Cost reduction opportunities

Sort your expenses from largest to smallest. The largest categories often will contain the most significant cost reduction opportunities, and are more worthy of your management time - if you can make an impact. But small expenses add up as well.

Review every expense and ask these questions:

- How can we get this number down?
- How can we eliminate this?
- Can we substitute different materials or suppliers at a lower cost?
- (Your idea here).

Enlist the help of your people with the answers to these questions. Ask your partners, employees, peers and your industry group for ideas and best practices. And don't wait until finances get out of hand to think cost reduction; it's an ongoing, constant process.