Guest Article
Sometimes, you have that entrepreneurial spirit — the innovative ideas, the drive, the business know-how and people skills — but you just don’t like the financial side of it all. You’re not alone: not everyone has a built-in knowledge of how to effectively keep track of business finances. In fact, it can be quite difficult to keep everything in order. So, what can you do to lessen the burden? Here are tips for small business owners with poor financial skills.
Partner Up If you have great interpersonal skills, but little to no interest/affinity for finance, you might want to team up with someone who does. Maybe you can help each other out; complement each other. Say, if your partner is uncomfortable making small talk, but great at creating Excel spreadsheets, it might just be a match made in heaven. Seeking a partner who is the yin to your yang; who makes up for your inadequacies and vice versa, can be the start of a profitable and long-lasting business enterprise.
Seek Help Professional help, that is! No, but in all seriousness, if a money-minded business partner is not the route for you, you may want to consider hiring a CPA or accountant to help keep all of your financial responsibilities in line. Before meeting for the first time, make sure you organize your company’s financial records, and make note of your goals for the future — it’ll help the meeting run more smoothly, and will get you off on the right foot with your future CPA.
You may also want to look into hiring a bookkeeper, who can help keep all the little financial details neatly organized, and can also serve as an adviser or sorts for all financial company decisions.
Go Online In addition to in-person support from savvy business partners, bookkeepers, CPAs and accountants, you can also make the foray online: there are tons of online resources available to help you keep everything where it should be. The are many online websites to help business owners find easy-to-comprehend bank rates and reviews of saving account options, among other tools and functions to keep the financial side of things under control.
Delegate, delegate, delegate Finances can be a huge burden, especially in terms of time commitment. Sometimes, assigning the work load to your employees and distributing the heavy lifting can be the best route to help you find balance. After all, many of the top businesspeople in the world (including Richard Branson, CEO of Virgin Mobile, Virgin Atlantic, etc) swear that “the art of delegation” is a key player when it comes to being a good entrepreneur. Know everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, and utilize them to your enterprise’s advantage.
Keep learning So the financial aspect of business may not be your strong point, but that shouldn’t act as a deterrent: you can always continue your education. You can always take classes in bookkeeping and finance — be it at night school or at your local community college. And if your business is keeping you too busy to attend classes, the Internet has an absolute wealth of online courses and tutorials. It’s never too late to keep learning, after all.
So there you have it — no need to balk if you feel you lack skills in the financial arenas: there are so many solutions at your disposal. From hiring outside help, to taking classes, to seeking help online, to delegating the work — you’re free to pick your poison.
Dave Landry Jr. is a business owner and finance enthusiast, writing blogs and creating infographics in his spare time on finance-related issues like frugality, saving habits, debt management and investing. Dave also frequently contributes to several finance and business blogs, writing about bank rates and reviews of savings account options, among other topics.
“Bookkeeping With Calculator” courtesy of adamr / www.freedigitalphotos.net
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