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Building a Better Foundation for Your Business

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Building your business on a strong foundation from the beginning saves so much time and energy as you grow. I help my clients start building a better foundation using several simple habits and principles. Here are a few of my favorites:

Cast your vision. As adults, we don’t spend enough time dreaming about our futures. Creating a vision for your business helps you develop the future you’re trying to create. Most business owners I work with are afraid to clearly state what they really want for their business down the line. Your vision statement should be so clear that it leaves no room for fear!

Set goals. Once you have a clear vision, you can make it tangible by breaking it down into bite-sized steps. These are your goals. Assign these to each quarter and then break those down even further for weekly action steps. Track what you’re doing to make sure you’re progressing toward your vision each week.

Schedule CFO days. As a business owner, you aren’t just the CEO of your business, you are also the Chief Financial Officer, or CFO. It’s important to set time aside regularly to stay on top of the finances of your business, even if you have someone helping you. You can use the financial data you collect during this time to make better decisions for your business.

Price your services for profit. Pricing is such a struggle for many business owners I talk to. Usually when a business owner feels they are not making enough money or they are having cash flow issues their issues actually stem from their pricing. You may be under-charging for your services if you don’t understand all the costs of actually delivering the service to your client, if you don’t understand the value your client places on the service, or if you are comparing yourself to others and undervaluing your own skills and experience.

These are just a few principles for a better business foundation. I love working with entrepreneurs to develop these and create a solid foundation that easily allows for growth. 

We talk about all of these things and more in my coaching programs, but right now I’m offering a mini-course on Pricing for Profit. For just $27, you can learn better pricing strategies, how to implement them, how to up-level your pricing without affecting your current clients, and more! Sign up now before the offer expires!

Commitment – Are you in it for the long haul?

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Commitment is the ongoing theme for this month.  And being committed to something may look different to different people.  But with everything that has happened (and continues to happen) this year, being committed to your business, to being in business, is something that you need to be clear about. Commitment is your word being congruent with your action.  It becomes that driving force that propels you forward. Without commitment, your intentions are simply “wishful thinking”. 

In my Facebook live back on August 28, 2019, I talked about how business owners could hedge against an economic downturn (I know…who knew in Aug 2019 what March 2020 would bring?!)  For business owners, solopreneurs, consultants, service providers, etc. you have to commit to being a business owner. Truly commit. No willy-nilly I’m a business owner but I’m not taking it too seriously; I haven’t committed 100% yet.

Lady Boss…that’s just NOT going to cut it! And if you haven’t made that commitment, you may just be feeling the effects of that right now. But it’s not too late (it’s never too late) to make that commitment. To commit to your business. To commit to being in business. To commit to becoming an Empowered Lady Boss!  

In this FB Live, I talk about being in it for the long haul. When you make that commitment to your business (and really to yourself), now you’re in it for the long haul.  And that’s where you want to be: committed and in it for the long haul.  Check out both FB Lives for plenty of tips and resources to help you make that commitment, set yourself up for success, and be in it for the long haul!

If you dream of becoming an Empowered Lady Boss who is confident, smart, and an action-taker and you are ready to step into your power and take action on your dream, this ebook is for you! Download this FREE ebook to learn the 5 Reasons Why Your Money Is Not Adding Up and what you need in your business so that it’s a business you actually love and creates the revenue you want!

Navigating A Changing Business Climate – Protect Your Business NOW

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At the start of our world changing, I did a Facebook Live training on navigating your business through uncertain times.  I provided five strategies to help you navigate through uncertainty in your business. These strategies can be used now during a pandemic, but during normal times as well.  

Maintain a Positive State of Mind. Keeping calm and not panicking during this time of uncertainty is going to be KEY. This is new for everybody and we will get through it.  So start by taking a deep breath (go ahead, I’ll wait for you). Feel a little better now? Good!  

When you come from a calm place, you can make better decisions. You can start creating a level-headed strategy. You can stop reacting to everything that’s going on in the world, your community, and in your business.  

When you stay calm, you will begin to be grateful and thankful for where you are right now, what you have, and even where you are at the moment in your business. Being thankful for where you are and the lessons you’ve learned will help you shape and mold your business in this current economic situation. 

But we need to look at the bigger picture. We may be in this situation for the long haul. And being mentally fatigued about things we cannot control isn’t doing you (or anyone else) any good. 

Your routine has changed.  Create a new routine that works for you, your family, and your business. Be consistent with it. Give yourself some space (physically & mentally) where both you and your family can work/study. Set a schedule and keep it.  This will increase your productivity as well as enhance your children’s homeschooling experience. 

Be a little gentle on yourself. If you are getting overwhelmed, put on some music and have a dance party in the living room. Go outside and play. Get some fresh air.  All of these things will ensure your state of mind remains positive. 

Connect with like minded business owners. If you’re a business owner and you have a community of business people you can connect with, do so! When we connect with people who have the same (or at least a similar) mindset, instead of feeling drained or negative, you will begin to feel supported, encouraged and lifted up. The best communities lift everyone up. For instance, you can join our Facebook Community here: The Empowered Lady Boss.

Now that we are in this isolation period, reaching out to those communities can be vital. Begin building relationships now and when this crisis subsides, you will have business relationships that you can lean on, grow with, and count on in the future.

Be aware of your personal financial budget. Create a plan by looking at your personal budget. What are your current needs? Being home, you might be cooking more, so your food budget may have increased. Review your expenses for the past two (2) months. Where did you spend your money and on what? 

Then look at your debt. How much debt do you have? What are your monthly payments? What fixed costs do you have that must be met? I can’t stress this enough – You need to know that number. Next, look at any discretionary spending. Discretionary spending is non-essential expenses. Review subscriptions, membership fees, cell phone and internet plans, and other things that you may be able to reduce or even eliminate to free up funds for other expenses. 

Be aware of your business financials. This pandemic has really highlighted the need for good up to date bookkeeping for your business. If you aren’t already tracking your business financials, now is a very good time to start learning how to.  Right now you may not have as much client work as normal and may have the extra time. 

You can get started with a simple spreadsheet. Begin tracking how much money is coming into your business, what your business expenses are, and what expenses are fixed or variable. If your business has employees, you need to determine if you will have enough money coming into your business to cover payroll. And don’t forget yourself.

Reduce accounts receivable days. Reducing the amount of accounts receivable days will help your business cash flow. When you invoice a client and the terms of the invoice are net 30 (giving them 30 days to pay) for services you’ve already provided, it hinders the cash flow into your business. The sooner you can receive cash into your business, the better. Waiting for a client to pay an invoice can make or break your cashflow.  It can also cause you to accrue overdraft fees. Remember, you are in control of your business. You are in control of when you get paid. You are in control of your cash flow. Don’t know how — reach out and ask.

Review expenses. Just as you did for your personal budget, review your business expenses.  Do you have subscriptions that you aren’t using or could reduce the plan? Are there expenses in your business that you can’t use during this social distancing time? Networking memberships for example. Combining reduced account receivable days with a reduction in expenses will increase your cash flow.

Create a Plan. This is not your 2020 plan.  We could not have anticipated COVID-19 and the shutting down of the economy.  This new plan is your business survival plan. As you become clear on the resources that are available to you, then create that plan.  Have a detailed plan for your business. It is important to be agile with your plan. Even with the economic uncertainty we are currently facing, it’s important to have a plan for the future.  

Start with looking ahead two (2) weeks.  What projects do you have planned? What expenses do you anticipate? What aspects of your business do you need to nail down (financials, marketing, systems)? If you have proposals out there, and  your potential new clients haven’t signed on yet, reach out. Start looking at what your revenue will be and what your expenses will be.

Plan for the next 30 days. Then for the next 60 days, and 90 days.

Need help with creating financial freedom with your business?

Here is how I can help.  I have launched a new program Begin With Profit. This program will teach you how to structure your business finances to create profit with every engagement, even during COVID-19. 

You will walk away knowing how to identify your most profitable service and package it so your potential clients say yes!  You can also use the calculator that I developed to help you know how much your business needs to generate so that you can live the life you want.  The investment in you and your business will pay for itself over and over again.

Bottom line:  There are things that you can control even in uncertain times.  Don’t be reactive; be proactive with a plan.

What do you need to make your vision a reality?

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This month we’ve been talking about vision and where you see yourself and your business in the future. We talked about creating your ideal day. What it looks like, what it feels like. Now we need to take the vision and start developing the action steps needed to make it a reality. 

Too often, business owners or entrepreneurs skip over this step. They focus on the pricing strategy or how to get more sales.   But if you don’t have an action plan of what your future looks like and the steps needed to get there, you will end up aiming in the wrong direction.  Or if you do aim in the right direction, you might miss your target.

The first step in your action plan should be determining who you need to be in your business. What do you need to be doing today, right now, to become the person you need to be in the future? You need to be willing to step outside your comfort zone. You need to be willing to seek the advice of others to gain the resources you need.

Let’s face it; you don’t know everything you need to know to run a business – a profitable business. Seeking out the expertise of those who have been where you are and have become experts is important. You may be very good at what you do, at what service you provide, but no one has trained and prepared you for being a business owner.  And not just a business owner, but the CEO of your business. 

So think about what resources you need. Do you need help with marketing and strategy? Do you need assistance with the administrative side of your business? Maybe you need help in getting better at sales. There are a lot of soft skills business owners need to develop in order to produce the extraordinary result you desire.  There are resources available to help you develop and strengthen those skills.

Ask yourself this: In order to get the extraordinary results I want in my business, what do I need?  What actionable steps can I take, what resources can I tap into? Write down your plan and start taking action!

If you’d like help in coming up with your vision, drafting your 5-year vision, and developing the action steps needed to get there, let’s chat!  I’d love to help you realize your vision and create extraordinary results!

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