One of the most important (but often overlooked) aspects of running your company is addressing the question, “How much should I pay myself?” It’s crucial to pay yourself regularly to maintain financial stability. The whole point of starting a business is typically to create financial freedom and security for yourself and your family. But it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day operations and forget to take care of your own paycheck.
Read MoreSimilar to other decisions you’ve had to make on your own, retirement is another crucial financial topic you must diligently explore to set you and your business up for success.
Small business retirement plans vary in terms of structure, benefits, and suitability, depending on the size of your business and team, your financial situation, and your goals. Choosing the right one for your business can feel daunting, but the sooner you decide which plan is right for you, the better handle you’ll have on your retirement planning.
Read MoreIt's that time of year again — tax season is fast approaching! As a successful small business owner, we know you’re busy enough without stressing about gathering receipts, tallying up expenses, and rushing to file your taxes on time.
But fear not! With a few organizational tips and tricks in place throughout the year, you can reduce your tax prep stress and breeze through tax time next year.
Read MoreJotting down your goals and visualizing their realization is exciting, but it's merely the starting point. Genuine progress happens when we dig deeper and adopt a mindset and lifestyle that aligns with our goals.
This is where establishing financial intentions comes into play. Our intentions propel us forward, even if we temporarily veer off course from an ambitious goal we've set.
Hiring your first employee is like adding a new character to the story of your business. You want to ensure they're a perfect fit, someone who can help you achieve your goals and take your company to the next level. So, let's jump into the exciting world of small business hiring and the employee onboarding process.
Read MoreSmall business scaling is not just about growing your operations, expanding your team, and increasing your offerings, but doing it sustainably and effectively. If you try to grow your business too quickly or too haphazardly, you could find yourself stuck down the road facing burnout, a lack of vision, or even cash flow problems. Learning effective strategies for scaling your small business can help you anticipate common challenges and discover actionable solutions.
Hiring your first employee is like adding a new character to the story of your business. You want to ensure they're a perfect fit, someone who can help you achieve your goals and take your company to the next level. So, let's jump into the exciting world of small business hiring and the employee onboarding process.
Read MoreYou've reached a point where your small business is thriving, and you can no longer be a one-person show. Congratulations! It's time to take that next big step — hiring your first employee. This is a significant leap, and while it might feel a bit overwhelming, we’re here to give you some tips to help make the process more smooth and straightforward.
Hiring your first employee is like adding a new character to the story of your business. You want to ensure they're a perfect fit, someone who can help you achieve your goals and take your company to the next level. So, let's jump into the exciting world of small business hiring and the employee onboarding process.
Read MoreEnsuring that all of your resources are being maximized to their full potential is an essential part of managing your business well. Time management also helps you adapt to the ever-changing business environment, allowing you to keep up with new challenges and embrace new opportunities.
We want to share some of our favorite time management hacks that help keep our business (and personal lives) running smoothly and efficiently.
Read MoreAs a small business owner, you are (by no official definition) a unicorn! Your business origin story is unique, your leadership style is unlike others, and you solve problems and handle challenges in your own way.
So while we don’t want to discredit your uniqueness, we do want to point your attention to a common small business life cycle that most entrepreneurs experience. Knowing these stages can help you prepare for upcoming challenges, face current struggles, and be equipped with knowledge and skills for the future.
Read MoreDo you ever wonder why some businesses stay afloat in tough times, and other businesses fold even when things seem to be going well? A company could be revolutionary, have raving fans, and appear to be making a profit….and still not stay in business!
Usually, it’s not because a business is better, more popular, or successful on the surface. More likely, it comes down to effective cash flow management. According to research, 38% of startups fail because they run out of money.
Let’s be honest, when it comes to building a profitable business, the learning curve is steep.
Navigating the new terrain will be easier if you focus on the right goals from the beginning. And one of the most important goals is to focus on is how profitable your business is.
Focusing on profitability will help to prevent your dreams from becoming a cash flow eating nightmare.
Read MoreIf you’re one of the lucky ones who continued to grow throughout the pandemic, you may find that your business has extra money in the budget as you’re doing your year-end financial reckoning. This can be a good opportunity to pay yourself more, increase the stability of the business, or invest back into the business.
It can also be a great opportunity to give back to your community and say thanks. If you’re feeling so inclined, here are six ideas for how to give thanks with extra money in your budget this year.
Read MoreRemember the old adage; businesses who fail to plan, plan to fail. By completing the steps in this year-end financial checklist, you can rest easy knowing that you’re creating a plan for success. You can’t improve what you haven’t measured, and this checklist will help you measure all the right things for year-end planning and improved forecasting.
Read MoreBoth new and seasoned business owners grapple with this problem every day, so you’re not alone. And luckily, there are things you can do to increase your business profit quickly and (relatively) painlessly!
Read MoreWhen you take the leap from employee to business owner, one of the most important things you need to consider is how you’ll pay yourself. Yet this is one area that new (and even some seasoned) business owners continue to struggle with.
Read MoreEssentially, there are three different professionals who can make your life easier when it comes to your business finances (there are more, but these three are the most common):
A financial business coach
A financial advisor who serves business owners
A bookkeeper or accountant
To choose the right professional for you and your business, you need to know what each professional specializes in, the services they offer, and how they can specifically help support your business financials.
Read MoreWell-done budgets can be so freeing. They can ultimately take a lot of the fear out of our finances.
Luckily, creating a budget for your business doesn’t have to be difficult or daunting. I’ve developed a simple five-step guide you can follow to create your own business budget right now and get more clarity on your business finances. Let’s get started.
Read MoreYou’ve made the leap, business is rolling in and one of the first questions usually is - “How much should I be spending on things like my website, advertising, social media, hiring experts, etc.? And also, when should I start doing that? At the beginning? After I have revenue? Take a loan? Use my savings?”
Read MoreProfit First is a life changing system for any business owner. Not just some, not just new businesses or small businesses or service based businesses or owners who don’t handle money well. Profit First is literally life changing for anyone who fully implements it in their business! Why? I want to dig into that below.
Read MoreWhen you start a business, you don’t realize the one million things that it will require of you. You simply think, I charge money for my service/product that I love and I make money! Voila!
But it doesn’t quite work that way….one of the most important things for business owners to understand and learn to manage is not just their revenue and expenses, but moreso, cash flow. So what is cash flow?
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