Stop Embezzling From Your Business: 5 Keys to Create a Thriving Business with Cash Flow--Darnyelle A. Jervey

One of the challenges I see frequently when meeting with solo-entrepreneurs who have been in business 0-5 years and are trying to build a solid business, is an inability to ensure that they get to keep a significant amount of the money that they earn. Most people who start a business fail to understand the significance of creating and managing a budget, largely because they don’t have a budget in their personal lives. I’ve heard it said recently that “how you do money is how you do everything.”

Typically new entrepreneurs earn and spend, sometimes without ever letting the money they earn get appropriated to their business account. Did you catch that? Yes, I am talking about embezzling from your business. Sadly, most entrepreneurs do not have a business background and often start their business out of necessity, lacking the skills, strategies and solutions to ensure that they are building a thriving enterprise. Most people live in a “feast or famine” environment or worst yet, they live from paycheck to paycheck or what I call “poor-check to poor-check” completely captive to their business and clients instead of being able to allow abundance to flow in all they do.

When this is the way you run your business, you are likely to never gain the freedom to enjoy what you love. In my opinion, that completely defeats the purpose of becoming an entrepreneur. If you’re going to be a slave to your work, you might as well keep working a job. If this makes your stomach curl, then you’ve got to get a handle on your money so that you can ensure you never have to sit behind someone else’s desk ever again.

If you want to stop embezzling from your business, you have to change your mindset. Keep in mind that with business comes boundaries. If your business is considered a business on your deepest levels, you will respond accordingly. It will also take discipline. That means, you will have to stop taking cash out of your business before it enters your bank account. While I am happy to suggest that you pay yourself, I do recommend that you pay yourself in an authentic fashion, via your business checking account, so that you have a record of the salary you are paying yourself.

I am happy to report that as soon as you shift your mindset and you also create a few key financial systems in your business, you can go from surviving to thriving in your business. When you’re no longer focusing on the lack present in your business, you can actually attract more paying clients because your energy will be flowing in abundance and circulation instead of in lack and stagnation.

I believe that since you started a business to make money, you should create effective systems so that what you make doesn’t get embezzled by poor financial management habits. While I am not a financial advisor, I am a business coach and I am able to show my clients how to create foundational financial management for their business, a consistent strategy as they endeavor to grow their business. I also recommend that you consult a financial advisor that specializes in working with entrepreneurs so that you can be sure to get a customized strategy that will increase cash flow and reduce stress as you endeavor to grow your business.

Here are 5 keys to create a thriving business with cash flow:

1. Know your numbers. You have to know what you are bringing in, what’s going out and what’s left over. You have to know the value of a new client to your bottom line and how many you plan to add in any given month.

2. Make a monthly financial plan for your business. Set a budget for the expenses that you know are mandatory to the operations of your business for the current month. In your plan, highlight the amount of revenue you have coming in before you do anything to attract new clients. Also track the amount of expenses you have going out so that you know what your cash flow is.

3. Create a strategy to attract enough new clients to handle all of the expenses you already have in your business. As an example, if you need $5,000 to run your business each month and you currently have $7,500 in your business checking account, which would mean you have $2,500 cash flow in your business. If you create a strategy to attract 3 new clients which are valued at $7,500, you will have $5,000 cash flow in your business when your month is done. With the extra cash flow, you can begin to save money by opening a business savings account and having money set aside for personal development such as hiring a business coach, other investments, expanding your team, etc.

4. Purchase financial management software such as QuickBooks to keep track of your expenses, income, invoicing and clients. The system is designed to make managing your businesses financial systems easier so that you can spend more time doing what you love, working with your clients.

5. Run your monthly reports by the 3rd business day of the new month so that you can see where you are and brainstorm how you can increase your results by a minimum of 10% in the new month.

Embezzlement is a serious offense. When you embezzle from your business, you minimize your ability to invest in yourself through your business when the need arises and you aren’t allowed to show up fully for your clients. By simply creating a budget and financial plan, you can reduce those inappropriate expenses and begin to allow your business to truly change lives.

©2011 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, The Incredible Factor Business Mentor and Coach, is the founder of IncredibleOneEnterprises.com and the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System® a proven step by step program for turning your passion into profit. For more information and a FREE audio CD "How to Use Your Incredible Factor to Attract MORE Ideal Clients" visit http://www.incredibleoneenterprises.com.

Speak UP and Grow Your Business - Darnyelle A. Jervey

"You don't have to see the entire staircase to take the first step" is one of my favorite quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Sometimes we do not take steps to grow our business because of fear. The reason you started your business was because of your vision but your EGO stops you from making the difference you know that you were created to make. Misguidedly, you may be thinking that the only way you can gain your ideal clients is by pounding the pavement and getting referrals. While these are viable ways to grow your business it can happen much faster when you develop a marketing system to use speaking to grow your business.

Speaking helps build creditability. Your products and services give you an immediate presence in the marketplace. If you learn to leverage your presence by speaking about your business, your presence will grow and your ideal clients will come to find you and begin to work directly with you. In fact, I encourage you to take every opportunity to share information about your business.

Go to your local Chamber of Commerce and ask to speak at their meetings. In the last year, I spoke at five different Chamber events and each speaking engagement resulted in major contracts. Your ideal clients are attending Chamber events and they are looking for a solution to the problem they have right now. I'd also recommend seeking out other networking groups via www.meetup.com. They are always looking for speakers to come in and share their expertise. The key is to ensure that you add value, very high value, so that the participants are learning how they can benefit from your Incredible Factor. I recommend researching the nature of the group you are seeking out to speak to and verify that your ideas clients are there. Sometimes it is a great idea to pick up the phone and talk to the meeting organizer in advance of sending a proposal to be a speaker. Another suggestion, if the group allows open visitors is to attend and meet everyone in person. If you do, remember the article "You Only Get 30 Seconds," so you can be sure to maximize your introduction to the key leaders of the networking group.

It can be a challenge to funnel all of your knowledge and expertise into a well crafter signature talk that adds value and attracts your ideal clients. I'd love to share some of my pointers with you to get you to make sure that attendees see you as the only solution to the problems they are currently experiencing. Here are a few tips:

Start by pulling them in
Remember those pull marketing questions I shared with you a few weeks back? Engage your audience immediately by letting them know that you've got the solution to their problem and the best way to do that is with a powerful leading questions that grabs them immediately and clearly say, 'I know what you need and I'm here to demonstrate that I'm the solution."

Begin with the End in mind
This principle is taken from Stephen Covey's The 7 habits of highly Effective People and adapted to make sure that your signature talk is dazzling and does exactly what you intend for it to do. The power of intention and visualization of the over all theme and message you want to leave with the listeners is key here. Start your speech with the ending in mind. What is the purpose of your message? Once you have this definitive point prepared as an objective, it should drive all else beneath it. Please be sure that each of your objectives (3 to 5) are measurable, have a time frame, and are absolutely easily to attain.

Share testimonials from satisfied clients
Case studies and testimonials help your listeners to see you as the solution to the problem. It also helps them to find a place to identify with people that you've helped previously. You always want to weave these stories into your message to sell who you are and how you help your ideal clients without being a used car salesman. It will take skill to do this so practice offering a key point and illustrating by telling a client success story to drive home the value of having the information to resolve the problem the objective references.

Repeat what's essential that they take away
Remember, repetition is the mother of skill. Key learning objectives should be repeated in a few different ways so that your listeners can be clear that you can help them solve their problem. It also helps to solidify in each listeneers mind that you are clear at what you do and how you can help.

Give high value content
The whole reason you are speaking to the group is because you have high value information to share with them that can help them to get closer to solving a problem. Be sure that you don't "fluff" your way through the talk but instead offer insight that truly shows off your expertise. Using statistics and a few significant steps that can lead to solving a problem is also key. Trust me, fluff will get you know where but high value, high content information will turn prospects into paying clients.

Smile and incite laughter
You're probably going to be tense if you're not a professional speaker. Tell a related joke, be yourself and show your fun side. Loosen up. No one wants to work with a stick in the mud. Remember, 1 minute of laughter boosts your immune system for 24 hours. Your Incredible Factor is magnetic and engaging, be sure that your communication style reflects that. You want your ideal clients to know that not only will you solve their problem, but you will have a good time while you're doing it!

Offer a powerful Call to Action and Irresistible Offer

Remember the reason why you are speaking: to build your business. And although you will not be a used car salesman, your goal is to ensure that your ideal clients know how they can learn more about working directly with you. You want to ensure that you offer a powerful call to action - give them a task to complete, the next step to take so that they can get the full solution to their problem. Please note: Although you MUST offer a high value, high content presentation, you should not solve their problem during your free talk. You must invoke a reaction and a need to learn more. If you have a product that can aid the listeners, offer it in an irresistible way, so that they feel that because you gave all this value, they must continue the experience by taking you home with them.

Thank the audience and follow up
You've heard it said that the "fortune is in the follow up." Be sure to pass a clip board to collect names and email addresses for your mailing list to keep them abreast of future events, products and services. Add them immediately so that they can get into your auto responder series and get to know you better. Send a thank you card to the meeting organizers soliciting feedback to be used as a testimonial to help you speak to more groups in the future. Some won't buy on the spot, but if you follow up with them, they will learn more and become a client if you've done your job correctly.

You see, speaking to build your business just got a little bit easier.

Be Incredible,
Darnyelle


©2010 by Darnyelle A. Jervey. All Rights Reserved. Darnyelle A. Jervey, The Incredible Factor Business Mentor and Coach, is the founder of Incredible One Enterprises, LLC and the Leverage Your Incredible Factor System ® a proven step by step program for turning your passion into profit. For more information and a FREE audio "How to Use Your Incredible Factor to Quantum Leap in Business" visit http://www.incredibleoneenterprises.com.