“Managing finances.” The frustration and stress that accompanies those two words can sometimes prey on a small business owner. You wish you could skip that part and focus on the other side of your business, the parts that might be more enjoyable or rewarding. But as a small business owner, you know you can’t... 

Obviously, one of the most effective ways to keep your business viable is to really control or reduce spending.

Looking at your cost base and reducing spending or raising prices on products can help but that has to be weighed against the dampening effect it can have on growth.

Depending on your business its success may rely on repeat customers or economies of scale. Then there’s the cost of promotional tools to consider. Running promotions for a small business is costly and generally most effective and scalable as a short-term measure.

When you take a deeper look, especially at production-based business, the only surefire way to increase profit margins is to better manage your purchasing. Now purchasing isn’t fun.

And that’s just the start. When that small cider business, for example, finally finds that special bottle after months of searching, the next challenge is finding a machine to fill them. However perhaps that business doesn’t know much about bottle-filling machines? So how do they know if the one supplier they found on Google is the most cost-effective solution?

At that point, the temptation is to pick up the phone to call another supplier who may have been mentioned to them. From our experience, the conversation usually ends up going like this: “Hi, I’m a small-” [click] “...Hello…?!” With experiences like that, it’s easy to understand why the very word “purchasing” can trigger negative associations.  

Ever hear this remark? “Small business are the backbone of the US economy." It’s a phrase often touted by economists and politicians exalting the power of the free enterprise. So where’s that power when suppliers won’t even take your calls or return your emails?

That’s why Kinnek is here. My team and I are in the trenches with our business customers every day going through the laborious process of licensing, fundraising and purchasing. When they finally make those purchases and open their doors, it makes us proud to have helped the small business economy, but even happier to have helped our customers. After all the hours we dedicate to supporting each business connect with the right suppliers and quotes, we’re often as invested in making sure the business is a success as the owners themselves. 

As a result of that relationship with small business customers and suppliers, Kinnek facilitates millions of dollars of transactions every week. We build trust with our customers to ensure every small business receives the quotes they need to make the right purchase for their operation.

That connection extends to our suppliers, often small businesses themselves looking to support the local economy with homegrown manufacturing and expertise. For all types of suppliers, Kinnek has made custom quoting easy so they can devote more resources to pursuing leads regardless of size.

 Subscribe to our blog to get the latest Kinnek news.