Around here, Financial Literacy Month is every month, and I’ve applied financial hacks to help seven-figure businesses. Without resources, applying hacks may not be the most beneficial, but in this article, I’m going to outline resources you can apply to your daily life.
So, let’s get started!
1. Get Your Business Plan Together
Nobody’s ever built a seven-figure income business, without putting some thought into it first. The best way to do that is to create a roadmap for your business. Traditionally, this roadmap is laid out in what’s called a business plan. But more recently, entrepreneurs have begun to rely more and more on pitch decks. Pitch decks are prettier, easier to create, and get the point across quicker – especially if you are looking to raise capital and don’t want to hand a prospective investor a 30-page business plan. When preparing either a business plan or pitch deck, you will want to ensure that you include information on the following sections: Company Overview, The Problem, The Solution, Marketing Plan, The Competition, Your Traction & Revenues (if any), and your Team.
2. Understand Your Value Proposition
Your value proposition is what sets you apart from your competition. It’s the thing or things that you would highlight for investors and ultimately your customers, so that they will know why you, over the competition, are unquestionably the better option. Invetsopedia.com offers some really detailed tips on wrapping your mind and your business around your true value proposition. We suggest you check it out. Also, look around at your competition in order to help you understand how they have highlighted their value proposition.
3. Prepare Your Mindset
Starting and maintaining a business is taxing on the mind, body, and spirit. If you’re not prepared mentally for failures, moments of chaos, the inevitable highs, and the lows of running a business, then you’ll no doubt break your mind, body, and spirit. Three mental states are crucial to having a fully prepared mindset:
- Freedom of expression
- Relentless self-doubt
- Maintaining emotional balance
4. Ask For Feedback
Don’t be ashamed to ask for feedback from family, friends, colleagues, and even investors. You need these objective perspectives in order to make sure you’re not overlooking roadblocks or pitfalls that need to be considered before you push all-in on your business venture.
5. Make Sure You Beef Up Your Financial Foundation
A house built on less than a solid foundation is bound to fall. So, make sure the foundation you’re laying for your business is a solid one financially. Know what you need in order to turn a profit, and understand your tax benefits based on your corporate structure – whether you’re a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp. A great resource for this is the Small Business Administration. They offer a ton of free helpful resources for small businesses and start-ups to understand the ins and outs of their financials.
6. Build A Team That Fits Well Together
You’re the boss, you control the workplace culture. How you lead is how your team will follow. Hire people that fit the culture or will help you in the process of molding that culture. We are no longer in a time where we hire people just because they look good on paper, have the degree, or have the right accolades. We want people with proper emotional intelligence who can build other leaders and create a supportive learning environment. The culture, the values, and your mission are going to be key components for you to think about if someone is worth hiring. If the candidate is only there for the money and not for the mission, then your working relationship won’t last long. The team is really the heartbeat of your business. Great people led by a great leader with a sturdy foundation equals a profitable business.
7. Know Your Technical & Workflow Systems
Knowing what technical and non-technical operating systems you and your team will need in order to run your business (such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, accounting software, remote workplace stations, etc.), will allow you to plan ahead for upfront and down-the-road costs, as well as help you, and your team, work more efficiently.
—
Vanessa Gant is known as “The Money Architect” and has nearly 17 years of experience in the Accounting industry. Vanessa Gant is an Accountant & Tax Strategist that specializes in the Transportation and Logistics industry and small businesses. Gant’s accounting firm, Provision Accounting Solutions located in Summerville, SC creates the financial structure for small business owners, mid-size trucking companies, and seven-figure earning truck fleet owners and operator companies.
