In the current climate of Instagram and Facebook, we are ALL guilty of wanting everything perfect right NOW. We all want our businesses to be exactly how we picture them in our minds, and sometimes even compare our businesses to others on Instagram and YouTube. We want our shelves overflowing with gorgeous retail, decorated with beautiful furniture and fixtures, and beaming with top-notch IT solutions.
These are all great goals to set and strive for; however, in business we have to be able to support these purchases with legitimate business reasons. Then there’s the cash flow. We need to ensure we have an adequate income to pay for the utilities to run those top-notch IT solutions, the rent for the shop that will hold the gorgeous furniture and fixtures, and the employees’ wages that will sell those full shelves of retail!
Over the past seven years, I have created three simple tips that have helped my beauty business flourish and allowed me to keep dreaming for bigger and better things – and then make them happen!
Keeping these tips in the front of your mind will ensure you have good cash flow in your business. It will also allow you to cover your costs, put money away to continue to build your business, and have some spare cash for those business essentials.
1. Don’t overspend for convenience
This is such an easy trap to fall into. We are all so busy trying to manage our giant to-do lists, manage our team and our home life, that when we need to make an important purchase it’s sometimes easier to find the first item that meets our criteria and just buy it.
DON’T! Take some time to shop around and talk to others in the same industry to ask for their opinion.
Google is your best friend! Take the time to find the BEST deal for you and your business. You’ll be surprised how an extra 20 minutes of searching can save you a substantial amount of money. That money is better in your pocket!
2. Do you NEED or WANT this?
I know, I know, this question gives you flashbacks of your mum every time you wanted to get something. But you know what? She was onto something!
Is that purchase you’re about to make a business NEED? Or is it something you WANT? It is amazing to walk into a business and see gorgeous coordinated shelves of retail. However, if you are not selling lots of retail do you NEED to keep hundreds of dollars of product on the shelf?
Having gorgeous top of the line salon chairs is amazing; however, will your clients notice if the chairs are top of the line Italian leather chairs versus good quality, sturdy, easy to clean, budget-friendly salon chairs? The answer is probably not. As long as they are clean, tidy and safe, your client is going to be more focused on your quality service than your fancy fixtures.
3. Manage your bills weekly
Get into the habit of paying all your bills weekly. Paying your rent, invoices and even wages weekly is so beneficial. It not only makes everything seem that much more manageable as the amounts look a lot friendlier weekly than they do monthly, but it will help you manage how your business is tracking week to week. Plus, some companies provide discounts or added benefits if you consistently pay your accounts weekly! It’s a win/win for everyone!
Following these three financial tips will change the way you think about purchasing and budgeting while having a great relationship with money. Your business (and your wallet) will thank you for it later!
