Why Do Small Businesses Struggle to Understand their Finances?
By Shane Bender
4 min read
Personal Responsibility
A friend of mine says that each year he has a word that is his focus. He told me that his word for 2017 is “Question”. I have decided to take that word as my own. He gave me a book called “QBA! The Question Behind the Question“. This book is all about taking responsibility and having personal responsibility for what happens.
- Begin with “What” or “How” (not “Why”, When”, or “Who”)
- Contain an “I’ (not “they”, “we”, or “you”)
- Focus on action
This year my blog is going to be more reflective and more about going along the journey of personal accountability and responsibility. I am sure many of you have had aspirations for your business or life that you wish you would have accomplished.
This year I am going to do it differently. I have broken up the year in seven 40 day mini goals or sprints. This is 280 days of focus. There is something biblical about using seven 40-day goals. So what questions am I going to ask myself to stay on track?
Questions for picking the first goal:
- What product or service can I provide to business owners that will be valuable and help them find more success in their business?
- How do I reach the most business owners in the least amount of time with the knowledge I have accumulated in my career and business?
- How can I increase productivity and add as a tool of knowledge that my customers and prospects will find valuable?
- What is the one goal that will make the biggest impact in my business to build momentum toward a larger long term goal?
- How can I take what I really like doing and do more of that in 3 years and earn revenue doing it?
- What has caused me to not meet this goal in the past and what am I doing differently this time?
2017 Goal Planning
Over the last year, I have found that it takes a certain minimum monthly fee for me to effectively have the time to do a good job for my clients. This limits my services to a certain size. Also, it limits my time since there is only so much time. My desire is to build an online platform to help small businesses and even non-profits be financially successful. I want to use the platform to educate and teach on the essentials of accounting and finance. I also want to learn the struggles of small business owners and provide tools and resources to add value to their business.
Resources and Products
- Podcasts that will discuss key issues in small businesses.
- Forecasting Model templates by industry.
- E-book that discusses key topics such as forecasting, cash flow, goals, key performance indicators, etc.
- Webinar and course on revenue, expense, and cash flow forecasting.
I have noticed that most people that launch an online platform, they provide an inexpensive resource such as a podcast or e-book that add value to their readers.
Maintenance goal for 2017:
Continue to add value to each of my clients by assigning a monthly or quarterly goal to save/make money, save time, or increase impact and track my progress of the Value Matrix.
My stretch goal for 2017:
Build an online business platform providing CFO services to small businesses through an e-book, a podcast, webinars, an online course, and other valuable resources which will generate revenue equal to one average sized client by the end of 2017.
The First 40 Days – Goal #1 (January 4 – February 18)
By February 18th, launch a webinar with a valuable resource for attendees and complete an outline of an ebook based on previous blog posts.
If you are interested in this template please sign up below, and I will personally email you the Excel template I am using.
There are many steps to effectively accomplishing something you haven’t done before. It requires asking yourself questions and stepping out of the comfort zone. I have never launched a webinar or an ebook. All of my other ideas such as a podcast or course would be new and could completely flop. How will I know if I don’t try? How can I use resources available to me in order to be successful? Is there anything else that may help me launch?
Each week, I will provide an update. I encourage you to follow along with your own stretch goal and lets work on this together.
What is your maintenance and stretch goal for 2017? Do you want to follow along and encourage each other to meet your long-term goal?
Weekly Value Email!
Do you like what you are reading? Do you desire more financial clarity in your organization? Are you concerned about revenue, cash flow, or how to plan better financially? If so, click the link below to sign up for valuable content to be delivered to your email each Monday morning. I look forward to helping you meet your goals.