One of the biggest things I have learned this week was how important it is to stay on top of your finances. You have to track where your money is coming from and where your money is going. A lot of times people get caught up in sales, in marketing, and everything that’s “fun” but we lose sight of the things that aren’t so “fun”. A huge problem that I hear when I am working with companies as a business coaching consultant is the fact that it’s easy to do the job but it’s hard to get paid. That might sound strange but whenever you are comfortable and good at providing your service, the service becomes easier and easier to provide. The hard part is following up with your clients and getting paid by them. Most business owners are so busy providing the service that the company offers that they lose track of how much money is actually owed to them or if anyone has even paid them in the past few months. You have to personally check on every job and make sure you are getting paid by the client through the process of the job. You have to simply follow-up.
Most business owners are so busy providing the service that the company offers that they lose track of how much money is actually owed to them or if anyone has even paid them in the past few months.
Since I started working at the Thrivetime show I have realized the importance of personally handling your finances and accounting. It often seems easier to pass on the task of tracking and handling your accounting to an employee or a family member but unless you are directly involved in the accounting of your business, there will always be problems. Clay has also taught me the importance of a weekly meeting. Whether it be a weekly meeting with a business coaching client, a weekly meeting with a contractor, a weekly meeting with your spouse to review personal finances, or a weekly meeting with a personal trainer to hold you accountable. When you meet every week with business coaching professional, it provides enough time to complete action items but does not allow for enough time for the action items to drift. Without follow-up, nothing will get done.
Over this past week, I have seen actual situations where follow-up has been and has not been used. If you don’t follow up with your employees, your family, your friends, or your goals, then nothing will get done. If you don’t follow up on the jobs that you are doing, they won’t get done right. If you don’t follow up on the money that people owe you, you will never get paid and soon you won’t be able to pay your employees either. Without follow-up, you won’t be able to pay your bills and your business will slowly run out of money. The concept of staying on top of your finances every week and relentlessly following up with people has had a huge impact on my life. If you do review your finances weekly, you can pay yourself first, pay your team, pay your bills, and grow your asset column.
