School Is In:
Back to Business
It is September, and the theme everywhere is back to school. Back to school involves the end of Summer and vacations along with the beginning of schedules and increased business activity. It is a great time to take steps that will ease us back in during this time period and the rush of the last four months of the year.
There are ways to alleviate the overwhelm of this time period and get back into a business routine that fits you as a business owner. Do not say yes to every opportunity that is given to your business. This is not a good business practice; it will lead to overwhelm and burnout. Thus, causing you to run yourself and possibly your business to the ground. Manage your time wisely, make sure that what you are charging for your product/service does convert to a profit after costs/overhead are taken into account. Remember your time is valuable, costs are not just the actual material that goes into the product. Lastly, be consistent with your books, create a schedule that involves checking in on your books and performing reconciliations if this is not outsourced work.
Fall is my favorite season and it is a good time to make sure you are practicing good business basics. These business basics help to make sure that you are running your business like a business and not a hobby. Those basics include but are not limited to: set up business bank accounts and use them, invoice customers promptly, use some type of software even excel to start, store receipts digitally, communicate with your tax accountant and utilize a bookkeeper or accountant when the time comes.
Lastly, September marks the end of the third quarter. This means that tax payments are due in October and more importantly the last quarter of 2019 will begin. This is the time to kick the energy into high gear in order to complete the goals you set for your business in 2019. This is also a time to make sure that your business finances are on track and not in a shoe box. If that is the case for your business finances, you need to take the time in the last quarter to organize the business finances and end the year in the best financial position possible.