Yes, we all like to be successful and the feeling of achieving. Perhaps for some of us success is having a work / life balance or simply working in a field of interest of passion. But let’s face it, for most entrepreneurs success means making money.
Making money and achieving a high inbound revenue is amazing, well done, but it’s all going to be for nothing if you’re not effectively managing your own money and of course your expenses, particularly if you’re a solopreneur – perhaps having just taken up our Business-In-A-Box opportunity to launch your own mobile app development business.
So, here are a few first-rate tips every single entrepreneur particularly those out on their own should be following to better manage their money:
Open Yourself a Sinking Fund
This isn’t a term everyone will have heard before but it’s a commonly used term for a big-ticket expenses savings account. The reason it’s called a sinking fund and not simply a second savings account is because the plan is for it to be spent or ‘continue to sink’.
The average entrepreneur will have their personal bank account, an expenses account and savings account. This suggestion is to open another account which you deposit into like savings but without the intention of actually saving as such. The idea is that this account is used more like an expenses account but not your regular day to day, month on month operating expenses, more like big ticket items.
Perhaps travel for big events overseas, payment for an additional employee or consultant mid-way through the year or even a significant technology upgrade or investment. What ever you end up using it for it’s something for you to control and up to you how much and how often you deposit. The best thing to do is to have at least one or two big ticket items in mind which aren’t essential but if affordable you’d love to have and work backwards to determine how much to save.
Subscription and Retainers Over Buy Now
Naturally it’s not possible in all business environments but where possible, look to provide and encourage your clients and customers to use your products or services on a regular retainer or subscription basis for a contracted time period. This will give you a better view over your inbound revenue each month.
This helps avoid too much of a roller coaster of up and down performance or the type of unpredictability that keeps most entrepreneurs and business owners up at night. Thus, allowing you to better manage your expenses inline with anticipated revenue, giving security and peace of mind.
Ongoing Business Expense Tracking
What ever you do, you do not want to fall in to the ‘I’ll do it later trap’ when it comes to business expenses. You need to have a fool proof method of logging expenses on the go daily or certainly weekly if nothing else.
With the range of available software or even mobile phone apps which will allow you to track your expenses in real time which have even gone as far as to allow you to take photos of receipts and invoices, there really is no excuse not to log as you go. Trust us, it will improve your quality of business life by a great deal to nail this.