So you’re trying to save money in your business… without gutting your team or eating instant noodles for every meal?

Good news: there are smarter ways to do it that don’t involve sacrificing quality or your sanity.

I recently came across a bunch of real small business owners sharing how they saved about $9,000 this year. Spoiler: not one of them said “cut marketing” or “fire Bob from accounting.”

Let’s dig into the gold (and throw in a few of my own favorite money-saving tricks).

The “Call Your People” Method

This one came up a lot. And it works.

  • Call your suppliers. Ask for discounts.
  • Call your payment processor. Ask for better rates.
  • Call your internet/phone providers. Drop features you don’t use.

You’d be shocked how many companies say yes just because you asked nicely (or threatened to leave).

Cut the Subscriptions You Forgot About

Look through your bank statement. See all those $19.99 charges? Yeah. You probably don’t need half of them.

One business owner saved thousands by dropping:

  • Extra software licenses no one used
  • Telecom features they never touched
  • Month-to-month subscriptions they forgot to cancel

Pro tip: SIM-only plans are cheaper and just as effective.

Pay Smarter, Not Harder

  • Prompt-pay discounts: Ask your vendors if they give a discount for paying early.
  • Bulk deals: One person paid upfront for inventory and got a fatter margin than they ever expected.

These are the old-school money-saving moves most folks forget about.

Do It Yourself (But Do It Smart)

Here’s where I chime in as a web dev:

If you’re paying $50–$200/month for a landing page builder or paying someone to update your site every time you sneeze, you’re probably burning money.

You can totally build a clean, professional website yourself using:

  • Your own site (no need for 3rd-party landing page services)
  • Free tools like the Gutenberg editor in WordPress

That means no more Elementor bloat, no more $99/year licenses, and no waiting a week for a minor edit.

(And yes, I’ll help you do it if you get stuck.)

Creative Case: The $300 Copier That Beat the $2,640 Lease

This gem came from a lawyer who bought the same copier their service was leasing for $220/month… for $300 on Facebook Marketplace.

Then they bought their own toner for a fraction of the price. Savings? Around $2,000 a year.

Not glamorous, but very effective.

The Big Takeaway

You don’t have to “scale back” to save big. You just have to think like a scrappy entrepreneur (which you are).

  • Call and negotiate.
  • Cancel what you don’t use.
  • Build smarter, not pricier.

And if your website is one of those bloated budget-suckers?

Let’s Fix That (Free Call, No Pitch)

I help small businesses build websites that convert clients without draining their bank accounts.

Need help setting up a clean, no-fuss landing page that books calls? I’ll show you how to do it with free tools. No sales pitch. No pressure.

👉 Book a Free 15-Minute Chat With Me

Let’s save you some money and make your site actually work.

Still using a ‘menu’ site that lists everything but converts no one? Check out Why Your Menu Site Sucks — And How to Un-suck It to see what’s killing your conversions (and how to fix it fast).