当下，全球经济不甚乐观。这样的经济窘境是任何人都无力改变的，更别说为数众多势单力薄的中小型企业了。那么，既然大环境无法变通，小企业就更应该从自身寻找突破口了。本文专为小企业量身打造了5条金科玉律，期望可以借此帮助需要的人。既然无力改变环境，何不练就适应环境的能力？
1、办公座位巧安排。
绝大多数办公室的建设都花了不少冤枉钱。其实办公设备、桌椅柜子，能租则租是不错的省钱妙招。此外，座位排列也有技巧，怎样可以更高效的利用办公室空间也是一门大学问，因为办公区越大，则花费越多。要知道，有成功先例：某企业在完成了减少办公空间的同时，员工人数却从28增加到45。这该问问知名的家庭保健服务提供商Nurse Next Door公司的联合CEO约翰•德哈特（John DeHart），看他是如何做到的。他的秘诀就是“办公座位‘先到先得’策略”。德哈特说，“甚至连我都没有自己的专属座位。”除了办公桌，该公司还成功的节省下4~6万美元的IT设施租赁费。
2、以最快速度卖掉产品。
为什么非要等到库存积压才想起来搞促销呢？达拉斯著名的汽车网站Driversselect.com创始人兼总裁史蒂夫•霍（Steve Hall），从他在拍卖会上竞拍二手车的那一刻起，就已经开始在网站上兜售了。从他竞价拍下到成功拿到手，之间的时间差约为36~44天，这段时间内，他已经成功节省下一个月的利息、保险及仓储费，大约一万四千四百美元。他称自己公司的经营理念就像“二手车的Zappos（美国的知名网络鞋城）”，2011年有望实现9100万美元的销售目标。
3、每一次谈判都谈出好价钱。
人们往往容易陷入思维定势，认为很多日常开支是不可避免的。实际上，如果每一次的谈判都能当做唯一的一次谈判，利用较低的利率节省票据开销等等，是可以节省不少资金的。
4、削减信用卡刷卡方式开销。
通过改变交易处理方式，某诊所创建人詹森•卡纳普（Jason Canapp）节省了3万美元资金。他表示：“这真是一个商品化服务。”这样一来，该诊所的年销售额约达到650亿美元。计算下来，节省了不止1%的交易成本。就因为在对待借记卡用户方面，选择了更经济的信用卡缴款方式，提供顾客输入密码的小键盘等。
5、尝试云服务。
很多的企业主对于敏感数据异地化都感到不安，实际上，它能够为你每年节省将近三万三千美元。自从放弃使用7台服务器和2座防火墙的服务之后，弗农•纳德（Vernon Menard）就不再需要支付每年一万五千六百美元的IT支持服务开支了。除了硬件，其他开销如：更便宜的备份、更低的电费、以及不会因为硬件软件问题而导致的停机时间造成损失等。
You can't control the economy, but you can control what you spend on your company.
1. Ditch assigned seating
Private offices are an expensive addiction. Ask John DeHart, co-CEO of home health care provider Nurse Next Door. The company reduced office space while expanding from 28 people to 45 at its Vancouver headquarters last year. How? By making all desks available on a first-come, first-served basis. "Even I don't have my own desk," says DeHart. The company saved $60,000 in rent and $40,000 in IT infrastructure costs.
2. Sell faster
Why wait until products are in stock to promote them? Steve Hall, founder and president of Dallas's Driversselect, peddles the used cars on his website from the moment he purchases them at auction instead of waiting till they're delivered. That cuts the time cars sit in his lots from 44 to 36 days, saving $14,400 a month on interest, insurance, and storage. Sales at the company which he says is like "a Zappos for used cars" are on pace to reach $91 million in 2011.
3. Ask for a better deal
It's easy to fall into the mindset that routine expenses like utilities are nonnegotiable. Frustrated by the monthly cable bill at Denver's Cherry Creek Dance, Lee Prosenjak asked Comcast for lower rates and got them minutes later. Doing the same with most recurring bills, he reduced monthly costs by $1,650 at the firm, which had more than $1.6 million in revenue for 2010. "We negotiated a better rate every single time," he says.
4. Reduce debit card fees
Jason Canapp saved $30,000 at Veterinary Orthopedic & Sports Medicine Group in Annapolis Junction, Md., by changing transaction-processing firms. "It really is a commoditized service," says Canapp, a founder of the profitable clinic, with about $6.5 million in annual sales. He took advantage of an offer to shave another 1% off transaction costs by getting debit card users to enter their PINs on a keypad instead of swiping them.
5. Try the cloud
Many business owners are still uneasy about hosting sensitive data off-site. But it's brought savings of almost $33,000 annually to Choice Translating, which has offices in Charlotte and Lima, Peru. Since getting rid of seven servers and two firewalls, co-owner Vernon Menard III no longer pays $15,600 annually for IT support. Other savings: cheaper backups, lower electric bills, and no downtime caused by hardware and software problems.
