step 2

Now that you have a real picture of where you spend your money, lets make a list of your assets and liabilities.

The Basic way to determine what is what is this...

Asset: is something that you own that makes you a profit.

Liability: is something that costs you money.

now based on what is an asset, that is where you put your money first.

One thing to remember, alot of what people believe is and asset is not, for instance a car that you make payments on is not an asset, it is a liability, because it depreciates and takes away from your budget and limits your buying/investing capital.

I am not saying to not pay rent because it is liability, but put your money first to the assets in your life, and then figure out how to ensure that your bills are paid.

Also you can look at what is truly needed in your life, for instance...

eating out, cable TV, satellite, a new car vs. a used one...
all of these are NOT needed, they can be nice, and certainly area drain on your wallet.

For example, do the math and see how much you can save and use better by temporarily not having those luxury's.

cable $50
new car payment $300
eating out 2 times /week $75

all of that multiplied by six months is $2,550.

now tell me that you cant do something productive with that!

Now for the record, I am NOT a financial planner, and in times like these I would not tell anyone if I were!

But that is an example of what I have done myself and what I have coached others to do as well.

I hope that some of this reaches you and helps you, if id does please let me know I would be pleased to hear from you and hear your story.

baby steps...

If you plan to have a successful business then you have to have a profitable one, that means spending less then you make.

That begins with your personal finances, and if those are not in order and under control you will likely find that your business will suffer or potentially fail, it is vital that you begin to learn how to manage your finances and then transfer that knowledge to your business.

I will be posting a step by step for you and then I will get into finances for your business.

Remember this is basic stuff, so if you have been running a business succesfully for a while be patient with me i will be addressing your needs soon.

Step 1: be real with yourself and track literally every dime that you spend record it on paper.
you have to see where your money is going so we know where to close the holes in your pockets.

next post we will discuss prioritizeng your spending and how to make sure that you are maximizing your every dollar.

Learning to be a business owner

Most of what separates business owners from successful business owners is the thought process that they have and the mentality that they choose to have with all that they do.

Most people in general simply don't choose to learn how to deal with people, or how to think for themselves, or how to learn from the right sources, and its really all about the source that you choose to get advice and input from.

I encourage you to seek actively the input and counsel from people who are currently successful in your field, and don't worry too much if people outside of that category don't understand, or don't agree with you and what you are doing, they simply don't know what you know, and do not have the proper background to make a good decision on the subject in most cases.

I believe in having a group of people in my life who are subject matter experts and can help me navigate in areas of my business and Even my life that i am not familiar with but you have too choose to let qualified people do that for you!

If you continue to take your own advice, you will most likely end up where you started.
I found that I got myself into a "situation" and usually can not get out without guidance, or some advice.

Time Management

I don't care if you are not "detail oriented" or not, you have to choose to get efficient with your time if you want to get ahead in life, and especially in business!
I have failed plenty in the past and most of it has been due to the fact that I am a "Type A"
and not detailed at all, but I have taken the time to get organized enough to analyze where i spend my time and now i only choose to spend time where it is most productive.

Example: if you are in sales, and of the sales you make 70% of them happen on the first call/visit.
and 15% happen on the 2nd, 5% on the 3rd etc.

Why in that example would you wast time on the extra visits, when you can simply make more first time calls/visits?

All I am saying is that you can slow down a bit and figure out how to be most productive with your time and then you can really speed up without wasting your time and money!

How to get 'The Word" out...

You have many choices when it comes to letting people know that you are in business for yourself,
the lowest investment options come from inexpensive websites, blogs and print materials from a company like vistaprint.

Also do not neglect your current sphere of influence, you know on the average 100-500 people, and much more if you are under the age of 30, so make that list and figure out who on that list needs to know what you are doing, can they help you in some way, or can your product or service help them?

I encourage you to have at least some money set aside for investing into print materials, they truly do help, and vistaprint is very well priced, and the quality is certainly there also.

Another option is to contact me ( and other like me) if we like what you are doing, and or the products that you are offering we can help to spread the word to the world via blogs and sites like this one.

I personally know a gentleman who started his company for around 200 dollars, to get Incorporated and the business account, and spent around 40 dollars at vistaprint and did some word of mouth with those he felt could benefit from the service he offers and has several customers lined up and is likely going to be generating 3-6k over the next quarter, and he still has a full time day job!

New business still requires Old School Work.

Regardless of the advances in technology that allows us to automate, and streamline processes, manufacturing lines and communication, the business owners and managers of the American economy who are succeeding despite economic difficulty realize the absolute need for continued ( or regained) high touch!

What do I mean? you ask...

The Handshake, the face to face meeting, business cards etc!

I rely heavily on the wonderful world of technology a good bit in my business each day, however I never allow myself or those that i work with to forget the value of relationships, they are what creates new business, and what keeps your current business profitable.

Investment is a way of life for anyone choosing to open any kind of business, but investment today can often be very affordable and does not require extreme capital outlay in most cases.
(more on that later)