Coping with High Gas Prices

How to keep rising energy costs from breaking your business

By Daniel Kehrer, Founder & CEO, BizBest Media Corp.

High gas prices hurt small businesses of all kinds, nationwide. Hardest hit are operations that require a great deal of driving – for deliveries or to visit clients, for example – or that rely heavily on gas guzzling trucks. More and more small businesses are adding special "fuel recovery" fees or delivery surcharges to help compensate, leaving cost-weary customers unhappy. Some businesses are restricting the areas they serve, or charging more to go out of area. Others are raising minimum charges or putting tiered pricing in place to compensate for having to travel greater distances.

Employees are also feeling the pinch, and small employers are trying to help on that front as well. Some are boosting payments for employee-incurred mileage, while others are permitting workers to telecommute more often. Helping ease the burden of high gas prices on employees has become a new way for small businesses to maintain morale and reduce turnover. Your top concerns are:

Paying as little as possible for gas and taking full advantage of available discounts
Minimizing the amount of driving you and your employees do on behalf of your business.
Making your shipping operations more fuel-efficient
Maintaining your vehicles properly and switching to more fuel-efficient models when you trade in.

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Sign up for rebates

Popularity of gas rebate credit cards among small business has skyrocketed. These cards offer rebates ranging from 2 to 6 percent at the gas pump, so the higher gas prices go, the more you get back. There are many types to choose from, including cards that give rebates at any gas station.
Try: Visit the Gas Rebate Card section at CreditCardGuide.com. The site lists details of many different gas rebate card offers from major banks, oil companies and service station chains. PumpAndSave.com offers similar comparisons and helpful money saving tips.

Buy the cheapest gas available

How do you know where that is? Easy. Just check one of the online gas price comparison sites.
Try: GasBuddy.com and GasPriceWatch.com can tell you what stations are selling gas the cheapest in your Zip Code.

Ship more efficiently

High fuel costs are forcing major shipping and delivery companies to raise prices and fuel add-on fees. Comparing shipping costs among different carries is now more important than ever. And by consolidating shipments, switching to smaller and lighter packaging materials and perhaps drop shipping from different locations, you can save money.
Try: Compare shipping costs at FreightQuote.com and RedRoller.com.

Hop into hybrids

When it's time to buy new vehicles for your biz, take fuel efficiency into account. Lighter weight vehicles, smaller engines and wider-than-ever selection of hybrids can save your business money.
Try: A great place to find and compare side-by-side vehicle information for gas mileage (as well as safety and other features) is FuelEconomy.gov, a site created by the U.S. Department of Energy. This Web site offers a wide range of helpful information, on gas mileage, gas prices, alternative fuel vehicles and more.

Follow fuel efficient driving tips

You've heard them before -- avoid jackrabbit starts; keep tires properlly inflated; run air conditioners less.
Try: WikiHow.com has the best (and longest) list of gas-saving ideas anywhere.

Leverage the web

Show customers how buying online and by mail order can save them money by not having to visit your location.
Try: Use web-based collaboration sites to "meet" with clients, freelancers, partners and others rather than hooking up in person. Two top choices include Zoho.com and Webex.com.

Some gas rebate credit cards offer rebates of 8 to 10 percent for the first 90 days. But gas rebate cards tend to carry higher interest rates, so be sure to pay off the card monthly or you'll burn your gas savings on interest.
Pay attention to scheduling. Many small businesses can save money by doing a better job of scheduling trips to visit clients or run errands. Group stops and appointments so you don't end up going back and forth to the office three or four times a day. And if you can accomplish more of your business by phone or online, avoid the driving altogether.
The difference between a vehicle that gets 20 miles per gallon (MPG) and one that gets 30 MPG amounts to nearly $1,000 per year at today's gas prices for a typical small business.