Our guest blogger this month has invaluable advice for small business owners when it comes to wealth, values and aligning the two. Welcome Business Wealth Coach Eliza Ludwig from The Flow Society to share her clever tips on how, as small business owners, we can maximise the time we have available to be productive in ways that matter to us.
It’s been a rough 18 months. Whether you are in lockdown, not in lockdown, or in and out of lockdown; it is normal to wonder where are we going and how do we get there in the time we have available.
We want to do the things that will make the biggest impact, with the least amount of effort.
Good news! I have a great list of (easy) tasks that will offer you just that. Of course, I encourage you to take what you want, and not feel overwhelmed by doing all of it, or all of it at once. Advice for small business owners is rarely one-size-fits-all, but the general principles can apply to anyone.
So what can you do?
1. Touch on time
How much time do you really have at the moment? Is it two hours a day? One? Or 10 hours over the weekend? Be honest with yourself and honour all you have on at the moment. If you are depleted or teaching your kids ratchet down your hours. It will result in much better flow… and bonus a better mood.
Once you know how much time you have, figure out how best to use that time for your business. It might be creating the download mentioned above. Or upping your marketing. Whatever it is, be intentional and feel good about what you get done in the time and not annoyed by what you don’t have time for right now.
2. Revisit your values
It’s so important to check in with your values. Is it health? Great! Make sure you are looking after your health, and the health of your family. Is it building wealth? Also great! Create offers that are attractive to people also in lockdown (and potentially on reduced income).
Not sure how or what I’m talking about? Just google Values Assessment and you’ll see loads of resources to help you.
3. Forecast the future
I love creating a plan or forecast that lists my income and expenses. I am a huge fan of Excel, but you could easily just do this on a piece of paper, split in to 4 columns: one for an explanation of the expense or income, and one for each month
- Write out all the expenses you have coming up – to make it easy, just look at 1 – 3 months
This will form your income target.
To start, download a year’s worth of transactions from your bank.
Firstly, look at what went out for the 1 – 3 months last year. Did you start buying client gifts for Christmas? Did you have any annual subscriptions coming out? Insurance? Put these under the relevant month’s column.
Next, look at your monthly expenses. This may have changed from this time last year, so that’s why I mentioned downloading a year’s worth of expenses. Look at your most recent months and write down expenses that come out every month. Things to look for are website hosting, your VA, monthly subscriptions, ads, phone and internet.
Now add the annual and monthly expenses together. You now have your target. How are you going to earn the income to cover these expenses?
2. Write out all your ideas for getting more income into your business
This could be to create a low cost download, or following up with people who weren’t quite ready to work with you in the past. It could be as simple as promoting all the different ways you can work with people right through to creating a resource that your ideal clients want right now. Leave the planning of it out for now, just write down ideas.
Don’t forget to include your expected pricing for any new products or services. You can download my pricing strategies guide here . Include how many you expect to sell so you can understand how much income will come in.
I’d love to hear if you tried any of these. And if they helped you get in flow with your business? Regaining just a small amount of control – or even just armed with some information – can really help to get on top of this weird time specifically or any time in business when you are wondering what to do next.
Photo by Maksym Kaharlytskyi on Unsplash
About the author
Eliza Ludwig is a small business numbers nut, advocate for entrepreneurs to love being in their business and believer in the power of balance.
She runs The Flow Society, which offers Wealth Coaching for you in your business to feel in control, reap the rewards, live life on your terms, and enjoy a sense of achievement, freedom and fulfilment.
If you’d like more customised advice for small business owners like yourself, visit her at www.theflowsociety.com.au