Every business’s goal is to grow, but knowing how to achieve that isn’t always concrete.
To reassess how a company can get out of a hole or expand moving forward, they often come up with growth strategies. Conducted on their own or with an expert, mapping out their finances can help quite a bit with knowing where the business is at, as well as where it can go. And if creating a plan around the health of your company’s finances is important, then we’ve provided a few suggestions on how to get started. Check them out below:
Start with your current revenues.
Whether your business is a full-time job or side hustle, your first step almost always is going over the numbers. This will help gauge where you’re at, what’s affordable, and what you might want to cut back on as you prepare to grow. If your business has multiple streams, map out which ones have been the most successful, as well as how you can maximize them in your growth plan. Even if it takes a little bit of extra maneuvering from an accounting perspective, examining your current revenues will help quite a bit in knowing where to begin.
Learn what expenses you’ll incur.
As it goes with a lot of growing pains, you’re probably going to have to spend some money in order to make more long-term. Whether that’s purchasing new equipment or hiring more staff, the cost you’re going to incur is not only the upfront price but often the interest associated with that purchase as well. Furthermore, it’s also important to examine the long-term ROI of what you’re spending on, as well as if there’s enough runway to accomplish your goals and stay afloat if something goes bad. Although every business decision has its risks, it’s vital to look at your expenses from the perspective of reducing liability.
Prepare for a rainy day.
On a similar note to planning expenses, the same rings true for preparing for a rainy day. As it’s much easier to prepare for things to go 70% right than 100% perfect, starting thinking towards what that 30% gap of roadblocks or errors could be, as well as how to hedge your bets around it.
A common mistake people make is spending money they don’t have yet, which in this case, would be based on your projected growth.
Have a realistic projection of growth.
When examining what things will look like moving forward, it’s crucial you don’t get too far ahead of yourself when assessing growth. Especially in the startup world, there’s this idea of scalability and growth trajectories should all include the same ‘hockey stick’ graph. Obviously, every business (and their investors) would love for that traction to happen, however, it’s not always a realistic plan. Even companies that go viral don’t always end up in long-term financial success. In the words of Lil Wayne, “fast money is no money. You’ve got to get that slow money, that grow money.” Slow and steady win the race, which is exactly the pace you should be setting for yourself in your growth trajectory.
Pad in some room for flexibility.
Nothings an exact science when it comes to money, which is why we’ll note that the numbers you project should come with some flexibility. Remember, these are estimates, which are only there to serve as a guiding point. A common mistake people make is spending money they don’t have yet, which in this case, would be based on your projected growth. Move smart with your projections, solely using them as a way of setting goals.
Get an expert to audit your numbers.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with having a firm like ours help with your small business projections. As accounting is often about understanding how your money has been moving, we’re big into suggesting how it can be maximized in other ways. Furthermore, we also can provide certain resources and solutions you might not have had access to or previously thought of, getting the most out of your service. Plus, it’ll help you rest easy knowing what’s possible moving into the future.
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