Getting into your numbers mini-series part 8:
People go into business for diverse reasons. They want to earn a living, make a lot of money, have the satisfaction of building something, extend their influence, enjoy a great lifestyle, and help people with their knowledge and experience. Some things in that list will be more important to you than others, that’s normal. But what every business is supposed to do for the owner, in fact two things:
- act as a springboard to opportunities (it’s not doing this if it’s demanding your focus/time/energy instead of feeding you) and
- it should act as a catcher’s mitt to capitalise on all those opportunities.
What does that mean, exactly? First, it’s supposed to support you so you can go after interesting opportunities. You want to spend vacations volunteering in a third world country? You want to invest in property? Take advantage of your great service and reputation and expand to other locations? Become the leading voice in your industry and multiply your influence and earnings? Your business should provide the means for you to do that. It’s not supposed to be your ball and chain where you’re constantly on call, without the rewards.
Second, the business is set up in a way that doesn’t miss any opportunities that do come your way. This is what shouldn’t be happening:
- You’re offered the chance to buy into a great property but your finances are a bit up and down
- You are invited to a prestigious event that would be fantastic for you but you have to turn it down because you can’t afford to be away for those three days
- A fabulous prospective client or business partner comes along, but you’re a little overwhelmed right now…
You tell yourself there will be other chances, and maybe there will, but why wouldn’t you have taken those ones? If you are finding this is a kind of theme in your business, where:
- you’re not getting back to people because you aren’t in a position to offer the attention they’ll need,
- you know you should fix X and Y but you don’t have time to think about where to even start, and anyway hopefully it will improve on its own,
- you know the trade fairs and conferences that would be great for your business but you can’t spare the time this year,
Then you need to get serious about the finances in your business. Every opportunity you say ‘NO’ to now represents money and other opportunities you won’t have in the future. If you were clear on where your money was coming from and how you could magnify that, and you were no longer having your revenue seep out through the cracks in your business, then you would have a whole new focus and would also enjoy your work so much more!