5 Ways For A Small Business In Toronto To Save Money

07.6.21 | Business Planning
Small Business in Toronto

Whether you run a restaurant or any other type of small business in Toronto, the chances are you’re constantly on the hunt for ways to streamline your business model and increase efficiency.

No matter if your profit margins are thin as it is or you’ve watched them consistently grow over time, all smart small business owners should have a keen interest in how they can cut down on expenses and save more money.

And, as restaurant real estate specialists, we know first-hand that even the smallest of savings can make enormous differences to restaurants with razor-thin margins. Here are our top 5 ways you can help your small business in Toronto save more going forward.

1) Re-Think Your Approach to Ads

Whatever industry your business falls into, advertising is one of the most important tools you can invest in to get the word out about what you do. However, traditional ad space—especially in a city like Toronto—can be expensive.

While you might’ve considered a TV spot, a page in a magazine, or even a poster on public transit to advertise your small business in the past, it’s never been easier to take promoting your business into your own hands.

Whether it’s through publishing regular social media posts, engaging and informative blog posts, or enticing email marketing campaigns, there are many valuable and easy-to-use channels for digital self-promotion.

Plus, investing in your own digital presence has valuable long-term benefits too, whereas traditional advertising channels stop providing your business with value as soon as you stop paying for them.

2) Run Sponsored Events

Events are a great way to promote and attract attention to your business, especially within the restaurant industry. Whether it’s at a corporate event, during a popular food festival, or at an event you’re organizing on your own, showing off your product or service in a new atmosphere can really bolster your small business.

However, events can take a lot of work, planning, and investment. To help you relieve many of those burdens, reaching out to potential event partners and sponsors for financial assistance can turn your event into a win-win situation for everyone involved.

3) Pass On Paper

Many small businesses in Toronto might find it difficult to imagine completely foregoing the use of paper products. One of the main culprits is the restaurant industry, particularly when it comes to things like receipts, menus, notepads, and even napkins.

However, reducing paper usage can result in some very substantial annual business profits—and usually, all it takes is a little bit of effort to make it happen. In fact, there’s a digital solution for almost everything these days, even within the restaurant industry.

Whether it’s sending digital receipts via email or using a QR code or tablet instead of a print menu, there are tons of tricks that can help your small business stop spending so much on paper while simultaneously freeing up storage space.

Even little things like making an effort to scan documents for digital distribution among staff or setting your office printers to print ink on both sides of the paper to reduce waste will help cut costs in the long run.

4) Outsource Where Possible

Owning a small business is a multi-faceted job. Sure, you get to do the “fun” stuff like interacting with customers, but you are also in charge of more traditionally mundane tasks like submitting expenses, handling logistics for repairs, or paying taxes.

One of the best parts about living in such a diverse and multi-talented city like Toronto is that it’s probably easier than you’d think to find someone outside of your organization to take on those boring duties for you. It might seem counterintuitive to hire someone to help you save money, but in the end, the ROI on outsourcing specific tasks could help increase your profit margins down the line.

5) Look For Supplementary Income Streams

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced thousands of small businesses in Toronto to either slow down or halt sales completely due to strict lockdown regulations, many businesses had to search for alternative ways to generate income.

However, it didn’t take long for many establishments within the restaurant industry to think outside the box and find practical solutions. Whether it was selling off their stock of pantry staples and fresh produce or producing to-go meal kits and picnic boxes, there were lots of creative, lucrative ideas.

Among the most popular supplementary income streams were when restaurants transitioned into part-time bottle shops in order to make a profit and continue to move their private wine and liquor imports.

In fact, many Toronto restaurants have continued to sell their goods, ingredients, and fine wines since lockdown limitations have lightened as this supplementary income stream proved more than valuable to their long-term business plans. All you need is a little creativity, the sky is the limit!

Are you and your restaurant or small business in need of more industry-focused real estate advice? Our team of niche real estate experts can help you. Find out more about what we do here, then contact us here to set up a meeting.