How can you tell if your business is healthy? Use a stethoscope? Check its pulse?
Well not exactly but I would ask about whether it is profitable!!! How much profit do you make? Do you even know?
While attending a profit planning session earlier this year with several other seasoned entrepreneurs, I was shocked at what I heard ……..
I want to get a better handle on my numbers
I want to understand my finances as I’m moving to $10k/month
I want to know where my money goes
I want to learn how to charge what I’m worth
I don’t like looking at my own numbers
I’m great at helping others with their numbers
In the past, I haven’t handled money well
I need a foundation to learn how to handle my money
And there was more….
I hate working & living in debt
I feel like a financial anorexic
I want a pleasurable & empowered relationship with money
I don’t want to leach off my spouse
I want to get clear on my business money….
And on and on it went.
It was then that I knew …. I knew that more women needed to talk about and learn how to EARN A PROFIT without feeling guilt or shame. Women entrepreneurs needed a space to learn how to feel safe having money; to accumulate profit; and to see the possibilities for profit in their own businesses.
More women need to feel empowered earning a profit!
I mean, I’m pretty sure you started your business …. to help others, to impact the world and to earn a good income …. to earn a PROFIT.
So let’s start right now …..
First … what is PROFIT?
After looking at SEVERAL business definitions, the generally accepted definition of profit is the money that your business has left over after expenses (revenue (sales) minus expenses equals profit).
But let me ask you –
- Do you ever have ANY money left over after expenses?
- Do you even know where your money goes – expenses?
- Do you include your own CEO salary in your expenses?
Let’s take each of these questions separately.
- Do you include your own CEO salary in your expenses?
This question raises so many issues:
How much are you paying yourself?
Are you paying yourself what you’re worth?
Are you paying yourself like the CEO you are?
- Do you know what your expenses are? (or your sales)?_
Are you keeping regular bookkeeping?
Are your business finances separate from your personal?
- Do you even have any money ‘left over’ after expenses?
Of course this question raises the issue that you know your expenses! But so many entrepreneurs NEVER have any money left over after expenses and continually find themselves in debt or always hustling.
It’s the same issue with personal finances. “Pay yourself first’ has been a mantra of financial advisors for years. It refers to the fact that in most households, there is NEVER any money left over at the end of the month so you need to pay your retirement account FIRST before paying your expenses.
What if we could apply this same thought process to your business profits?
What if you set up a separate PROFIT bank account and paid yourself first?
How would that make you feel?
Each month you deposit a certain percentage of your sales into your own ‘profit’ account.
Each month you watch that bank account grow – and suddenly you are feeling very empowered because ….. you are profitable!!!
I started doing this a while ago … I can tell you it makes me feel ON TOP OF THE FRIGGIN WORLD!!! I’m making profit – good profit!
That’s what I want for you …… that feeling of not just being profitable but feeling empowered about your profit!
That’s what I want you to take away from #SHIFTprofit.
Feeling confident that you can build a predictably profitable business
Knowing it’s possible to 2 or 3x your profit without working harder
It’s perfectly fine to earn more than anyone else you know
Because I want every women entrepreneur to not only be profitable but to LOVE being profitable!
This weeks ACTION STEPS:
- Register for #SHIFTprofit today …. Not just the General Admission ticket but the VIP ticket which includes amazing bonuses. Use this discount code (DLsave) to get the GA ticket for just $47; or the VIP ticket for $247 – both a steal! Both include lunch, learning & amazing networking opportunities!
2.. If you’re anything like me and many of my clients, you crave learning. You wish you could find ONE place with information you could trust about growing your predictably profitable business.
That’s why I created a NEW FB group entitled Ambitious Women building predictably profitable businesses! Over the coming weeks & months, I promise to share my best tips, strategies and resources with you – all in this group. I’m going to be sharing tons of short and some longer videos with you! Quick ways to consume information you can actually implement! Be sure to check daily!
It’s a place you can ask questions – get answers (not just from me but from others in the group too)!.
Because you deserve it.
BE UNSTOPPABLE
Diana
This is the first in the series about building a predictably profitable business!
Next week, it’s all about defining a ‘predictably profitable’ business!
