Finance Resolution for Small Businesses

Okay. It’s a new year so you know what that means – “Oh I’m gonna eat healthier” – “I’m going to get a gym membership” – “I’m going to be a better person this year” – Yeah blah, blah, blah! It’s all a bunch of crap. People promise a bunch of bullshit that’s qualitative so they can do it for a week and then be the same asshole they were the year before…well until next year of course.

Let’s talk numbers. Big juicy, quantifiable numbers! How about 100? That’s a pretty solid number, especially as a percentage. Whether we’re talking about your kid’s math test or your precious phone battery, nothing feels better than seeing 100%.

So here is your financial resolution for your small business. You are going to save 100% more money this year than you did in 2015.

Future Client: “But UB, that’s, like, double the savings! How would I ever do that?!”

UB: “It’s ok future client. We’re, like, financial geniuses. We’ll show you how.”

Step 1: Be Proud to be a Small Business Owner

Being a small business owner doesn’t make you the richest man on the planet and at times it can be pretty thankless but you should be proud of the impact you have on your community. You provide a service and one that, believe it or not, does not go unnoticed. Every person that you employ, every pair of shoes that scuffs your floors and every person that watched you pursue your dream, you matter to them. So be proud of it!

Step 2: Start the Year with a Fresh Perspective

2016 could be completely different from 2015 for your industry. Why assume that things aren’t changing, when you can instead be ahead of the curve and become a leader in your industry instead of a follower. Ask your customers if there is anything they need, you may be surprised what you find.

Step 3: Lose the Dead Weight

This could be any number of things but the point is, if there is any financial dead weight dragging you down and eating away at your bank account, get rid of it. Ex. Employees that aren’t profitable, events or traditions that just aren’t worth it anymore, wasteful habits or marketing efforts that haven’t proven fruitful. Don’t get complaisant, that’s the quickest way to get run over by your competitors.

Step 4: Stick to Your Target Customers

We all run into the issue of trying to sell to everybody. No matter how much a person could use your product, if they can’t afford it, stop marketing to them. You are wasting your own time and resources for a maybe. SAVE that money instead.

Step 5: Turn Complaints into Opportunities

You are an entrepreneur. You make a living off of complaints. Seriously! Someone had a problem and you came in with a solution to fix it. So whether it’s your customers’ complaints, your complaints or your complaints about your customers, whatever it is, find a way to capitalize on it or find a solution.

Step 6: Do Not Lower Your Prices

You provide an excellent product or service and that is why you get customers. Let your competitors go on price cutting frenzies if they want, but you know how much your product is worth, do not let your customers’ wants dictate that. Instead, you should be reminding them of why they need your product and why they keep coming back to you.

Step 7: Make a Point to Operate IRL

This of course sounds weird coming from a remote accounting services provider but bear with us. When it’s applicable, operating “In Real Life” and face-to-face with customers and vendors is still a great way to maintain business relationships.

Step 8: Take Time Off

It’s been proven time and time again that stress and overexertion hurts productivity. You are no good to your company if you are on edge and overworked. There is always something to be done, but to maintain quality and efficiency, it’s important to press the reset button from time to time.

Step 9: Learn a New Skill

Nobody’s perfect, but the better and better we get, the closer we are to becoming the best. It’s that simple, and if you continue to learn even just one new skill a year, think of where you could be in just a few years.

Step 10: Understand Monthly Financial Statements

This doesn’t mean you have to start balancing your own books but there is way too much valuable information in your monthly statements for you to just ship them off to us and forget about them. Ask us what patterns are developing or what worked or didn’t work that month.  You may find a huge opportunity to save.

Step 11: Attend Industry Events

These events can give you invaluable information, ideas and connections within a resourceful network. Also, don’t forget that you can write off these expenses on your taxes!

These steps will have you and your business operating much more efficiently and effectively. You might just find that there was more savings out there than you thought. Another great way to save money and to have your business’s finances operating at 100% is to let UB and their expert CPAs take care of it for you.