High overhead is dangerous, especially during tough economic times. Even in the smallest business, it tends to grow, slowly and unnoticed, until suddenly your costs are out of control.

Overhead-bloat is one of the major threats to small business competitiveness. Conversely, low overhead and a lean operation can be one of your best competitive weapons. Cost-creep is often insidious. You add a seemingly minor cost here and there, but eliminating costs once you've added them is difficult. Our how-to guides this week offer a variety of ways to cut costs on everything from insurance to the amount of paper your business uses. Got questions, comments or ideas to share? Let us know.

Set a Cost-cutting Plan
Guide to Cutting Business Costs
By Tom Nutile
Cost cutting shouldn't just be a tactic when your business or the economy is in freefall. It always makes sense to cast a sharp eye on costs. Steps to a good cost-monitoring strategy include these: 1) Begin with the big line items such as employee salaries and benefits, followed by office or store rent, in that order. 2) Cut your expenses as early in the year as possible so you aren't forced to undergo severe blood-letting at the end of the fiscal year. 3) Compare actual expenses to budgeted expenses monthly, making mid-course corrections as needed... Read Full Guide

Cutting Insurance Costs
Lowering Your Workers' Comp Costs
By Carrie Thorson
Workers' compensation insurance is a large expense for small businesses. Compensation for injured employees includes medical bills, payments for lost time and damages for any permanent injuries. Every state requires that employers provide compensation for work-related injuries. A lower accident rate means fewer workers' comp claims and lower costs. It starts with these key actions: 1) Uphold all workplace safety standards; 2) Train employees on safety; 3) Review your policy coverage... Read Full Guide

Growth on a Budget
Cutting Expansion Costs
By Judy Artunian
There are times when the best way to grow a business is to add a new location or two. Your first step in reining in the costs should be to understand what’s in store before you start looking for that new space. Whether you are launching a new retail location or a branch office, go beyond the obvious when adding up the costs associated with opening that second or third location. For instance: Read Full Guide

Lower-Cost Borrowing
Cutting Your Business Debt
By Diane Benson Harrington
Owning your own business is great -- unless debt-related expenses are sucking up your profits and then some. Business loans, lines of credit, vendor accounts, credit card balances -- all of these and more can place a serious financial drag on your business if you let it get out of hand. Using these steps, get control over your finances so you can erase your debt and start making money instead: Read Full Guide

Mailing Cheaper
Cutting Your Postage Costs
By Holly Ocasio Rizzo
At first, cutting postage costs may seem like saving coins in a jar. But if you look more closely at how you handle postage, the savings throughout a year can be substantial. And with postage rates set rising again, savings get larger all the time. Postage costs can be reduced in several key ways: 1) Cleaning up your mailing lists. 2) Carefully choosing what you mail -- many rates are now based on shape, not weight. 3) Tapping Postal Service money savers such as bulk mail and online postage. Read Full Guide