Business Costs

Business Startup Advice: 3 Tips to Avoid Common Financial Mistakes

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4 common financial mistakes business owners make

If you are a new entrepreneur, just starting your new venture, listen up in order to avoid common financial mistakes. According to the Small Business Administration, about two-thirds of businesses with employees survive at least 2 years and about half survive at least 5 years. As one would expect, after the first few relatively volatile years, survival rates flatten out. A high percentage of entrepreneurs will experience failure within the first year of their business because they do not have enough cash.  (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics.)

So what do you need to know to survive?

For starters, it’s imperative that you grab a strong hold on your financial situation, in order to avoid common financial mistakes. When you have a tight grip on your finances, you will be able to avoid some of the mistakes that many entrepreneurs make. When you have proper knowledge of your finances, you will have an easier time getting your start-up off the ground.

1.  Plan Ahead!

You want to make sure that you are able to plan ahead for any unforeseen disasters. We know that you cannot see into the future, but when you plan ahead, you will be prepared for anything. When you are prepared for emergencies, you will save yourself from frustrations and headaches in the future.

2.  Budget, Budget, Budget!

Aside from making plans, you need to make sure your budget is part of your financial plan’s foundation. Your budget will give you the ability to keep track of the amount of cash you have, your current expenses, and the revenue that you need to grow your company. Your budget will also give you the opportunity to meet all of your business goals. We encourage you to make updates to your budget on a regular basis.

3.  Finance 101: Brush Up On Your Skills

One of the skills you should have as an entrepreneur is financial literacy. You have to know your financial position in order to make the right decisions. Gain an understanding of your finances and find a way to organize your finances and your documents. Are you ready to make smart decisions so you can make waves in your industry?

Remember, running a business successfully does not need to be complicated. Keep it simple!

For more interesting topics on successfully managing the challenges of growing your business profitably, please search our blog at our website www.portalcfo.com.

Get Cost Savings on Cell Phone Bills

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You rely on your smartphone to keep in touch with your office when you go out on calls to customers. But your cellular service is easily costing you $110 or more per month. In addition, you’re paying for the phones for each member of your sales team. So the fee is proving a major drain on your limited budget.

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Grow Your Business: Stop Spending On What You Don’t Need!

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There is little more disappointing than seeing a great business idea in the hands of an enthusiastic entrepreneur tank because of overspending. There are many things that would be great for your business if they were free, but spending money that does not translate into revenue can hurt your chances of success and instead drain your precious resources. Here are a few things that most small businesses that are gaining traction really don’t need and too many have:

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Internet Sales Tax Bad News for Small Business Taxes

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If you’ve got a small business that sells products online nationwide, despite being physically located in one state, there’s a bill heading for Congress that could cripple your growth opportunities. The worst part is that it’s being touted as a law that could help the brick and mortar side of your business to compete with online businesses, which may mislead some small business owners into supporting it.

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How much office rent should I pay?

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office rent

How much office rent should I pay?  This question has been asked repeatedly over the years by my clients.  Here are four lessons that were taught to me by mentors and teachers in corporate banking.

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Strategies to Reduce your Business Debt

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In many cases, business debt is inevitable, especially during the earliest phases in a company’s development.  Depending on the kind of debt that it is, it could be eating into your profits and cash flow and keeping you from expanding your business the way that you want to.  It makes perfect sense that you want to get rid of any business debt you accumulate as quickly as possible.

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How to Cut Costs at the Bank

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Today’s guest blog post is from John Gower from NerdWallet  www.nerdwallet.com

Cut Costs at the Bank

There are a multitude of areas in which a business owner might choose to trim expenses, but one that is often overlooked is the cost of day-to-day banking transactions. You may have had the unlucky experience of incurring bank fees in your personal finances, and the same concern applies to businesses. That’s why shopping around is critical to finding the best bank account for your small business needs.

Maybe your new business needs a financial institution to meet its banking needs. Or perhaps your established business is coughing up large sums in bank fees and service charges with regularity. In either case, it may be time to look for a new business checking account.

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4 Easy Ways to Cut Business Costs

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As a business owner, you’re probably wondering about ways to save your small business money. It takes time to build profitable revenue streams and carve your niche in your industry. Therefore, you’ll need to be as profitable as possible in order to help your business grow.

Let’s take a look at four easy ways to save your small business money. These methods will give you some ideas on how you can help your business move forward through smart financial planning.

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Financial problems: How to avoid them in your small business

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One of my favorite financial concepts is “rationalizing” a business. By definition, from our friends at Merriam-Webster, rationalize means: to apply the principles of scientific management to (as an industry or its operations) for a desired result (as increased efficiency).  Rationalization of a business’s operations is a simple concept. However, in my opinion, it’s not easy to implement because of ego.

Entrepreneurs work very diligently to grow their businesses by adding talented staff along with non-staff overhead (nicer office, computers, the list goes on, etc.). If a rapid growth strategy is not executed with a laser-like focus on financial metrics, here is the all-too-familiar scenario that unfolds: the anticipated revenues do not materialize and the business is unable to support the increase in staff and overhead.

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How to Reduce Labor Costs in Business: 5 Cost Cutting Options You Should Explore

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When thinking about how to reduce labor costs as a business owner, there are options that you can explore, without having to reduce your staff.

Like other areas of managing expenses, reducing the costs of labor associated with running your business is all about finding where fat can be trimmed, without making drastic changes that could negatively impact your company.

So, what can you do?

That’s a question we’ll explore in this post as we talk about how to reduce labor costs while keeping your operations intact as much as possible, so keep reading to learn more.

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