Starting a business? Here are five things you should know!
7 Habits of highly effective business owners
To spend more time with my family
To get out of the rat race
To pursue my passion
To have freedom and earn more
Sounds familiar, right? These are some of the usual reasons why people choose to become entrepreneurs. But with great rewards come challenges and uncertainties. And before you achieve the many perks of business, you have to understand its cost.
One of the costs you should consider is the financial side of your business. Here are some financial tips to get you started on becoming the next successful entrepreneur.
1. Do your homework first
Just because you have enough capital to start a business doesn’t mean you’d quickly jump and start your venture. Starting and growing a business is not about moving carelessly; you have to carefully plan every move you make.
As Andrew Tan of Megaworld Corp. advises entrepreneurs, “Do not rush into a business just because you have the capital. You’d lose your shirt if you jump into it recklessly.”
“Do your homework first,” he added. Study the market and look for that golden opportunity. Whatever business you choose to go into, it must be something that you can pursue with passion.”
As Tan said, you have to study your market first. What is trending in your industry? Who are your
competitors? What’s your unique selling point? Studying these matters will allow you to utilize your resources well. Sure, business comes with a huge risk, but you can minimize the risk if you do your homework first before getting started.
2. Get a reliable accountant
Having a reliable accountant will help you analyze where your money comes and goes.
If you don’t have the budget yet to hire a full-time accountant, you can try outsourcing. There are many companies who offer accounting services that you can leverage. Just make sure that the company has a proven track record, to help you with your accounting needs.
Someone should monitor your financial performance, or else you might be surprised that you are already running out of money. This will allow you to focus on what matters most in your business, like your operations and growing your customers.
3. Manage your cash flow
Without having enough cash flow to meet your day-to-day needs, how can you survive? What if there are delayed payments from your customers—what are you going to do?
You should always have to be ready for unexpected occurrences or emergencies. To help mitigate such problems, you can take out a working capital loan to sustain or manage your cash flow.
4. Cut unnecessary expenses
Evaluate your company’s expenses. As you grow, your operational expenses also increase, so controlling and cutting costs are important to managing and sustaining your business. For example, you can check your transportation or office space costs to see if you can lower these expenses. This will certainly help your business in the long run.
5. Learn to reinvest in your business
If you think that your starting capital is enough to keep your business up and running, think again.
Successful entrepreneurs know that business growth requires reinvesting to meet the growing demands of your customers.
While it can be tempting to use profits for your personal needs or wants, you must understand that reinvesting in your business can help your business thrive. If you need additional equipment to increase your production, you can reinvest in your business by using the net profit of your business to buy additional equipment.
But if you think that you’re still not at the stage of reinvesting, RFC offers equipment and machinery loan to help improve your production flow.
6. Pay it forward
Don’t be greedy; learn how to give back to your community or the customers you serve.
This is not just about charitable activities your business should be involved in. You can pay forward or give back by teaching other entrepreneurs how to grow their business, as well. Or support some causes that are aligned with your company’s goal or mission.
These are some of the financial tips that you have to remember if you want to become a successful entrepreneur. Knowing the number game or financial performance of your business is essential for your business to succeed.