you and your employees will be able to see more growth and profit overall, which is the goal.

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