Your idea for your business is like a model made out of Legos. And everyone knows how easy it can be to use those if you have creativity by your side. But when it comes to starting a business, turning that idea into reality is like constructing a full-scale building. One that involves bricks, cement, cranes, and a lot more. To make sure that you aren’t forced to demolish this building, you have to look at it from a lot of angles.
And one of the most important one, the one that faces the front, that’s the financial aspect of it. Big businessmen are well aware of this. That is how they have climbed up the ladder and made a name for themselves. That said, if you have a budding business that wants to bloom, here are six financial tricks that successful entrepreneurs use.
- Branch out online
This is the modern age. The internet can be your marketplace, the computer can be your office. And even if your business is brick and mortar, you must have an online presence. Your website is what people; potential investors, customers, partners, would first lookup. Make sure you choose an SEO friendly business name with a .com domain; it will help you get found easily. You can use online business name generator tool such as Namobot.com for this task.
Make certain your website follows all rules of Search Engine Optimization, is neat, user-friendly, with high-quality content. Don’t forget to include the Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. Chris Anderson, an influential journalist, and writer says, “Your brand isn’t what you say it is, it’s what Google says it is.”
- Master the art of managing cashflow
Don’t hope that you’ll learn stuff along the way; realize that a lot of things needs to be learned before. To run a business, the first thing you need to be extra careful about is cashflow. Keep in check from where the money is rolling in and what are the expenditures. Even if you have someone to do it for you, keep tabs. In most cases, starters can’t hire people so in that case get an app or make use of Excel. Do a small course on accounting.
Make a budget for each matter and ensure it is followed. Jonathan Long, founder of Market Domination Media says in his article, “You need to know where every single dollar is coming from and where every single dollar is going.”
- Spend wisely and in moderation
What most people forget is that they must focus on their ROI as much as their costs. Finance is an important part of any business, and in such a degree that it single handedly can make or break your startup. The best move is to keep fixed expenditures low. Don’t be overly lavish and don’t spend on unnecessary things like getting an aquarium for your office. According to funders corner, another tip for your small business is the need to show proof of expenditures, and being able to justify the expenses. Limit your expenses but that doesn’t mean that you should do everything yourself. The things you don’t know how to do efficiently can waste time, energy and not bring in any results. So, outsource there. Also, pay yourself enough to live comfortably.
Check out all your options for getting work done at low costs, online as well as in person. Your expenses should be low and only where they are absolutely needed. Operate thin. Rhys Roberts from Viridity says, “I outsource my HR, my IT, much of my marketing and more. The time you free up you can spend doing what you are good at.”
- Strengthen your marketing game
You don’t just need a unique idea to make sure your business sells, but you need to be a strong salesperson and marketer too. Practise your pitch, refine it, and shorten it. Be communicative, creative, confident. Luckily, today though competition has increased, marketing options have too. Don’t just stick to the traditional approach; have a strong digital following. Utilize the internet space and breathe life into your brand through Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.
Without customers, your business doesn’t exist. There are tonnes of ways to get the word out there, to attract customers. Thanks to the digital world, you can be everywhere. Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn says, “MySpace is like a bar, Facebook is like the BBQ you have in your back yard and LinkedIn is the office.”
- Plan ahead, be confident and persistent
You know what they say, hope for the best, prepare for the worst. For your business, you must have the same mindset. You must have extra emergency cash stashed for your business and your personal life. You must always have in mind that when starting, things can drink up more time and more money than initially planned. Set your goals and milestones and keep in check how much your business has grown in what time.
Don’t be hard on yourself if and when failure strikes. Also, keep in mind that profits don’t dictate success. There are many contributing factors when it comes to tracking the growth of a business. Rochelle Miller, co-founder of Another Love says, “Believe in yourself and your strengths. Don’t take ‘no’ for an answer. There will be bumps along the way, but everything has a solution or another option.”
- Keep your personal expenses organized
Here’s a point that most starters miss: you must always keep your personal accounts and business accounts separate. You can’t even think of taking from one side and using it for the other. Organize the finances of both these areas of your life separately and keep it simple. Know when you can afford to resign from your full-time job. You must be able to afford your dream business before you set out to create it.
Arrange for the employee benefits that you would lose as you start your journey as a businessman. Cynthia Heil of Cascade Financial Management says, “That starts with tracking your business expenses separately from your personal, even though initially it may feel like they are one in the same if you are a one-man shop.”
Not everyone has enough funds to go extravagant and most start on a budget. But that doesn’t mean that success cannot kiss their feet. The key is to learn from the experiences of more successful entrepreneurs and keep finances managed. Because often knowing how to manage finance can be more helpful than having huge stacks of money. Do you think having excess funds or the ability to manage finances is more essential?
