One of the greatest gifts of being an entrepreneur is the opportunity to flex your financial muscles. It’s also one of the greatest challenges for me personally. In fact, many entrepreneurs make the decision to start their own business because they have a certain skill or talent – or an idea for a product. They don’t know anything about the financial aspects of business – like payroll, budgeting, P&L statements, profitability, cash flow, taxes, etc. So what happens? We learn as we go! We rely on the experts. And we develop those financial muscles.
Many of the moms I work with are creative types – writers, photographers, caterers, artists, graphic designers, fitness trainers, dieticians, chiropractors, counselors… and the financial aspects of business don’t come naturally. Very few of them are “in the business of money.” Yet, all of them are in business for themselves. And if you’re a mom entrepreneur…if you own a business of any kind…no matter what your company is…no matter what service you provide or product you sell, as a business owner, it’s YOUR JOB to know about the money. And if there’s something you don’t know, your job is to find someone you trust who does know. It’s a challenge for some of us to accept this responsibility, but we can’t have a thriving business unless we do.
Here are five financial fitness tips to help you develop those financial muscles and stay in good financial shape.
Financial Fitness Tips for the Mom Entrepreneur
1. Open a separate checking account for your business. This is the single most important step you can take to turn your hobby into a business. For some reason, this simple task is a huge ordeal for many moms when they are just getting started in business. They put it off until they are making money. Or they convince themselves that it’s going to take a long time and require a ton of paperwork, so it’s not worth the effort. The truth is it takes about 30 minutes to go to the bank and open a business checking account and in most cases all you need is your tax ID number, some identification and an initial deposit. Having that separate account not only makes things cleaner for you at tax time, but it also helps you to take your business seriously. [Read more...]
Something happens after you’ve been in business a little while. Clients start calling…doors start opening…and all of a sudden you are incredibly busy! And even though you know it’s a blessing to have all this “success,” you begin to lose sight of your reason you started the business in the first place. You get lost in the muck of your To-Do list. And you become a slave to the business you once hoped would make all your dreams come true.
