I have come across a lot of entrepreneurs in my years of business – micro entrepreneurs and CEOs – and there is one thing that I often seen as being the difference between the two. Entrepreneurs who are just starting out are passionate, full of ideas and ambition, and determined to succeed. CEOs, while often equally as passionate, have one thing that many others don’t: money management skills. Startup entrepreneurs are in business to make money, but many do not know what to do with it once they have it. Since success is rarely a one-time stroke of luck, read on to discover some money management tricks that will help you stick around in the long run.
First of all, if you’re not a detail-oriented type of person, you need to be willing to get yourself someone who is. Business it not just about selling a product or providing a service; it’s about being organized and keeping track of everything, and I mean everything. Beyond just having a client database, you need to keep track of everything from your profits to turnovers to a myriad of other statistics. Familiarize yourself with basic money management tools and software programs to make the recording process easier, or hire someone else who knows the stuff.
Secondly, write down your financial ambitions. Where do you see yourself in ten years? Twenty years? Fifty years? How much money do you anticipate having? How much money do you anticipate having given away or spent? These are questions you need to ask yourself to help you determine what your goals are today. You may think you know what you want – to have your business succeed – but put down on paper what that really means to you.
Thirdly, admit to yourself just how much you know about money management. Acknowledging that you don’t know much doesn’t mean you need to spend thousands to hire someone who does. But it does mean that if you’re not going to do that, you need to have a willingness to learn all the things you don’t know. Taking care of your financial accounts doesn’t have to be a time-consuming and energy-draining affair. It can be fun, learning how it works, making budgets and plans, and living out those plans.
I would suggest buying either Quicken of MS Money to help you get your affairs in electronic order. Both for under $100, these software programs can help you perform some of the more tedious tasks. Their tutorials can also be great primers for the absolute accounting novices.
We have all grown up in a world that associates enormous pressure and drudgery with money management; if you are not doing it, you should be; if you are doing it, you are not doing it well enough. Take your time to understand just how you are making your money and how, in turn, you can get your money working for you. And, take pride in the fact that you are able to manage your own money.
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