Top 5 Reasons You Don't Achieve Your Financial Goals
Rose Hill
Lists the top 5 reasons why self-employed people don't do well financially.
All small business owners are in business to make a profit; otherwise, you don't have a business, you have a hobby. Not that hobbies are bad, you understand, but they aren't a business.
So, if you're in business to make money, what stops you from reaching your financial goals? Most likely you are:
1. Not focusing on your strengths.
You are the only you there is or ever will be. You bring unique skills, talents, knowledge and expertise to your clients. You are your business. You are what distinguishes your business from the pack of others who provide similar services. You may find that your strengths are so natural to who you are and how you work that you believe everyone has them. They don't. Just because you can easily see the repercussions of particular client decisions on the outcome of a project doesn't mean your competitors can. Just because it's easy for you to streamline a client's workflow doesn't mean your competitors can. Identify your strengths and make them the core of your business. And if you have many strengths, pick one — don't shoot yourself in the foot by promoting yourself as a jack-of-all-trades.
2. Doing it all yourself.
Take advantage of support services, such as couriers, virtual assistants, travel agents, personal assistants, and bookkeepers, to free you up to work with your clients. (Love those billable hours!)
Build a network of subcontractors you can call on to provide "completion" services that your clients want and which you either don't do well or don't want to provide. Your client wins in that she gets a complete professional service, and you win because you are focusing on doing what you love to do. (A secondary win for you is that when you are considering a big project, you'll have qualified subcontractors you can call on to help cover your project needs.)
3. Not promoting your business clearly, consistently, and with persistence.
You need a powerful and memorable way to introduce your business to everyone. And to create that, you need to know what business you are in. If you're introducing yourself as a graphic designer, or a publicist, or a technical writer, you don't have a powerful introduction. Instead, you are relying on the assumption that your job function will be instantly understood and remembered. The only people who will remember that type of introduction is another graphic designer, publicist, or technical writer — other people, those who could have referred you to a possible client, won't remember you when the time is right. And if you are introducing yourself as "I help people facilitate positive dialogue," or "I work with high-tech companies to build high-functioning teams," you're too general and too vague. You need to get specific — create an introduction that specifically describes your Ideal Client and tells what one or two primary benefits those people will receive by hiring you. Now that's a clear, powerful and memorable introduction!
You also need to be engaged in promoting your business on a daily basis. Don't wait until your current project is coming to a close, or until the number of active clients falls below your breakeven point. Because if you are doing either of those, you'll be caught in the feast-or-famine cycle of too much work followed by not enough work. The only way to break that cycle is to create a marketing plan that draws on your strengths, is fun, and that you implement on a day-by-day basis. Do something each and every day to contribute to your marketing results.
4. Not diligently managing your cash flow.
If you don't like working with numbers, or if you aren't good at finances, hire a bookkeeper or accountant to run cash flow reports for you. You need to be reviewing your cash flow at least twice a month. And you need to stay on top of your accounts receivable like a hawk. In today's economy it's common for clients to be delaying payment as a matter of policy. If you have too many delayed payments, you'll find yourself running out the cash liquidity you need to pay your own expenses. Don't let a cash crunch put you out of business. For clients who are either intentionally or unintentionally delaying payment to you, you have a couple of options. You can offer them an early-payment discount (the carrot), or you can nag them into paying you (the stick). In matters of money, the squeaky wheel really works.
If you haven't already set up a credit line with your bank, do so. And get a credit card issued to your business. These are great backup plans for when you're caught cash short.
5. Not investing in your business.
Budget both time and money to re-invest in your business. To keep your business going across time, you'll need to upgrade your skills, develop new services, upgrade your equipment and tools, and update your marketing materials. If you don't budget for it, your business becomes stale and unable to satisfy the needs of your clients. Plan to spend at least 100 hours each year in training, skills upgrades, and learning how to use new tools. And your computer programs will need to be upgraded about every 18 months. Your marketing materials (brochure, web site, ezine, etc.) will need a fresh look and new messaging every two years. Getting reputation for being "behind the times" is a slow, but sure, death for your business. You must stay current.
About the Author
Rose Hill is a Certified Business Coach who works exclusively with independent professionals who desire to create a solid foundation for their continued business success. I do this by means of a comprehensive 4-pronged, 6-month High-Impact Business-Building program. Rose can be reached at (503) 629-4804 or via e-mail to rose@coachrose.com
