budgets - Blogs - Black Business Women Online

5 Financial Tips Every Business Owners Should Follow

Posted by Sherrell T. Martin on August 28, 2013 at 2:30am

As a business owner, it is key that you understand the financials in your business and what they say about your business. But so many business owners really don't have a clue. I'm sorry if that sounds mean but it's true.

There is more to running a business than making deposits and paying expenses. You have to understand where your money is coming from and where it is going. You have to know how to look at a report and see that financial troubles are on the horizon. You have to be able to identify areas, products or services in your business that are cancerous to your business.

So to help you out I am going to share 5 financial business tips that all business owners should know.

1. Track all disbursements.

I am a big advocate for using a software solution to maintain the tracking of your business finances. It is a necessary tool to understanding where your money is being spent in your business. Once you know where your money is going you will be able to make changes that can ultimately increase your cash flow.

2. Stop co-mingling.

I have said it before and I will say it again STOP CO-MINGLING YOUR PERSONAL EXPENSES WITH YOUR BUSINESS EXPENSES! I'm sorry for yelling but I am so passionate about this. Now don't get me wrong as a business owner I understand how hard it is to do this. I get that it's easier to just swipe your business debit card than it is to write yourself a check and deposit it into a personal bank account. Using your business account as a personal bank account is the #1 thing that will cause you to experience financial failure in your business.

3. Pay your taxes.

Look - no one wants to pay taxes but the fact of the matter is that we have to. So make sure that you have your accountant, CPA, EA, or tax preparer perform tax planning in your business minimally twice a year - in June and in November. The reason for this is so that you know whether your business is tracking to make a profit and the tax implications on that profit. AND so you are not surprised in April when your balance due is four figures or more.

4. Avoid impulse purchases.

In order to grow your business, you will have to make some major purchases at some point in time. So plan and prepare for it, and avoid impulse shopping. Take the time to budget for items so you will know your expected spend, and then plan what sales need to occur and the time frame for when you will be able to make these purchases. If you want to take advantage of peak sales times like tax season, back to school or Black Friday, then plan your purchase for that time of the year.

5. Create budgets.

Speaking of planning and preparing - create budgets. Yes that I said budgets - plural. Creating and maintaining budgets is key to managing your cash flow. you have to know where you expects your sales to come from and where you plan for it to go. And the reason it is plural is because I'm not just talking about your annual budget; you should also create budgets for major product or service launches and definitely for events. You don't plan a vacation without knowing what you plan on spending, so why would you plan a major event in your business? Not creating a budget puts you in a position to overspend which will take more money out of your business and not the other way around.

What additional financial tips do you suggest for business owners?

Interested in learning more financial business tips for your business? Contact Sherrell for a business assessment session at info@empower2thrive.com.

Sherrell Martin is the Founder and CEO of Empower 2 Thrive, LLC, a boutique practice offering financial management accounting and business success strategies. She strives to empower business owners and entrepreneurs to thrive financially in life and business by gaining financial control and creating wealth and legacy. She helps business owners and entrepreneurs who struggle with business and financial organization establish systems that will allow them to create, build and maintain a financially thriving business using accounting, finance and business strategy. To receive your free copy of her Start-Up Success Guide - The 10 Critical Steps to Building a Thriving Business from the Start and a FREE subscription to her Empowering You bi-weekly e-zine, send your request to info@Empower2Thrive.com.

You want steak but can only afford ramen noodles!

Posted by LaTasha West on March 14, 2011 at 1:24am

Money, Money, Money ! Today we are going to talk about cost cutting do's & don'ts and when enough is enough. I know I have previously said that you can achieve many ideas on any budget, but let's be realistic.

If you want steak but can only afford Ramen noodles, then something has gotta give! It's not always about how much money you have it's about what ways can stretch your dollar. When you begin to plan your event you must decide what is important to you. Some areas can be cut or eliminated all together to achieve your desired results. You must decide how you want your event to appear, I will say that again, you MUST decide how you want you event to appear. It's okay to have a backyard BBQ if that is what you want, but you do not want your elegant wedding to come off looking like a backyard BBQ...get it?

I will discuss a few ways to cut costs...think about this...you want STEAK but you can only afford RAMEN NOODLES, so what do you do? Well this one is easy....you can have steak but you just won't be able to feed as many people, so the first piece of advice I offer is to trim your guest list. Do you really need 300 of your closet friends? If you insist on having 300 people you have a choice to make...you can serve Ramen Noodles or serve 300 people a very very very small toothpick sized portion of steak. What is more important to you?

Another area where many people attempt to cut costs is the family and friend "hook-up", now this is tricky. Most people have good intentions when they offer to provide a good or service for you, but what YOU the planner must consider is that most times you get what you pay for. FREE is FREE , are you willing to accept the level of service that your cousin will provide just because it is free? I know that we all have people in our lives that can do something really well and that will do it for you at a low cost, but what I advise in this situation is that you still treat it somewhat like a business transaction. You have to be clear on what you are looking for and what you expect, and the provider has to be clear about what they can provide.

I'm a huge advocate of Do It Yourself, but this only works if you know what you are doing! Before you take on any tasks, learn how to do it! Practice, study and then try it out. You don't want to just assume you can make a wedding cake because it seems easy enough. There are plenty of place you can go to learn how to do things that will save you money. The internet is a valuable tool...but again I say beware...try it out before the day of your event.

I will share more on this topic later, but for today I leave you with this.. when you plan your event be REALISTIC about your WANTS and your FINANCES and your RESOURCES, it's easier to plan when you know exactly what you have available to utilize.

http://pulseoftheparty.blogspot.com/2011/03/you-want-steak-but-you-can-only-afford.html

Are You Up for a Coupon Challenge?

Posted by lorillia Brown-Phillips on October 20, 2010 at 6:00am

The holidays are coming and making sure my family stays within our budget is key to me. But I do have to admit, although I have my family on a strict budget plan, and although we stay within our spending limits overall. The area we tend to overspend is with the grocery/food bill. So enough is enough, I’m taking on the coupon challenge. During the holidays overspending can occur and it’s very important to not neglect your budget during the holiday season. For some people looking to save and not overspend, holiday shopping begins in Fall, this practice allows you to stay on top of your budget allows you to eliminate wasteful spending. So back to my coupon challenge I’ve did my research, so that I can take some tips from other people who have been successful with coupons. In my Googles earch I came across the website of couponmom.com and I been using her website as a guide, so far I am impress with her coupon saving tactics. I just started this coupon exercise this weekand I am noticing the food savings. Right now I’m only buying what’s on sale and utilizing coupons with the sale items. What I also learned that many of the stores have website where you can sign up and get additional savings. Well as I mention earlier int his blog the holidays are coming and my goal is to plan my holiday food shopping list now. Until next time, I’ll let you know how it goes

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.

Note: this page contains paid content.