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Don’t be Slack – Stay in the Black!
‘Black’ is a color usually associated with things that are bad, or, at least, unpleasantly mysterious. Darkness, abysses, etc. But to be ‘in the black’ in the business world is a great thing. Basically, it means that your business is profitable. You’re receiving more money than you’re spending. And isn’t that the aim of all businesses?
The opposite of this is ‘in the red’, which means you’re losing money. Which, obviously, is something you want to steer well clear of. So here are some essential tips that will keep you in the black.
Remember: loans aren’t the only way
Very few people have the money upfront to actually start a business, right? And there are banks and other lenders who seem more than happy to lend you the money you need, as long as it looks like you have a strong business plan and a reliable financial history. So why not get a loan? Well, a loan immediately lands you into debt. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing in the long run, of course, but you shouldn’t fall into the trap of thinking that taking out a loan is the only option you have. You might want to consider bootstrapping your business – that is, going for it with the resources to hand. Find out more about this at www.entrepreneur.com/article/220733.
Budget, budget, budget
I hope you don’t have a phobia of the word ‘budget’, because you’re going to hear it a lot if you have even the slightest interest in staying in the black. Budgets are essential to the grand scheme of your business. They allow you to properly plan for several monetary scenarios in the business: the winning streaks, the workable day-to-days, and the ugly failures. Without a budget, you’re essentially captaining a ship that has a half-functioning steering wheel, or whatever the steering device on a boat is called. Check out some relevant advice over at www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Business-Budget.
Manage your expenses
Whether business is booming or things aren’t going exactly to plan, you need to ensure you’re actually managing your expenses. That means you should be tracking how much you’re spending for all activities you perform and all property and resources you use. When you don’t keep on top of such information, then all that money will probably start disappearing like sand through your fingers. Ignoring this step is probably the most common cause of poor finance in both business and private lives. Read more at www.avaza.com/expense-management-software/.
Define your sales objectives
So, should things go right for your business, how much money are you actually going to have as a result? You need this information. That’s why you shouldn’t just release products into the wild and simply count up all the sales you accrete. You should actually define a sales objective. Don’t just rely on standard percentage increases based on the sales statistics you gathered last year. Go in with specific sales objectives – and know precisely how much cash those sales are actually going to bring in. After all, it’s not sales that pays your business bills – it’s the cash that results from those sales! Check out www.yourbusiness.azcentral.com/sales-goals-objectives.
The post Don’t be Slack – Stay in the Black! appeared first on 20s Money.
Source: http://20smoney.com/2017/03/15/slack-stay-black/
