Burn salve

(Upstart) Some start-ups might be already too deep in the tank for cost-cutting measures to do any good. For those that aren’t, here are a few suggestions for reducing your burn rate and possibly extending your company’s life.

That’s entertainment: The stereotypical start-up supplements its office decor with items like foosball, video games and Ping-Pong tables, but those can add a lot of frivolous costs. Instead, start combing local yard sales for low-tech, low-cost alternatives like Jarts and Electric Football. And what group of entrepreneurs doesn’t love a rousing game of Yahtzee? (Although we recommend buying used dice, using a Dixie cup as a shaker and running off homemade scorecards on the mimeograph—another important component of the frugal start-up.) We also recommend addressing the larger question of why your employees are playing games rather than helping generate revenue.

It’s in the way that you use it: Even though it cuts into your funds to pay them salaries and such, your employees can also prove valuable when you’re looking for ways to trim expenses. Instead of promoting happy hours, company picnics and other expensive excursions, organize events like Weekly Staple Fest, Mail-a-Thon and Paint-a-Wall Week. Many start-up manufacturing companies have realized great savings on production costs and staff by hosting All-Night Assembly parties (BYOB, of course) where employees get “hands-on” experience in the manufacturing, testing and shipping processes.

Value jet: Travel is a must in the fast-paced communications world, but there are all kinds of low-cost alternatives. Beyond the obvious cut-rate airlines and their questionable safety records, there are charter companies that will cater to groups of employees that pose as family or high-school reunions, “road trips” that allow employees to use their own vehicles and gas money, and the always-reliable Greyhound bus. Volunteering to transport hazardous or illegal material as a courier can also help garner a free trip—sometimes even one to an exotic international location!

Fight the power: Just because your business is broadband doesn’t mean you have to use it. Seize on your employees’ love of everything retro by suggesting that the Internet and e-mail are “wack,” thereby eliminating the costs of both computer equipment and high-speed connectivity. Hang posters around the office with slogans like “Snail Mail Wails!” to discourage the use of any kind of courier services. Keep the supply room stocked with lots of legal pads and Bic pens.

You could write Editorial Director Jason Meyers at jason_meyers@intertec.com, but that is so wack.