I live next door to two of the tiniest dogs I have ever seen. I’d be afraid to have a dog that size. I’d worry that one misstep and I could end up accidentally squashing the poor thing. But the funny thing about my next door dogs is they don’t ACT small. They do everything big – from saying hello, to protecting their little girl owner, to standing up for themselves if a bigger dog tries to get bossy.

Well, just like a small dog who thinks he is a Great Dane, a small business doesn’t always have to act small.  Small dogs know their strengths and use them to their advantage.  They know they can be more agile, move quicker and get away with things because they are cute.  A small business has more flexibility, quicker response times and more personal customer service than the bigger guys.  Knowing your strengths is the key to success.  Small business owners who know what to focus on can take their business to the top. Read more »

We live in a society that is all about focusing on what we don’t have.  Commercials, magazines, movies all remind us that we can be thinner, wealthier, smarter and have more STUFF.  Here’s the thing.  I don’t believe that it is bad to strive for more.  After all – isn’t wanting more freedom, more inspiration and more money, what led most of us to become entrepreneurs? Goals keep us moving forward – they give us a sense of purpose and direction and ultimately serve as guidelines for building success as small business owners.  I think that when it comes to finances, we should all strive to create wealth, not just because of what it will mean in our own lives, but because of the difference it will allow us to create in the lives of others.  However, consider how much more powerful it is to strive for more from a place of happiness with what you have already created, than to constantly struggle to improve, while depressed by a perception of all the ways in which you have failed. Read more »

We have spent the past few blog posts teaching you how to prepare yourself for success as a small business owner.  You know how to treat your business finances as an entity separate from your personal finances, you know how to organize and keep track of your expenses, and you know where you are starting on this financial journey. Great!  Now what?

Not a thing in your financial lives will change if you do not do the footwork.  You need to consistently devote the time necessary to improve your financial situation.  As entrepreneurs so many of us are great starters.  We begin to gather knowledge and make great plans, thinking of the ultimate outcome, but then we often do not fulfill our plan by taking the step-by-step actions required to bring us to that outcome. Read more »

In our last blog post, Walk From Where You’re Standing, we talked about creating a strong financial foundation – doing the things necessary to know (and continue to be aware of) your current financial situation.

The next critical step to creating success as a small business owner, is figuring out exactly where you would like to end up.  Where you are going is almost as important as your starting point.  It gives you a destination, a target, a place on which to set your sights. Read more »

As entrepreneurs, it is easy to sometimes feel like our finances are outside of our control.  Especially in the early years of your business you may not have the regular earnings that came with a job. Our spending often varies as well, since building a successful business costs money.

These factors make it even more critical that we develop financial consistency.  Keeping a handle on the ways of managing our money that are within our control, will go a long way towards building financial stability and avoiding the financial roller coaster that plagues many small business owners. Read more »