Keep The Cash Flowing

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Summary: Without a steady cash flow, your business dies. Here's how to keep the cash flowing when it's not.

Category: Small Business

Words: 650

Keep The Cash Flowing

Copyright © 2003 by Angela Booth

http://www.digital-e.biz/

Without a steady cash flow, your business dies. This means that
you need to be focused on your cash flow situation at all times:
you need to know how much cash you have and how much is coming
in. If you can see that you're likely to have problems, the time
to take action is --- NOW.

This constant awareness of your finances is especially vital for
creatives. Writers, artists and designers are in a unique
situation. Not only are we creators, we're also marketers and
salespeople. Combining these functions is so difficult that at
times it feels as if it’s impossible. However, it can be done.

Whether you're starting your own business, or have been in
business for a while, here are some ways to keep the cash flowing
when business is slow ---

=> Start your business with six months' worth of expenses

If you're going fulltime in your own business, you need a
cushion. It's best to have at least six months' worth of expense
money to keep you going. Then, when you've been in business for a
year, always keep at least three months' worth of expense money
in your account. Do whatever it takes to get that three months'
cushion.

=> No cash? Moonlight until things improve

Business works in cycles. It's always either feast or famine. You
either have more work than you can handle, or not enough. If
you're going through a famine cycle --- and these can last for
several months --- moonlight. There's a reason actors and
actresses work as bartenders and taxi drivers. :-)

=> Consider working part-time for someone else

Just because business is slow at the moment, it doesn’t mean that
your business idea is terrible. To ease the situation, take a
part-time job. Although you'll be busier than you'd like to be,
the fact that you have money coming in regularly lets you relax,
so that you can enjoy working in your business again.

=> Get an anchor client or product

You need an anchor client. This is a client who brings in a
quarter of your earnings --- you may need three or four clients
to achieve this. These are regular clients, the bedrock on which
your business is based. They pay your expenses, and keep you in
business.

If you’re a writer or designer, you may also have an anchor
product. This may be a book which brings in royalties every six
months, or artwork you've sold under license for which you
receive royalties.

It's worth working sixteen-hour days for a few months to create
an anchor product. Once you've created it, the anchor product
works for you.

=> Follow up on slow/ no payers

You can't afford to let people owe you money indefinitely. This
means that you’re providing interest-free loans. Worse, if
someone owes you substantial money, you're an unsecured creditor.
If they go down, they'll take you with them.

Chase up slow payers. Send a friendly reminder email or fax once
a week --- every week, until they pay.

=> Don't pile up debt

Try not to go into debt. It's not worth it. It's better to work
part-time for someone else, or to cut back on expenses, rather
than go into debt. You don’t know how long the slow period will
last, and saddling yourself with debt is a dead-end solution.

It IS possible to run your own business, and be relaxed about it,
knowing that you can survive the bad times. If you need to go and
work part-time, don’t look on this as failure --- it's a win.
You're doing what you need to do, to keep your business viable
until the sun shines and the good times roll. You can do it.

*** Resource Box ***

To read more articles by Angela Booth, visit the Digital-
e Web site--Information for writers and creatives.
Ebooks, free ezines, Creatives Club. Love to write? Turn
your talent into a business! http://www.digital-e.biz/

About the Author

Writer, author and journalist Angela Booth has been writing successfully for print and online venues for 25 years. She also writes for business.
On her Web site http://www.digital-e.biz/ she conducts workshops and courses for writers.