Two Critical Tips For Your Small Business
Waking up every day doing something that you love is one of the greatest perks of owning a small business. But being your own boss doesn’t always mean you wake up on the right side of the bed, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to take on the day. Sometimes, you roll out of bed having managed to catch only a couple hours of sleep feeling less than ready to greet another 16-hour day. If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed—don’t worry. Stress is a common denominator for most entrepreneurs. You can limit how much pressure you put on yourself by keeping the following two tips in mind.
Keep your personal and business accounts separate.
Money is a huge source of stress as a business owner, especially when your personal and business accounts are thoroughly melded together.
Think of them like Church and State; never the twain shall meet. Though an important rule to have as an entrepreneur, it can be a hard one to uphold. Many people build their startups out of personal investments and continue to use their own savings to cover business expenses. But this is simply bad business. Eventually, your savings will dry up, leaving you ill-prepared for unexpected expenses in your home life. It also ignores the fact your business is running a deficit each year you rely on outside finances. Though every startup will have a high burn rate in its infancy, it shouldn’t last for too long. Speak with an expert to see how long you can expect a negative cash flow for your industry and consider when to draw a time limit on your endeavour.
The opposite — or using business funds to cover unexpected household repairs or health emergencies — is ill-advised as well. It’s better if you go online to find a personal cash advance to cover any repairs or bills in the home, to keep from mixing your professional and personal finances. Going online is the fastest way to get a loan because you don’t have to wait on anyone else’s schedule but yours. This is a huge benefit to the entrepreneur, who’s constantly on the go and who’s schedule rarely matches regular business hours. Rather than trying to fit in a visit to a storefront or bank, you can check in with an online direct lender to apply and receive the cash you need whenever and wherever you get Wi-Fi.
Don’t insist on doing everything yourself.
You may not want other people interfering with your brainchild because you’re protective of your startup. You don’t want just anyone fiddling with your business. Alternatively, you may have trust to spare, but no money to hire another employee. Whatever it is that’s forcing you to be a lone wolf, you need to ask yourself a frank question: is it really worth it?
Depending on your business and your finances, the answer might be yes. But in many cases, taking on every task by yourself just isn’t a good business decision. As you pile on more responsibilities, you’re liable to burn out. That can spell disaster for your enterprise.
While hiring a full office of employees may be out of your budget, consider adding an attorney and an accountant to your roster. These are two roles you can easily outsource to keep costs low. And both can help you save time and/or money with their services. An attorney can make sure your business avoids costly legal issues. Meanwhile, your attorney can help you file taxes and maintain your bookkeeping efficiently, highlighting ways you can lower costs.
If today was one of those gloomy days making you question why you started your business, take a deep breath. Every entrepreneur has those days. It comes with the territory of owning your own business. What’s important is how you manage those days, so the good ones still outnumber the bad. Keep in mind these financial tips to ease off some of the pressure you may feel as a business owner and start waking up on the right side of the bed more often.