Many of the nation’s small business owners have a lot on their plate in the course of any given month and therefore don’t necessarily always have the time to think about the many little things that could cost them more money in the long run than they need to. However, by assessing how much power they’re using, these entrepreneurs might be able to save themselves potentially large amounts of money on their annual bottom lines.
For its part, the state of Wyoming is trying to encourage the many small businesses within its borders to consider their energy consumption as a means of solidifying their financial situations and also reducing wasted power, according to a report from the Wyoming Business Council. It is now encouraging those companies to participate in its Small Business Energy Audit program, which can help to focus owners or other company decision makers on ways that they might be overlooking wasted energy, which in turn translates to wasted money. And because many such enterprises operate on such thin margins, every dollar wasted is of greater importance.
“It’s not easy knowing how to conserve energy without knowing where that energy is being consumed, or possibly wasted,” Sherry Hughes, manager of the Wyoming State Energy Office’s Energy Efficiency Program, told the organization. “The small business energy audit program can help businesses identify problem areas and get started on a better energy efficiency strategy.”
Of course, there are many ways in which companies can lose money to wasted power, often without even realizing it. For instance, computers that are left on overnight, when there’s no one in the office, can end up costing companies massive amounts of money every year, and therefore making sure they’re shutdown at the end of the work day can go a long way toward reducing waste. Further, during the summer many companies rack up huge bills on air conditioning, but it may be wise to scale back these cooling efforts, or install a digital thermostat that ensure greater efficiency.
Meanwhile, those owners particularly concerned about their annual costs might also want to find more affordable small business insurance policies. Reducing these often sizable expenses, for plans including workers’ compensation or general liability insurance, may go a long way for companies hoping to solidify their financial standings and increase their ability to successfully grow in the future.
