It takes a precise, in-depth look at your business plan to come up with really good financial strategies. And that will take time and effort. But here's the thing: doing this work is completely worth it.
As part of our service to the small businesses we serve, we always go over your business plan during our onboarding process. After all, we want to make sure your business is as profitable as it can be. Our number one goal is to partner with you to see you succeed.
It's a top priority of ours to make sure we're doing all we can do to see you beat the small business success rate odds! Part of that means having viable financial strategies that can carry your business through the tough times into the successful years.
And if the events of 2020 (and the years following) taught us anything, it's to expect the unexpected.
Now, here we are in 2023, and many businesses worldwide are still struggling. They're still having to set up new policies. They’re still pivoting. Many are even having to close because they simply can't survive.
Now, more than ever, it's time to look for new ways to make and save money in our businesses.
With that in mind, today we thought we would chat about a few off-the-beaten-path financial strategies.
These are just good BUSINESS strategies in general. But here's the thing: Seeing how these smart small business strategies directly affect your finances can be paramount to the growth of your business overall.
These aren’t just things you should do when you get some extra time. These are things you need to be doing now in order to reach your financial goals in 2023 and beyond!
You’ve heard all the quippy sayings: "If you don’t know where you want to end up, you can’t effectively lead your business. You need to know where you are going, to know how to build a plan to get there."
But what does this mean for your business?
How does this strategy affect your finances?
Think about your vision statement. I'm guessing it doesn’t sound something like, “To sell $1.5 million in 2023.”
Maybe, if you're a marketing firm, it would be something like, “To become the national leader at understanding and then connecting both small businesses and their customers.”
While obviously you want to grow in profitability, your company NEEDS a forward-looking, seemingly pie-in-the-sky vision.
You probably have a business plan and financial goals because every company thinks about how it is going to pay the bills, pay its employees, and grow.
Yes: Every. Single. One.
But if you aren’t spending your brain capital actually plotting a clear course with tangible steps to move your company toward that otherwise pie-in-the-sky vision statement, you simply will not reach your financial goals.
That's why financial strategies are vital to your success.
(By the way, here's how to build a financial strategy in 20 minutes)
But the marketplace is ever-changing.
What worked pre-COVID might not work in 2023. We're seeing this more every day.
We're still facing unprecedented challenges in our businesses. And this includes financial challenges.
Looking to the future on a regular basis and then creating actionable steps to move toward a thoughtful vision will be the fuel in the engine to drive your company towards success. The smart financial goals can then be matched up along the way with a company that's empowered to meet them!
There is a lot out there about not having regrets and keeping your eye on the prize. But if you have been a business owner longer than a minute, you know it is messy. You have lots of regrets. And there are times when those mistakes are staring you in the face and seemingly distracting you from the prize.
This can feel really overwhelming. Sometimes, it's tempting to just push it down and move on as quickly as possible.
Most of us would say we never saw the events of 2020 coming, so we weren't prepared for it. But hindsight is 20/20, and now we're able to look back and know what we need to plan for.
What you need to remember in these difficult times in your business is gold for the forward momentum we just talked about. You have a vision that you actually want to achieve. It isn’t just empty words.
So the mess you're in, the mistakes you just made, the low month or two you just had…ask yourself this: What DIDN’T work? What about those decisions directed you away from your goals? How did you get there?
Spend time analyzing your business strategy with your vision statement in mind. This helps you develop successful financial strategies.
But look at what DID work too! If you had a good month? Get excited—sure! But don’t take success for granted. Figure out why it was good. Look at what you did differently and think about if the short-term profit is propelling you toward long-term growth.
Let the past be rock-solid material to pave your way forward.
Adopting this kind of strategy allows you to keep your vision in check and change it if needed. At the same time, it allows you to adjust your course to avoid the same pitfalls again. Using mistakes to steer your business towards improvement means keeping your company as profitable as it can be!
One of the wisest financial decisions you can make for the welfare of your small business is to see and invest in your team.
Under-utilized and underdeveloped teams leave you as the owner maxed out. And frankly, this is a poor investment of your business revenue. Payroll is one of your top expenses each month.
This money is actually WORKING for you!
On that note, check out this article where we cover five ways for businesses to cut costs on operating expenses.
Just as above, your vision statement should be your plumb line. This means you need to make sure you have surrounded yourself with people who will buy into your company’s vision along with you and who will work passionately alongside you.
If they are teachable and passionate, you can grow these people to be the biggest asset of your small business.
This team can help drive your business forward by offering valuable and diverse ways of seeing how you can move towards your vision, as well as talents that will extend the effectiveness of your business.
This may sound like a broken record at this point. But...when you are better at carrying out your vision, you guessed it…you are more effective at driving your profits up!
While we discuss financial strategies, now's a good time to point you to our post on the five fundamentals of a successful business strategy.
Lastly, but absolutely not least, a sure way to increase your revenue is to consistently be learning from others.
Purposely build relationships with others who have gone before you in your business. But don’t stop there!
Get creative and surround yourself with people who have different talents and strengths than you
Ask questions all the time
Allow yourself to be challenged by people who are similar in business to you AND by people who are different
The bottom line is, stay humble. Be confident in your vision and your abilities but allow that vision and those abilities to be challenged and sharpened by a variety of skills and views.
Well, the sharper your tools, the more effective you will be at building the road that takes you towards your vision.
Staying humble and receiving input ultimately means you're working on building a better YOU. You are the vision-carrier, the one driving your company towards its goals.
Choosing to take time to make yourself more effective means you are choosing to take time to make your company more effective at embodying its vision. You’ll keep that edge and keep your company moving forward when you allow yourself to spend time being sharpened by outside sources.
This is more important now than ever: No matter where you are in your business year, take time to go back and review your vision statement.
Does it inspire you? Does it actually address a deep need that the customer base you are trying to reach would relate with? Analyze it and then spend time letting it move you and your employees to push out in all directions.
Once you know WHERE you want to go (forward), you can easily know where you DON’T want to go (backward), WHO will help get you there (inward) and WHAT influences you will allow to help shape you along the way (outward).
Implementing these financial strategies is a powerful way to ensure your small business absolutely reaches and exceeds your financial goals along the way to becoming the best in your industry!
And we're here to help every step of the way.
We’re passionate about helping businesses succeed, even in the most challenging times. In order to do that, we focus on two areas that we believe we’re best at: Bookkeeping and CFO Advisory Services.
To learn more about how our bookkeeping services can help YOUR business, click here.
If you'd like to chat about what we can do for you, call us today.
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This article was updated in 2023.