Finances and The Entrepreneur: 6 Tips to Help You Set Smart Money Goals in 2019
The first step in becoming financially healthy as an entrepreneur is to have a clear understanding about what drives your financial decision. An intentional money management strategy is needed for you to keep your business viable. Here are a few smart money management ideas that will help you set smart money goals to stay financially afloat.
“Money, like emotions, is something you must control to keep your life on the right track.” – Natasha Munson, author, inspirational speaker and CEO of Be Magic, Inc.
Turn Off the Autopilot
It’s called money management for a reason. Don’t spend unnecessarily as if your finances are on autopilot. Ensure you stick to your budget – managing the finances of the business is critical for you as an entrepreneur. Ensure that you get organized with an appropriate money management tool such as Quickbooks.
This will help you to track all your expenses and income. Stay on top of your finances and maintain a paper trail for every transaction. Commit 30 to 60 minutes each week to do a financial audit, this will help you set smart money goals.
Curb Unnecessary Spending
While spending money on your business is necessary, prioritizing what’s important for the business is an acquired skill. Acquiring a new and expensive printer to print documents may seem convenient but how much will it cost in the long run? Consider the total cost of ownership as well.
Building a relationship with a print centre may cut down on paper and toners for your printer.
Don’t Be Hasty With Big Financial Decisions
According to Eva M. Krockow Ph.D. the average person makes 35,000 choices per day. It’s critical that you take time to thoroughly think things through when making big financial decisions. For example, thinking about expanding the business to different locations requires thought and patience. You will need to consider, among other things,:
- Rental properties
- Hiring New Staff
- Implementing New Computers
- Rebranding
Leverage Mentorship
Perhaps the best money management advice we can give is to identify a mentor. We should surround ourselves with people who are smarter than us. If you’re always the smartest in the room how are you going to grow?
Find yourself a mentor who has the financial foundation that you desire. If you want to become a billionaire, go find one. If you want a stable job and a small apartment go find someone who has it. Jim Rohn reminds us that we are the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with.
Save, Save, Save
Before plunging into the world of entrepreneurship think about how much it will cost you as an entrepreneur to own a business. Don’t feel guilty if penny pinching becomes your favourite hobby. Saving money is hard because it’s hard to know where to save. The best thing to do is look at your spending habits as an entrepreneur. As you endeavor to set smart money goals for your startup, map out a typical week of spending for yourself and categorize expenses as “must haves” and “will have later”
Strive for Excellent Credit Rating
It’s important as an entrepreneur to have an excellent credit rating. It determines if you are able to have access to future loans, open business accounts, and finance your business. Maintaining a stellar credit score is a very important task in money management. There are plenty of places to check your credit score for free and even offer you tips on how to improve it. This will prove helpful on your quest to setting smart money goals. Check out CRIF Information Bureau Jamaica Ltd.
Managing your finances as an entrepreneur can be a difficult yet rewarding experience. You will not have overnight success. You will get frustrated. You’ll probably want to give up. If you have any of these experiences just know that you aren’t alone. Nevertheless you must be resolute in setting smart money goals for your startup.
Do you have any other money-management tip you want to add? Go ahead and share it with us.
