Outrageously Creative Tips for Saving Money & Growing Your Business (2024)

43 Reactions

1. Chris

   February 24, 2009 at 2:14 pm

   Wow, what a fantastic compilation of ideas! This is quite the resource of information.

   I haven’t had the opportunity to read through it entirely, however, I’ve gotten through the first several pages and I’m impressed by all the wonderful ideas everyone shared.

   Congratulations to everyone included – its looking like this will turn out to be a very useful resource.

2. Peggy Duncan

   February 24, 2009 at 2:21 pm

   Anita, thanks for including my tip in this great resource. Looks great!

3. Martin Lindeskog

   February 24, 2009 at 5:32 pm

   Great work! 🙂

4. Amanda

   February 24, 2009 at 5:55 pm

   Wow, this is awesome. Really cool to see everybody’s thoughts in one place.

5. On the Money

   February 24, 2009 at 6:01 pm

   Thanks for the post and the PDF!

6. Susan Oakes

   February 24, 2009 at 7:36 pm

   You have compiled some great tips Anita. It is good to see the tips from such a variety of businesses.

   See Also

   Mind Over Money: Here's What You Need To Tell Yourself To Start Saving More | EssenceSet yourself up to build wealth, save more and get out of debt in 3 simple steps: 'Starting is critical'Do Your Laundry This Way and Save Money on Your Energy Bill12 Unexpected Tips to Save Money Every Single Day - TheAdviserMagazine.com

7. David Turnbull

   February 24, 2009 at 7:56 pm

   Wow, awesome resource. Just skimmed through it, but I’ll definitely print it off later and go through it in detail.

8. Mary Grace Ignacio

   February 25, 2009 at 1:26 am

   This is really great resource Anita. Handy (when printed out) and it’s FREE! 😉

9. Bruce Wade

   February 25, 2009 at 1:36 am

   Anita

   Thanks for this. Once again all our clients will benefit from your publications. Great to share ideas with the Entrepreneur community. Thanks

10. Chaitanya Sagar

    February 25, 2009 at 1:44 am

    This is a wonderful list Anita. Great compilation. Congrats everyone who got featured in the ebook. This is a great list.

11. Janet Giacoma

    February 25, 2009 at 11:12 am

    outstanding list of tips and thank you for your hard work.

12. Joe

    February 25, 2009 at 11:27 am

    Jeanne on page 7 relates how her husband lied to a German automotive company about the availability of their software in order to land a contract for their small business. Sorry, it just bugs. I wouldn’t have done it even in a desperate situation and, even further, I wouldn’t have published the fact. Perhaps this is why my business plods along with just average sales … but I’m not changing.

13. Anita Campbell

    February 25, 2009 at 4:09 pm

    @Chris, Susan, David, Amanda — glad you like it. I was happy with the tips.

    @Peggy — your tip was great. Thanks for participating.

    @Mary Grace — very handy. Feel free to give it to clients or use it as you wish.

    – Anita

14. Mary Grace Ignacio

    February 26, 2009 at 3:23 am

    Yes. Definitely I will Anita! Thanks!

    See Also

    This is 'the first step to building wealth,' says financial planner—and you can start today

15. Anita Campbell

    February 26, 2009 at 1:39 pm

    Hi Joe, I’ve been mulling over your comment, and really appreciate your thoughtfulness in bringing up that point. I even went back and re-read Jeanne’s tip several times.

    After giving it considerable thought, I am going to let Jeanne’s tip stand. I think the spirit of the tip is “do what it takes to deliver to the client.” And that’s exactly what they did — they delivered to the client.

    In Jeanne’s defense let me say this:

    (1) In the end they complied with the contractual requirements and delivered a complete usable product. The client was not expecting delivery that day, but in 6 weeks’ time — and got it.

    (2) I feel her husband must have had confidence that they could deliver or he would not have committed to deliver it. And he wouldn’t be the first sales rep to commit to deliver something that was not fully complete yet. You have only to look at all the “Beta” products available out on the Web or the concept of “pre-ordering” to get a flavor of that.

    (3) Her story is reminiscent of the Microsoft story, where Bill Gates convinced IBM they had an operating system, and then turned around and bought a piece of software from a third party to comply with the contractual commitment (without, I’m sure, telling that third party about the pending IBM deal).

    So, considering everything, it strikes me that Jeanne’s company lived up to their contractual commitment and met the client’s needs through hard work and a commitment to get it done within the time frame the client was expecting it.

    — Anita

16. Ivana Taylor

    February 26, 2009 at 3:48 pm

    These tips must be good because I just heard a friend say she’s forwarded it to 4 people!

17. Carla

    February 26, 2009 at 5:15 pm

    Great ideas! I will go over this list again and outline the ones I’m going to start using now.

18. Dorothy Suter

    February 27, 2009 at 4:53 pm

    Thanks for the tips. This is quite the compilation, not to mention a great cross-section of business owners we’ve now met. Keep this up and you’ll have a book!

19. Dan

    February 28, 2009 at 2:43 pm

    Nice – good tips. What do you think about using tiny amounts of equity to get services in order to save money? I’m thinking of places like http://services4stock.com. Could be a good way to sit on cash to build a cushion.

20. TJ McCue

    March 6, 2009 at 3:02 am

    More and more, we see Anita’s work and ideas being shared around the web and at prominent and very respectable publications.

    Check out Kelly Spor’s short mention in her Friday Memo section. Thanks Kelly!
    http://blogs.wsj.com/independentstreet/2009/02/27/friday-memos-15/trackback/

21. Sarah

    March 18, 2009 at 4:47 pm

    I wish I had known about your site back in December! These tips are great, but I have one more for you.

    Small businesses that do a lot of shipping can really save money if they print postage on-site. A lot of people use the Pitney Bowes meters, but I found that my savings were better when I joined Stamps.com because I can print postage from my home office printer. It only costs a little under $16 a month plus the cost of postage, which is really good for small businesses like mine that are hoping to make it through this recession.

22. Justin

    March 28, 2009 at 3:17 am

    There are some great tips in this article. Thanks to all who shared.

23. Franchise Information

    May 13, 2009 at 7:59 am

    This is a fabulous list! Thanks Lisa, this publication is another good lesson for Franchises.

24. Steve Lin

    August 20, 2009 at 3:11 am

    I was able to save 40% off my credit card processing fees when I switched my credit card processor to Nebo Associates (a Wells Fargo ISO). Call: 978-683-1005 for a free credit card processing fee comparison. The website is http://www.neboassociates.com

25. John

    May 3, 2010 at 11:04 am

    The real secert of saving money is in self awarness
    a great web site that deals with it is http://www.anigam.com
    it is free ,very simple
    and the trick is very nice

26. Ellen S.

    May 15, 2010 at 11:56 am

    I think most people would agree that saving money is something “easier said than done”. Personally, I believe it’s a mind-set that needs to be developed by creating good money-saving habits.

    Here are some things I’ve done to help change my spending habits:

    – Cook more at home  Eating out is very expensive especially if you do it a couple times a week
    – Try shopping online  You can find better deals than in the store and you save on gas (I recommend http://www.shoptivity.com)
    – Pay the full balance on credit cards each month  Interest charge is like giving away free money
    – Don’t forget to pay yourself  Set up an online savings account (they pay higher interest than a normal savings account)
    – Set a budget and goals  It’s good to have your goals written down so you see them everyday and don’t lose focus on your ultimate objectives

    Again, saving money requires a lot of patience and hard work. However, you’ll thank yourself later on in life. Good luck everyone!! =)

27. Ellen S.

    June 5, 2010 at 1:09 pm

    I think most people would agree that saving money is something “easier said than done”. Personally, I believe it’s a mind-set that needs to be developed by creating good money-saving habits.

    Here are some things I’ve done to help change my spending habits:

    – Cook more at home ( Eating out is very expensive especially
    if you do it a couple times a week
    – Try shopping online ( You can find better deals than in the
    store and you save on gas (I recommend
    “http://www.shoptivity.com” )
    – Pay the full balance on credit cards each month ( Interest
    charge is like giving away free money
    – Don’t forget to pay yourself ( Set up an online savings
    account (they pay higher interest than a normal savings
    account)
    – Set a budget and goals ( It’s good to have your goals
    written down so you see them everyday and don’t lose focus
    on your ultimate objectives

    Again, saving money requires a lot of patience and hard work. However, you’ll thank yourself later on in life. Good luck everyone!! =)

28. Hal Merrill

    October 5, 2010 at 8:06 pm

    Ellen S, I think you have summed it up pretty well. You do all these things and it will start to work for you. An additional note I would make is to have an emergency fund, anywhere from $500 to $1000, hidden away, so if the car breaks down or something like that, you can have it covered without blowing everything else out of the water.

    Hal