Baltimore companies look to cut costs, avoid layoffs - Baltimore Business Journal:

Frigidaire FAX052P7
His company, Architectural Columnz and Railing Systems, did have some big including all the fencing atthe Ritz-Carlton Residencexs along Key Highway. But with a few other distractions, includinf a lawsuit and high cost overruns on another money startedgetting tight. “We had projected about $6 million in volume, and we were trackint real good for the firstgtwo quarters,” he said. “Bh the third quarter, we startec seeing a slowdown. By the fourth quarter, the bottok had dropped out of thebusinesd plan.” Martin is approaching 2009 with what lookws like a new company.
He called up business growth consultanrtArt Jacoby, and together, they undertook some serious It included slashing staf from 41 to 28, but that could have been worse without reducing salaries and avoiding subcontractors, Martihn said. As businesses prepare for a year in whic h turns could be impossible to many of them are takint similar steps to be as lean as possiblr to get themselves throughthe recession. And if they can do it withoutr adding to the growing pool ofthe they’re finding creative ways to save cash. Even before money gets tight, there are ways to boost efficiency andlower overhead. • Don’tr hire others to do what you cando yourself.
At Communitg Analytics, a Canton firm that does business development throughsocial networking, a largr expense is information technology equipment and upkeep. The company outsources its server storagee and maintenanceto DataPoint, a Tide Poinyt data center. But to save CEO Myra Gorman decided to handlee internal software anddata in-house. That way, the company losesd some of the cost without sacrificin the benefits outsourced IT services provideto customers. Consolidate purchases from suppliers to negotiatew thelowest price. Frank Ryan, a CPA with Semper Finance Inc. of Maryland, calls it trying to be “their good The idea being, people treat their good customer well.
Ryan recommends asking vendors how your compang might make things easier forthe vendor, whether by changingh the volume of purchases or the frequency. Raisd either, and a vendor is more likely to cut a Michael Reid, director of the Baltimorw office of consultant Expense Reduction Analysts, helps companies find thoser deals. A firm might go price shoppingf for office supply contracts oncea year, but Reid’s consultants are doing it evert day. Reid’s company takes a cut of the cost savingsaclients find, often around 50 percent. • More than supply prices are negotiable — give bartering a try with othetrlarge expenses. Even real estate.
Tom Barbuti, a real estater lawyer with Whiteford, Taylor and Preston LLP in Baltimore, said he is seeingt clients — tenants and landlords working at deals to lower rental rates andset long-term contracts. For example, a nationaol retail chain recently sent out a lettee to all of its landlords asking for a 25 percent reduction in Barbuti said. The next month when its chec came in, the landlorx found that the retailer had decided to give itselrthe discount.
But rather than making a fight, the landlord gave in, decidinh it wasn’t worth losing a long-term Landlords also are offering temporary reductionse if tenants promise to pay them back once timesare better, Barbuti If a slowdown has set in and immediate action is there are ways to scale back without impacting