Amanda Abella — February 16, 2018 — February 16, 2018
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One of the biggest struggles I see among small business owners is that many of them aren’t very good with money. More specifically, they aren’t very organized or they don’t really know what’s going on financially.
This a big problem.
Like it or not, as a small business owner, part of your job is to keep an eye on the numbers. This doesn’t mean you need to be perfect, but it does mean you need to be competent. Here are a few ways small business owners can get good with money.
Read business and finance books
For the record, I’ve never been good with numbers. I’m much better at it now than I used to be, and a lot of it has to do with self-education through books.
The truth is we’re on our own for the most part. School certainly didn’t teach us how to do this and even people with advanced degrees aren’t necessarily good with money. That means we must actively seek out the information we need.
For example, I spend a lot of time devouring business and finances books. I still try to learn from as many people as possible through masterminds. Most importantly, I actually implement what I learn.
Ask for help
The next step in your quest to becoming good with money is to ask for help. While there are certainly things business owners should do themselves, they can’t do everything.
One such area in which business owners should probably ask for help is with tax planning. More specifically, they’ll want to hire an accountant. A good accountant will not only save you money, but they will also teach you about your best options along the way.
Another area in which business owners may need help is with bookkeeping. For example, I’m not the most organized person on the planet. I also don’t really have time to do my own bookkeeping throughout the year – so I hire it out to someone else.
At that point, all I need to do is send over financial documents on a monthly basis (which I also outsource) and run reports. This alone has helped me become better with money because I seek help from people who know more than I do.
Just note that even if you outsource, you still need to run your financials on a monthly basis to see what is going on. This is actually one of the reasons I publish income reports on my blog, because it forces me to do this.
Get organized
The final step in becoming good with money is to get organized. In fact, I’m sure that if I asked most business owners where they struggle, I would quickly learn that it’s in keeping financials organized.
As a business owner, you must have some sort of system in place for keeping financials organized on a monthly basis. Here are some suggestions:
- Outsource bookkeeping and accounting.
- Use online services to keep track of your business finances.
- Set aside time each month to review the numbers.
- Keep business and personal finances separate.
- Use a secure cloud system for storing important financial documents.
- Create a system with your team so that finances get organized.
- Have regular meetings with your financial team.
Final Thoughts
I do all of these things to some extent every single month, and that’s why I’ve gotten much better at money. I also fervently believe that if I can do it, you can do it too. So if one of your 2018 goals is to become good with money, let this be a testament that it’s possible.
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