Without question, the biggest challenge I’ve overcome in my business was (and still is) – total financial control.
I used to find that money was like water.
It’d slip through my hands and, no matter how much I had, I always seemed to end up with £0 in the bank account.
No matter how big the client or how much I’d charge for a project, I’d always end up broke at the end of the month.
It was exhausting.
And the problem was that I was trying to solve the wrong problem.
I had a background in marketing and sales.
So, like someone with a hammer who thinks every problem looks like a nail.
I kept assuming that my problem was marketing and sales.
I’d spend more on marketing and try to sell more, for higher prices.
$1000 to $10,000 to $100,000.
But month after month, I’d still end up broke.
I’d lie to myself and say “it takes money to make money” and “I’m just setting the foundation, next month will be better.”
But it never came to be.
Until I started taking a good, long hard look at…my numbers.
I’m not good with numbers.
I hate spreadsheets.
I still have to get Jha (hi Jha!) to simplify my financial reports.
And when I started, it was uncomfortable.
It was awkward.
I felt very stupid.
But eventually, I saw exactly where the problems were.
A few rogue subscriptions here.
Some uncollected payments there.
It all added up.
I could also see that my profit margins were razor thin.
It took a few years, but eventually I started being able to pay my bills on time.
Then, I had some savings.
And before long, we had money left over at the end of the month.
I didn’t need more sales. Or more money.
I needed better control of my money.
It’s the biggest challenge I face today, and I’m still working on it.
What’s your biggest challenge?
