Having a great business, includes working towards having and mastering certain aspects of business: consistent sales, top notch products, repeat clients, great customer service, etc… These are all factors that make your business great, but are you currently implementing practices that make the business financially sound? Do you have a solid financial foundation in place that makes sure that your business can stay on top and not bottom out? There are many elements keeping your business sustainable, here are two:
- Always have a budget. A budget has to be one of the first things on your list in order to keep your business afloat. Make sure to look at your budget on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis. When you have a budget, you can take a look at what has gone out and come in, to compare financial decisions and grow your business by doing more of what works and less of what does not. You can see the good, bad, and great, and adjust as needed when you review your budget routinely.
- Spend your money in the right places. When your business goes from bringing in revenue to actually making a profit, it is an exciting feeling. When the profit is flowing, it is easy to start spending money on bigger houses, new clothes, expensive vacations, or the car we always wanted. However, the first goal is to reinvest in the business to make more profit. Helping the business to grow and make even more money, affords a much better opportunity to upgrade your lifestyle later on. You have to build in money cushions for cash flow fluctuations and slow seasons. Solidify business growth and profit opportunities, then upgrade your lifestyle. Give yourself small wins until you are in a position to upgrade to large wins.
Keeping your business afloat regardless of what is going on in the world is the real success. Lots of financial problems can generally be prevented by implementing these two steps. Take a look and review your finances to be sure you have a budget and you are spending money in the right places. If you already have a budget, see if there are ways to decrease spending to allow for increased profit. If you already reinvest in your business, look for ways to optimize on your investment to see greater returns. Stay afloat and grow!