If you want to grow your business, you really need to learn to love your finances
Finances are something that far too many small businesses see as something they look at once a year when they fill in the tax return
If you simply view your financials and accounts as a tax return you can understand why people view finances with fear, trepidation and disdain
But if you view them as something you look at to understand your business, you’ll understand just how you can grow your business via SMART FINANCIALS and SMART MARKETING
1. Finances Allow You To Plan
You do have a figure in mind of where you want your business to be at don’t you? It wasn’t something just written in a Business Plan for the Bank was it? You do know where you were this month last year and where you want to be this month next year
Think of your business as a journey and if you don’t know your destination you’re going to be standing still
A key metric of your business success will be your financials so make sure you use them to set targets, to plan ahead for the future and to notice patterns in your sales
What are you doing every day to make sure your business grows?
2. Finances Tell You What is Working And What Is Not
I’m passionate about marketing. I’m passionate about what works with marketing and the process of creating great marketing campaigns
BUT I’m not romantic about marketing
Let me explain that
Being romantic about marketing is all the fluffy things which make you feel you’re doing something, even if the results don’t show. The “hey look at me – he’s the £200 I’ve just spend on a local newspaper advert”.
That’s being romantic about marketing and harking back to a time where newspapers were all over the dining room table and they delivered ROI.
And I’m not romantic about Social Media – if Social Media Marketing did not deliver a ROI (or Return On Effort) we’d feel the same about Social Media Marketing as we do about Newspaper Adverts
Cold Hard Finances should tell you what marketing is working for you and what is not … and you should have a excel spreadsheet highlight every sales pipeline and be able to look at the weeks / months / years sales at a glance
3. Finances Give You Motivation To Push Harder
Have you ever been to the gym and looked at weights area and wondered why people have note pads that they write in between reps
That’s their motivation to push harder
Your financials should be a kick up the ass to start working …. or a motivation to push even harder
Small increases of 5-10% month on month add to large gains in 12 months so keep building, keeping adding and keep growing your business
4. Finances Show What You Have To Reinvest In Your Business
We’ve worked with a number of international businesses and they ALL reinvest back into their business in order to grow it
Small businesses need to have some of that big business thinking and start investing back into the business rather than taking money out of the business
The best businesses don’t stop marketing because they have a great month / quarter – they push harder because they know the results can grow and grow
What percentage of your turnover are you investing in local businesses marketing?
If I told you that international businesses franchises invest 6% of turnover back into their local business marketing – how would that compare to your marketing spend?
5. Finances Give You Freedom To Make The Right Choices
At Altrincham HQ we go with our gut instinct and if a business doesn’t feel like the right fit with us, we’ll turn down the business
Our business is for the long term and we’re about building long term relationships rather than short term gains
Be keeping track of your finances and building the business the right way, you gain that freedom to pick and choose the clients your work with
And that is freedom – that is why you chose to build your own business rather than work in a salaried role
CHAT TO US
At Altrincham HQ we believe more businesses should be harnessing the power of social media
Please call Alex on 07806774279 or email alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk
