Healthy financial tips to keep your business ahead

Money management isn’t a complicated subject, but it can be an emotional one. These are the ten best financial tips for your success in business and life. It’s best to get started as soon as possible, but don’t be discouraged if you’re a late bloomer. Did you know, the average United States millionaire is 62 years old? We can’t get rich overnight, but by implementing healthy financial tips, you can care for yourself and your family.

You’re not average, and that’s why you’re reading this article because you want to stay ahead in life. You stay ahead by keeping your business healthy, and these tips will help you if you continue to use them. Money can’t buy happiness, but it helps amplify the life you can experience and what you can give.

This is the story of the tortoise and the hare.

One day a hare was making fun of a tortoise for being slow. He poked at him and teased him .” How do you ever get anywhere? You’re so slow,” the hare said.

The tortoise said, “I get there quicker than you think. I’ll race you,” the tortoise suggested.

The hare knew he would win, but for the fun of it, he agreed. The fox elected to be the judge, he set the distance and the starting line, and they were off.

The hare zoomed so far ahead of the tortoise that he was entirely out of sight, to poke fun at the tortoise and make him feel ridiculous, the hare decided to take a nap. Slowly the tortoise caught up to and passed the hare. The hare continued to sleep peacefully.

When the hare woke up, he realized his mistake, but it was too late, he ran as fast as he could, but the tortoise won.

Be the tortoise, not the hare. You will get to your goals eventually if you focus on them.

“By failing to prepare, you are

preparing to fail.” -Benjamin Franklin

If you want to stay ahead, to be exceptional in business today, you need to prepare. It is not always the swiftest who stands victorious but the ones who are ready to adapt in the face of change.

Reduce Debt

The first step to financial wealth is reducing bad debt; debt is a tool that you can leverage but shouldn’t be relied on if it’s unnecessary. Debt can become our focus and blind us from looking for other opportunities to build wealth if debt stresses you out, you should avoid it. When looking at debt, think of it as the difference between a tool that can help you or a crutch that will slow your business down. Good Debt can help you grow your business without becoming a crutch.

Reducing bad debt isn’t about paying off your business expenditures, but it’s reducing debt in your mind. Much of our cultures built on debt and credit, we look at what we owe always. Reducing debt in your account allows you to focus on creative ways to build wealth. Everyone’s creative to an extent, and that extent gets multiplied by your adaptability. Creativity cannot exist without flexibility.

Get expert advice

Asking for advice is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength. If what you’re doing isn’t working, you should always seek expert advice. All professionals consult experts in their practice doctors, lawyers, accountants, and this is one of the best tips for you to apply for a healthy financial life.

It can be hard to keep up with the complexities of life while learning the different variables surrounding money. A financial advisor can help navigate what’s best for your situation. It’s similar to getting a personal trainer, but to keep your finances healthy, the money you pay is nothing compared to the money you’ll generate and save.

To be clear, we aren’t seeking any advice, only advice from the best. The biggest problem today is we take too much information at face value. Your best bet in our culture today is to ignore all advice except for the help you seek. Always seek from experts.

An alternative is to learn the information yourself, which is possible; learning is the ultimate skill.

Keep your personal and business finances separate

If you run a business, this tip is the golden rule in accounting. Whatever you do, keep your personal and business finances separate. By mixing your expenses with your business, you’re spotlighting your business for an investigation. This spotlighting is as suspicious illegal activities by the IRS. The best way to avoid suspicion is by separating your personal and business finances.

You might think, “That will never happen to me.” Until it does, I recently read of a local business which was under criminal investigation and investigation by the IRS because of one thing, mixing business and personal expenses. Not only can it result in fines for your business, but it’s eating up unnecessary time.

Keeping your business organized is keeping your finances separate. You might think it’s easy now, but the easy decisions are the ones we pay for down the road. Even if it seems complicated, keep your finances separate. If you don’t understand your numbers, find someone who can translate them to you.

Automate your savings, set limits on expenses

The next tip we have is to automate your savings, set limits on expenses. This benefit is twofold. By automating your savings, you’re putting money away that you never see, if you never see it you never spend it. Automating your payments to yourself is an important habit to build. The problem isn’t that we don’t save enough, it’s that we don’t save consistently, we haven’t made it a priority.

Make paying yourself a priority. Your business’s financial health will thank you for it. When saving, remember, it’s essential to set goals and pick the right tools for growth.

As more money comes to us, we often pay the extra because we won’t miss it.

You’ll miss it, especially if you aren’t using it productively.

Are you treating your business like an ATM? It’s an honest question and one that will save you a headache of problems. Your business is an opportunity to build.

Reduce taxes

The next tip we have is to reduce taxes. Did you know that there are more business tax deductions than personal write-offs? Most of us don’t plan for taxes, we do them, but if you own a business, you’re missing out on some significant tax deductions.

Not all CPAs are tax planners. Tax planning takes strategy, but if you’ve never done one, you’re bleeding money from your business.

Reducing your taxable income increases the amount of income your business generates, almost like magic. Once you apply the strategy, the savings continue not just for one year but as long as your company operates.

Negotiate with vendors

As business owners, negotiation is part of the job. Did you know you can negotiate with vendors? If you call all of your vendors right now, one of them will be willing to cut you a better price. Cell phones, cable, and other contracts are negotiable.

You’ll never find out if you never ask, but most of the time, we never ask. Connecting with vendors is one of Rosa’s tips to budget daily, budget often.

Negotiation isn’t always about price; it’s more about getting what you need without paying more for it, getting more for your money. Sometimes we’re the ones who sign up for more than we use and end up paying more than we need to. If you’re paying a premium service for $200, but only need the basic package, do your business a favor and cut that expense.

Stay organized

Stay organized with all of your bills, loans, and payroll. We use accounts receivable and payables to organize bookkeeping to utilize in financial reports. The reports are a result of the organization and work previously done. If you want to start the business of your dreams, it starts with building a foundation.

Organization in accounting and bookkeeping is critical. An experienced CFO demonstrates attention to detail in their organization. You can only refine something that you’ve organized. We often see many business owners that need to clean up services simply because they ignored their accounting in the beginning.

A little organization goes a long way.

We know how painful it is to face unorganized books, so if you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Plan ahead

When you plan, you save money. A budget prepares you for expenses, a tax plan saves you money in the following years, planning one percent of our day makes the rest of it run smoother. One percent of your day is 14 in half minutes, carving out that short time gives you a better chance for victory in your day.

In planning, a strategy is all that matters. Batman is a strategic planner and always comes out on top because of his extensive preparation. I received sound advice that I’m now passing to you, “If the experts plan, so should you.”

“A budget is telling your money where

to go instead of wondering

where it went.” John Maxwell

Invest in growth

Once you’ve done a proper tax plan, your business should no longer bleed cash to the IRS. Now you should shift your focus to invest in growth. The inflation rate for 2018 was 2.44%, inflation is the increase in price for goods and services. Each year everything gets a little more expensive.

Investing in growth involved spending your money wisely, you’re spending your money today so that in the future you’ll receive a return on your principal. Investing comes with risk, and you should keep your personality in mind. Life is risky, but our lives are built by the risks we’re willing to take.

Education is considered growth, motivational, and self-improvement seminars are an investment.

Sharpen the saw

Abraham Lincoln once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree, and I will spend the first four sharpening the Axe.” The ax is your multiplier; the strongest lumberjack in the world can’t cut down a tree with a dull ax.

Sharpen the saw refers to the areas in your life that you’re allowing to get dull, maybe it’s your physical abilities, your communication skills with friends and relatives, or you’ve fallen into the trap of average like many of us have.

In business, you’ll need to rise to the level of the problems around you. Sharpening your saw is about growing to meet and overcome those problems, and they will come.

There are skills and abilities that you can develop as a leader to help drive the future of your business. These skills are simple: reading, thinking, and speaking.

Everything you read or absorb is input. Your inputs affect your mental factories and the outputs of your thoughts. Speaking is how we connect; communication is our responsibility, to evolve and bring our ideas into reality. That is your gift.

The little things

These tips might seem simple, but it’s the little things that stop us. A mosquito is the deadliest insect on the planet to every living creature, and yet it is one of the smallest. Staying healthy is easy, but look around you today at how many of us are unhealthy and exhausted.

Does it take a degree or something special to stay healthy? It doesn’t.

Staying healthy requires us to eat food that is beneficial for our body, employ some physical activity in our day, and get a good night’s rest. That’s it. If you master the little things, your health will thrive for years to come. Your business needs you to learn the little things, it’s not what you know that we pay for but what we don’t know.

When it comes to these ten tips, remember, tips only work if you do.

If you want your business to stay healthy, don’t forget these tips:

1. Reduce debt. The experts do it, so should you.
2. Get expert advice, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
3. Keep your personal and business expenses separate, it’s not worth the headache.
4. Automate your savings, set limits on expenses. Prepare your environment so that you enable good habits and prevent bad ones.
5. Reduce taxes, it’s free income.
6. Negotiate with vendors, stop overpaying on what you don’t use.
7. Stay organized. Without organized books, you can’t measure performance.
8. Plan ahead, is your business positioned for the future?
9. Invest in growth. Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.
10. Sharpen the saw, and things don’t get better unless you do.

These tips can help you maintain a healthy business, but the most important piece of your business is you. The tips, habits, or strategy you use will affect many parts of your life. Business is complex, the less complex you can make it, the better you’ll navigate the rough waters of entrepreneurship. Remember, knowing your business’s financial metrics are a big part of steering that ship if you don’t know where you’re going, you’re liable to end up anywhere.