Entrepreneurial Truths Part 3

This is a continuation of the article from the last week of Entrepreneurial Truths. As an entrepreneur, there are constant stresses, pressures, the feelings that you have.

It’s something that I believe that all of us as entrepreneurs go through on a daily, if not certainly a weekly basis. Let’s look at a couple more of those here.

Budget

As an entrepreneur, you HAVE to be focused on the money. Many people get into business because they enjoyed the delivery of the product or service. Whatever it was, you are in. Now you have to manage money. For some of us, that sucks. If you’ve always sucked at budgeting, if you’re a fan of Dave Ramsey but unsure how to apply his concepts to the up and down cash flow that is the event business, then Mike Michalowicz’s Profit First system may be the right fit for you. Now my friend Jason Spencer, a Certified Profit First Professional, first introduced me to Mike Michalowicz and frankly I can’t thank him enough for it.

This system has helped me budget, forecast and knows where my dollars are allocated in my business. Jason became my coach, assisting me with actually looking at my numbers from a neutral perspective, coaching me on what percentages should be set aside for expenses, tax, profit and owners pay, along with payroll for my employees. From there, we set up a plan moving forward to bring me to where I should be, giving me baby steps to become more profitable in my business by trimming expenses that were unnecessary and providing a proper forecast. You NEED to KNOW your NUMBERS. If you don’t, you’re just fooling yourself and running a hobby.

If you’re only working out of one checking account in your business, you NEED Profit First.

The author of the book “Profit First”, Mike Michalowicz, is a very kind individual and someone I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the stage with. I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you to pick up any of his great books and if you find yourself near where he is speaking, grab a seat. Buy his book, it will be an AMAZING experience for your business, but only IF you go back home, read it and take action.