Business Planning Week 2 – Business Figures

Did you read the blog I wrote last week about releasing and reviewing 2018? – you can find it HERE

For the second week of my 12 week Business Planning Blog series, it is all about the Money Honey!

When I work with my clients the first thing that I ask them is ‘How much is your business bringing you in on a monthly / annual basis?’ Most people cannot tell me. Some can. But most can’t.

Does this surprise you? It used to surprise me, but now I understand. Because running a business brings up all our ‘stuff’. Money is a taboo subject, most find it easier to discuss sex than money – true story! Our wealth consciousness is part of our ‘stuff’ that running a business brings up. If the till is not ringing all day every day, then sometimes, guess what, we don’t want to know or focus on what is not coming in!

It is not enough to want to make an impact in the world, it is not enough to want to serve a tribe, it is not enough to be a trailblazer.

We Need To Make a Profit

Here is the thing, if we have an ostrich mentality in our business and do not have a handle on our finances and business numbers, then we are not focused on growth. Where focus goes energy flows. If we know our number’s, we can grow them. Simples!

So let’s start by understanding these numbers…

* WHAT DID YOUR BUSINESS BRING IN FOR 2018 – WHAT WAS YOUR GROSS PROFIT FOR 2018? (i.e. the total amount of money that came into your business)

* WHAT WAS THE COST OF RUNNING YOUR BUSINESS – WHAT WERE YOUR TOTAL EXPENSES FOR 2018? (where are you spending the most of your outgoings on your business, are there areas that can be reduced? what are your budgets for areas such as marketing, team, networking, stationary, fuel, etc)

* HOW MUCH ARE YOUR GOOD AND SERVICES? (and what are they costing you to provide? What changes need to be made? Is your business model in alignment with your income goals? Can you achieve your monthly income goal in the time that you have available to work? If not what needs to change? Can you leverage your time, or do you need to raise your rates?).

* WHAT WAS YOUR NET PROFIT FOR 2018? – (i.e. – total income minus expenses) – and is this figure in alignment with the growth and vision of your business? if not what has to happen?

If you do not know these numbers spend some time working them out. This is critical as If we run our business as a business it pays us like a business, if we run them like a hobby, they cost us like a hobby.

Put another way we are not running a business for the sake of our health – we are running a business for the sake of our wealth. By having a handle on our business finances enables to reap rewards for the hard work we put in.

My Massive Caveat is …

‘DO NOT GET STRESSED OUT OR DISCOURAGED BY THESE NUMBERS’

These numbers are there to show us financially where we currently are. They do not represent the numeric value of your self-worth or dreams, or goals or visions. It is tremendously powerful for us to know our numbers, so we can GROW them – but, in order to grow we need to know where we are growing from.

OK ready?

MORE FIGURES…

First PRODUCTS AND SERVICES – in your journal rank in order …

* What were our top 5 biggest selling products and services in 2018?

* What did they bring you in financially in 2018?

* How big is your mailing list and how much did it increase in 2018?

This clarity is gold dust and show you where you are putting your time and energy and where you should be putting your time and energy – we will be revisiting later in the blog series.

Ok more numbers! More!! Yes! more 😊

YOUR REACH IN NUMBERS

* How big is your mailing list and how much did it increase in 2018?

* How many followers do you have on Facebook and how many did it increase by in 2018?

* How many members do you have in your Facebook group and how many did this increase by in 2018?

* How many followers do you have on Twitter and how much did it increase by in 2018?

* How many followers do you have on Insta and how much did this increase by in 2018?

* How many connections do you have on LinkedIn and much did this increase by in 2018? Etc.

You may not have presence on all these platforms and that’s not the point – and it’s NOT about the numbers. I do not care about quantity. What I am interested in is quality leads and growth through being aware of the power of reach. Likes is vanity, but engagement is sanity!

We need to consistently bring leads into the top of the funnel so your tribe can get to like, know and trust and in turn buy from you. Share below on the comments of the blog – (not the actual figures but the fact you have a handle on these figures) any AHA’s, your main take away’s from the blog and any questions. Encourage each other too on their journey – as it’s amazing what you do when someone is watching!

See you next week when we will be looking at what you really desire in your business and how to achieve it.

To your success. Jo x