While we are not officially in a recession, it sure feels like it to many of us.

Even if your business’ bottom line is not hurting, you can’t hide from all the negative news, i.e., energy costs, lack of financing, real estate problems, and so on. So it really is time, now more than ever, to look at revenue growth, margins and controlling expenses.

Getting your cost structure in line is my blogging subject for this month. When times are good and the revenue is pouring in, we business managers quite often get lazy about controlling the expense side of our enterprise. But when revenue is shaky or we are concerned about the economy, it is imperative that we take a hard look at every expense component of our businesses to make sure there are no wasted dollars – on cost of goods, wages, marketing, office expenses, etc.

Based on my experience, the best way to get your cost structure in line is to compare your business to other business in your industry that are “top of the class”. Fisher’s did this by comparing our operating costs to the 10 best copier dealers in the 72 member Copier Dealers Association – a nationwide support group of progressive dealers – all in different markets. We took the benchmarks provided by these top performers and determined where we needed to make adjustments. The results have been impressive. We’re not one of the top ten – yet, but we’re getting close. There are many ways to control costs, but comparing your business to the best in the business is one of the best ways to do it.