The Wedpreneur Podcast
The Wedpreneur Podcast is brought to you by the Wedpreneur! Join host Leigh Rivero each week as she interviews wedding industry experts, business experts, and wedding pros who are in the thick of it! Listen for in-depth insights and step-by-step training episodes designed to help wedding professionals build profitable and sustainable businesses. * To apply to be on the show, please visit https://thewedpreneur.com For questions or comments, email our podcast team at connect@thewedpreneur.com
The Wedpreneur Podcast
{EP43}: The 4 Key Numbers You NEED to Know in Your Wedding Business with Danielle Hayden
Today I'm joined by financial guru Danielle Hayden, and we are starting the New Year talking about your finances! If you're like me, figuring out the numbers in your business can seem overwhelming, but Danielle is here to help guide you through what you need to know in her signature easy-to-understand way.
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This is your host Mary SUA field and welcome to the web preneur podcast. Join me and my guests each week as I take a deep dive into wedding business best practices, examine challenges facing our industry and interview wedding industry experts and thought leaders who will share their strategies for taking your wedding business to the next level. Whether you're new in the industry or a seasoned pro, each episode is filled with valuable information aimed to help you build and grow the wedding business that you are dreaming about. I'm ready. A few are so let's get started.
Speaker 2:[inaudible]
Speaker 3:Hey wide preneurs welcome to another episode of the podcast and thank you for being here today. First and foremost, happy new year. I hope you all had a lovely and relaxing holiday season and that you're as excited as I am about starting a new year and a new decade. I don't know about you, but I love milestones and fresh starts. For me, the new year is a perfect opportunity to set new goals, pivot where needed and get excited about the year to come. Speaking of goal setting this year, I'm laser focused on scaling. My business and ensuring that I'm 100% on top of my financials. And I'm hearing from lots of you that this is a key priority for you as well. I know I've said this before, but it's worth repeating. If you aren't profitable in your wedding business, you have a very expensive hobby. Passion, my friends unfortunately does not pay the bills. So we're going to be talking a lot about profitability and growth this year and I can't wait to get the ball rolling today. I'm interviewing Daniel Hayden from kickstart accounting. Danielle is a financial guru and she works with entrepreneurs to really help them understand their numbers in the business. Listen, I know sometimes the numbers can seem scary and complicated and sometimes they tell a story about your business that isn't exactly the story you've been telling yourself, but take it from me knowing your numbers is incredibly empowering. So as you listen to this episode, I want you to consider making financial literacy part of your business goals for 2020 I know you can do it if I can. Honestly, anybody can. Numbers are not my forte. So you don't have to do it alone either. There are so many amazing resources available to help you to figure this stuff out. Starting with today's guest, so let me introduce you to Danielle and then let's get right to the show. Daniel Hayden is a reformed corporate CFO who is on a mission to help rule breaking female entrepreneurs understand their numbers so they can gain the confidence needed to create sustainable profits after spending 10 plus years in the boardroom as a corporate financial officer, Danielle is now in her sweet spot as the co owner of kickstart accounting where she helps business owners with bookkeeping, financial analysis and education, and as the author of the profit planner book series, when Danielle isn't crunching numbers on her client's behalf or the next iteration of the profit planner, you can find her hanging with her two kids as she inspires them to lead their fullest lives or doing any and almost every fitness related activity ranging from Spartan races to[inaudible]. All right, my friends, Danielle is going to share some amazing tips today. Let's get started. Hi Danielle. Welcome to the web preneur podcast.
Speaker 4:Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 3:I am so grateful that you're here today. Um, I've been really focusing on financial stuff on the podcast lately, which I think is really timely at this time of year cause I think a lot of people are prepping, you know, for tax season and, and I think it's just so important. So today we're going to be talking about the four key numbers that you need to know. Um, but before we get started, I would love it if you can share a little bit about who you are and what your business is.
Speaker 4:Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. Uh, so my business is kickstart accounting. Uh, entrepreneurs hire us to help take bookkeeping and accounting off their plate. Uh, super important. We have so many entrepreneurs who come to us and say, uh, I'm overwhelmed. Take this off of my plate so that doesn't occupy any more of my head space. Uh, so we, so we hit all the bookkeeping and accounting and more importantly, our passion is really just helping entrepreneurs understand their numbers. So it's more than just bookkeeping and, uh, sending you on your way with the, uh, set of, uh, Excel financial statements. It's really about making sure that you understand what those numbers mean for you. So, uh, my background, I came from, from corporate accounting. I worked as a CFO for a little over 10 years. And like I said, I saw this, this need in the marketplace and, uh, I said I'm going on a mission to bring that level of education and analysis, uh, from the boardroom, helping the CEOs to helping entrepreneurs step into their CEO role, uh, in their own small business.
Speaker 3:Well, I really love that and I, I'm so glad that you help people beyond just doing their books. Cause I know, you know, the first few bookkeepers and accountants that I worked with really, it was just like I'd send everything over to them, they'd do their thing, they'd send it back to me. I wouldn't even open the binder, you know? And then I was just like, I felt great. Like the first step to me was outsourcing to begin with. That took me a few years and so I was really, really happy. But then there came a time when I was like, I feel like I don't understand if I'm doing well or if I need to be doing things differently or what these numbers mean. So I love that you add that piece to what you offer.
Speaker 4:Yeah, absolutely. Cause, you know, get it, getting that, um, that Excel file in, in an email. You know, we do hear that from clients all the time. I feel so good knowing that it's done and they feel ready for tax season and, uh, they, they, they feel prepared. Uh, but they're not using the numbers yet to make business decisions. And so we're really on a mission to not only just be prepared for tax season, but let's, let's make decisions throughout the year, uh, where it can help us grow our business and, uh, minimize our tax liability.
Speaker 3:Mm. Love it. Love it. Well, I'm excited to dive into today's topic because we're actually going to talk about figuring out how to read those numbers a little bit. So can you tell me why it's so important to understand your financials?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so I always tell, uh, our clients, the, the numbers are trying to tell you a story about your business. And so it's really important for you to read the story that the numbers are trying to tell you. The numbers want to tell you what is working right? What, what do you need to do more of in your business? The numbers are also trying to tell you what's not working in your business and what you need to do less of a or maybe where you need to spend more money or less money. Uh, so, so the most important piece is to be able to use those numbers, use the story that it's telling you, and then make the changes in your business so that you can continue to grow.
Speaker 3:Ooh, so good. You know, when I finally learned, um, more about how to read my numbers and how to interpret them and how to make decisions based on them, I had, it was so empowering. Like I felt like I could now, like I had complete faith in my ability to sustain and grow my business because I knew when to pivot. And I really grew to love having the finger on the pulse of my business all the time. And I didn't for the longest time, like I almost didn't want to know the numbers. You know, I wanted to kind of stick my head in the sand and just like, do what I love doing as a wedding planner. Um, but once I really became more confident with it, it really empowered me to really feel like that CEO to feel like, you know, a successful business owner and make decisions based on data and not just like gut feeling.
Speaker 4:Yes. Feel it. Feeling feelings gut or the cash balance in the checking account. One of my best experiences. We had a client come to us last year and she said to me, uh, in our discovery call, I w I want your help in teaching me how to operate a business at a loss and, and what had, how to plan for that for tax season. But she hadn't done any of her financials for that year and we were in quarter four. So we went through, we did what we call a catch before all her transactions into the accounting system, get her all set up and we send to her financials. And we got on this call and I said, first and foremost, I want you to know that you're not operating your business at a loss. You have a profit of$30,000 this year and it's quarter four. So we need to figure out how to save for that or minimize that tax liability. So you're prepared for April. Uh, but it's just, yeah, one of those things where, you know, she was, she was scared. She was afraid. She hadn't looked at her numbers. Uh, and because, uh, she didn't have the information, she thought she was operating at a loss. And here she had grown, uh, over 150% from the year before. And she had no idea.
Speaker 3:It's really scary. And that, so my next question is that, you know, I really find when it comes to creative businesses in particular, we tend to really shy away from talking openly about the money in our business. I know fear is a big part of that, but why, why else do you think that is? Like, what's the root of the problem there?
Speaker 4:You know, when I first started kickstart five years ago, I, I kept on hearing the term money mindset and it took me a while, uh, and it took talking to a lot of entrepreneurs to realize that that's a real thing. You know, money mindset is, is a, is a real phenomenon. We, uh, we, we have these emotions around money. It depends on how we grew up, you know, maybe what time, uh, you know, was it, uh, an economy downturn or did we grow up in a time of a prosperous economy? Uh, maybe our family, uh, what was it had their own business or they knew other business owners who did well or didn't do well. So based on our experiences growing up and through life, we start to tell ourself this money story, right? Um, my money's bad. I mean, when he, when he's evil, people who have money, uh, don't do, um, are good members of the society in, in the community. Uh, and so therefore we're afraid to hear what the numbers are going to tell us. Or maybe it's the other way around. Maybe we come from a place of scarcity and we're afraid that the numbers are going to tell us that, yeah, your business isn't doing well or we're afraid of success. So, you know, it just goes back to what is the money story that you are telling yourself about what you deserve.
Speaker 3:Mm. I think that's so true. And I know for me personally, like even just listening to you say that I was going back in my head and thinking, Hmm, I wonder what I've never really thought of it that way. What, what is my money story and how has it affected, you know, the decisions I've made. And I think, you know, I find too in this industry that we're just so passionate about the creative part of what we do love being florists. We love being stationary designers. You know, we love being photographers and wedding planners and not, I don't think very many of us originally wanted to become business owners. I think we just wanted to do what we love. And then unfortunately, you know, it's, it's a, it's really a solo preneur market. So, um, in this industry, so many people end up having to be business owners and don't always have those skills set. Right. So I know for me, like it took several years before I was like, ah, you know, like this is a real thing. I have real money coming into my account and more money than should be going out of my tap and something isn't right. As much as I am loving this and having like the time of my life doing my passion, you know, it's not paying the bills and I need to figure out why that is. So I, you know, I think it takes people a little while, but I think what I love about, you know, this day and age compared to when I started 11 years ago, there really wasn't as many resources available for sure.
Speaker 4:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker 3:It took me so long to find a good bookkeeper and a good accountant. And now I feel like there are people like you who are helping people, you know, all over the country, more or less. And, and it's just so amazing that they can reach out and, and have access to so many of these resources now. So I hope that this podcast today really empowers the listeners to sort of take control of their own money story. And you can reach out to Danielle. I'll share her contact information at the end, but also we're going to dive right in now to the numbers that you need to know. And so hopefully this will help people, you know, start that foundation, that solid financial foundation in their business.
Speaker 4:Yes. And so every listener and including yourself, have your homework this weekend, do to steak and take a step back and, and think about, uh, what your experiences have been, uh, with money and, uh, and, and where you want to see that change, right. Face the fear, face your experience. And so, so take a few minutes, uh, to think about that, uh, because it really is the first step. Uh, I just want to say one other thing about, um, what you were saying. You know, it is so common, uh, in this industry to really, you're, you're so passionate, but unfortunately we have seen, uh, clients who've come to us that are at a point where they're actually resentful of their business and they're resentful of their passion because they, they are, are not making enough money. Or maybe they're bringing in money, but they're spending too much and they don't know where to make cuts. And they don't know where they're spending the most money. And so they end up frustrated for so long that they actually are resentful of this passion that they have. And so I just encourage everybody to take action steps and find the help before you get to that point where you're resentful of your business.
Speaker 3:[inaudible] I second that because I, you know, my know I went through a period of really bad burnout about five or six years ago and a lot of that stemmed from the money not meeting my expectations. And you know, when I came back after, so I took about eight months off. When I came back, one of the first things I said I like, I drew a line in the sand and I was like, I am not doing this for less than I feel I should be earning. And that was the line in the sand. And since that day, you know, everything changed. So I, I think I really had to change that story for myself a little bit. But I agree it becomes very toxic when you know you, you love what you do so much. But if it can't support you, I mean that's, that's for the whole like frustrated artists term comes from, you know. But yeah, I, I agree with Danielle, like definitely reach out and get that support early so that you don't have to get to that point. Okay. So without further ado, let's dive in to these key numbers. I'm really interested to hear what they are. Hopefully, hopefully I know what they are. I feel like I've done a lot of work to get there, but we'll see. We'll see. I'm curious. So what is the first number?
Speaker 4:So most of the business owners that we've worked with know what their total business sales are, right? So you can go into your point of sale system, uh, and, and look at what your total sales are in your business. But I'd like you to take that one step further and, and look at where are you the most profitable. So you might offer three different packages and each package takes a different amount of time of your time, of your resources, and maybe some pieces of inventory as well. So, so go through and calculate the amount of sales by, by package or by service offering or by product, and then calculate how many hours it takes you to service that, that piece of inventory or that, that service package and then determine which package is the most profitable. I had a really interesting conversation a few months back. I was actually looking for some branding photos for our accounting firm. And, uh, I was looking at some photographers who if they did brand photos as well as, you know, engagement and wedding, a wedding photos. So, um, we got on the call and she kept on saying, well, what are you looking for? And then I, and I said, well, how much does that cost? She goes, well, it depends on how long. And I said, then I asked another question, well, how much will that, that package cost? And she goes, well, depends on how long and what you're looking for. And so I said, Brenda, um, I'm going to give you some cards and then you're going to come back to me with pricing tomorrow. I want you to sit down and and go through each package and determine how much time it takes you to service each package and, and give yourself an hourly rate and then price your packages, uh, so that you are profitable. Needless to say, I probably overpaid for the branding branding photo session because she had just raised her prices. But I encourage you all to do that same exercise. If you're saying it depends or depends on how long, really look at each of those packages and determine how much profit you're making by package. Does that make sense?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. And this is really important. I tell people all the time, track your time. If you don't know how long it takes you to execute on your services, then you need to spend, and I did this for a full year by the way, a full year of tracking my time every time I so much as thought of a client in the shower, like doing designs in my head I was like, this is billable time. So I really encourage that because it's really hard to know if you're profitable, if you're not tracking your time. If you do not know how many hours go into a full planning package or a, um, you know, engagement session, then you're, it's going to be very hard to know.
Speaker 4:Yes. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
Speaker 3:Fantastic. Okay. What is the next number?
Speaker 4:So I want you all to look at what are your three biggest expenses. Uh, and this can be different for, for every business. If you are a florist, your biggest expense is, is most likely to get it going to be your cost of goods sold. So I want you to take your inventory out of that cause that that inventory actually will belong in that first, that first number that we, that we determined. So this is where are you spending money in your operating expenses? So are you paying for a fancy software, uh, or are you buying a lot of, of equipment each year? Um, are you, where are you spending the most money? Here's, here's the number number two piece of this exercise. Does it serve your goals for this year? So I have a client this past year, she came to us and she said, my number one goal this year is to grow my top line revenue. I want to bring in as much sales as possible. And so she decided to run some advertising advertisements. She did a one in a local paper. Uh, she did some Facebook ads and then she even held a local, um, wedding event here in Ohio. And we knew that she was going to have a lot of expenses and we planned for that. But wow, does she grow her revenue this year? And now as we look into going into the following year, she has, uh, she has some referrals going and she wants to concentrate on profitability. So now our goal for going into next year is let's not spend so much money. Let's scale down those ads. Let's scale down the events that we're going to, uh, so that we can have a really profitable year. So think about where you're spending the most money and it does it support your business and does it support your goals?
Speaker 3:I think this is really important, particularly in this day and age where there are so many shiny objects for entrepreneurs, so many software programs, so many subscription programs. You know, everybody feels there's like this, this subtle keeping up with the Joneses that happens. Um, yeah, you know, I, so I teach a program called the wedding planner intensive and we talk all about systems and processes and I teach how I create my systems digitally, but also I still teach how I can do them just on a spreadsheet. You don't need the fancy programs. And one of the biggest reality checks I ever had in my business was realizing that if I wanted to be profitable, I had to make cuts to those expenses. And I had to ask myself like in a very like, come to Jesus moment, I had to ask myself, is this just a vanity thing? Like is this me feeling like is this really going to save me time using this software program or is it just, it makes me feel more legitimate and can I operate my business without it? Because I'll tell ya, I've been doing this for almost 12 years and I certainly was operating my business without it 10 years ago.
Speaker 4:Right?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I had to get kind of, especially when we're experiencing, you know, tighter quarters or years where we feel like, Ooh, okay the, the revenue is not flowing the way it has in previous years. We have to make some decisions. And the question you ask about is it serving your goals is really, sometimes it's hard but you have to like if it's not, if it's not moving you forward in your business, if it's not having an impact that that brings in more money then or saves you time, maybe like time, time is really valuable too. But then sometimes you have to let it go. And I've had even just quarters where I've had to be like, you know what, the money is really tight this quarter cause I'm keeping my finger on the pulse here and I'm going to have to cancel some subscriptions and maybe I can get them back again later. But right now I just can't do it. So I think it's hard to do that. But I think sometimes we have to get back to basics and, and to, you know, the grassroots, what really matters in our business and sometimes that really expensive software program isn't what really matters.
Speaker 4:It's so true. And in this industry we find that there's a lot of seasonality. So, you know, you might want to be looking at a software that you can turn on and off. Uh, right. So that's, you know, maybe it makes you really efficient during your time and then it's something that you can either pause or terminate during your slower seasons and then, and then be able to, to reactivate. Uh, so that's one option. And you know, I know even in my own business, I've had years where I said, I really don't want a lot of these administrative tasks to take me a lot of time. I want to really focus on doing what I love. And that's working with clients. And so we did spend more money that year on putting in processes in place so that, uh, those tasks didn't take a lot of, of my time. And so you need to decide, um, you know, does that support what you're looking for and what you're defining as success in your business today?
Speaker 3:Yeah, definitely. And there are some benefits. Like I know that, you know, some of the programs that we use free up a lot of our time to be focused on sales, which I think you know, is really impactful in a business, especially depending on where you're at in your business. So you have to make that decision. I think, you know, what, what value do all of these expenses have in your business? I know, you know, for a few years I had a physical office and I'll tell you something, that office made me feel so good. It made me feel like I was finally legitimate. You know, like it's hard sometimes when you work at a home office and you're in your pajamas every day. It's hard to feel legitimate. And so I find the, you know, invested in this, in this actual space and it was so great. And, you know, I was meeting my couples there and I was working there and I felt really great about it and it was really a drain on my money. And after about two years, I had to like face the music that first of all, my clients didn't care. It didn't make that much of a difference to them at all, whether I had an office or not, it was not necessarily attracting new clients just because I had a physical office. What it was doing was eating up a big chunk of my profit. So I had to let it go.
Speaker 4:Well, and there was, there's that money mindset creeping back in, right? So we all have a story that we're telling ourselves and what will make us air quote legitimate, uh, and, and feel good and confident about our business. And so we chase after, you know, going and getting a fancy office or a fancy coffee pot or fancy dinners to take our clients do. And, and it's, and it's not necessarily that's making us serve our clients better. It's just making us feel better about our business. Uh, you know, we, we're virtual accounting firms, so we, we service clients nationally and I work from my home office and all of my bookkeepers work from their home office. But here's what I encourage everybody who works from home. Uh, every morning I still get up, I get ready, I change my clothes. Right. You get outta your PJ's. Uh, I have zoom calls with my clients so that they can see my, I have a reason to put my makeup on today and, and they, and we still have a personality and we can still look at each other in the eye, uh, and dedicate a room or a part of a room that can make you feel like you're still going into an office, uh, rather than sitting on the side of the couch or at your dining room table. If you can find one, one place in your house, uh, it can really help still make you feel legitimate by going to that area. And, um, and then it makes, uh, it gives you a tax write off for your home office. So if you can really do, yeah, total benefit. So dedicate that area, you can do the home office right off and it'll help you feel, um, like you have your own space.
Speaker 3:You know, one of the tips that I have too, when I, so in the first few years, especially because my kids were pretty little, I had to put, I put office hours on my door and my office, like I put them on the doors so that my children and my husband and everybody would know that I'm actually working. This isn't like a hobby. Like I'm at work. You can't just come knocking on my door asking me to play with Lego. Like yeah, it's a work thing, you know?
Speaker 4:Yeah. I love, I love that idea. Um, we, we do a scrunchie on my office door so that if the scrunchies on, they know that they, they aren't allowed to open the door.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I love that. That's a great idea. Especially cause scrunchies are a big deal right now. They're big. I got two teenage girls, so awesome. So what is the next number? I'm loving this.
Speaker 4:Yeah. So the next number is if you don't currently have an accounting system, it will take you a little bit of work to get here. Uh, but I want you to know what your profit or your losses for the year. And so the, the, it's not a difficult number to F to find. Uh, you will take your total sales for the year. You will subtract any cost of goods sold. So an inventory. So for our florists, it might be any of the flowers, uh, anything that you needed to, to, to bring to these events with you. Uh, and then all of your operating expenses. So anything that you bought to redo that home office that we just told you to do, uh, to, to stock your, your home office, uh, any of the expenses for the software or the subscriptions, uh, postage, any of any of those expenses. So I want you to take the sales and then subtract all of those expenses and then that will give you your profit or your loss for the year. Here's why this is so important. Uh, you will pay taxes on the, the profit for your business. And I want us all to remember that taxes aren't just a once a year exercise. So we don't just need to worry about this. In January, February, we really to be thinking about our profitability throughout the year. And so one of the number one things that we give to our clients every month when we send them those financial statements, we'll tell them, here's your profit or here's your loss. If you're operating at a loss, what do we need to do to help you generate profits in your business? If you are operating at a profit, then how much do we need to start setting aside for taxes so that we're prepared for for the following year. Also, we can start making better business decisions, especially when we get into Q three and Q four we have some clients who come to us at this time and they have a really high profit, but they know that they're going to attend a conference in January and they're really going to ramp up their spending next year and they don't expect to be as profitable next year. And so what we'll help them do is determine what costs can we pay for in the fourth quarter so that we can reduce our profit now rather than waiting until next year. I know that sounds like a lot of accounting terms and make feel daunting and overwhelming. Uh, so ask for help. Uh, you know, seek clarification. Uh, but that is why knowing your numbers is so important throughout the year, cause then you can shift your behaviors to help you minimize that tax liability and optimize your goals.
Speaker 3:Mm. So good. You know, one of the biggest mistakes, and I know I'm not alone here with this, um, one of the biggest mistakes that I made in the first few years of business was definitely not saving for taxes. And you know, it ended up being this like huge burden every year that I had. And then I was like, what's the term like robbing Peter to pay Paul? Because then I'd start, you know, taking all of my revenue the next year towards the last year's tax bill instead of saving the whole time. So, you know, I think one of the biggest changes I ever made was, you know, opening a separate account for to save for taxes. And it automatically, every time I make a deposit into my bank, it automatically transfers 30% into my tax savings, which is more than I need. But I like to have a buffer and it just makes such a big difference in my life to not stress about it. And my, so my accountant does the same thing where, you know, as we get towards Q three Q four we start looking at, you know, okay, how's your business going? What do we need to make any decisions now before it's tax time and you know, do we need to invest some of your profit it back into the business, et cetera, et cetera. So I really encourage people as much as this might feel, um, you know, it might feel like it's a little over your head cause it certainly felt that way to me for the longest time. That's the benefit of hiring someone to advise you on this. It is so critical and it can really change your business. Like the, the trajectory of your business. So I highly recommend it.
Speaker 4:Yeah, absolutely. And one other, just a reminder, if you don't have the money set aside and you're scared that you're going to owe a lot of money when you file this year's taxes, don't run from it a file, file your return anyway. Uh, you can, you know, you can file an extension and then you can create a payment plan with the IRS. Uh, we just, we encounter so many people who come to us and say, I've been running from my taxes for years because I didn't have the money saved and now it's been several years and I really don't have the money saved. Uh, so just know that there is options with the IRS, get it filed and um, and start making small, small steps towards, uh, towards the right direction.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And you know what? I think that, I think it's also really common. So I want anyone who's in that position listening right now, like don't feel like you're a failure because of that, because I think there's a lot of people that are, have been in that situation at least once in their lives. And I also think that you'll feel so much better knowing that you're finally addressing it, you know? Okay. So what is our last number that people should know?
Speaker 4:The last number that I, um, what everyone to know is, uh, your, how much money do you have in, in debt? And, uh, how much cash do you have in the bank? There's, there's some, um, uh, we're going to throw a real big, uh, um, the accounting word, but there's some key performance indicators. There's some KPIs to help you, um, analyze this information. But I wanna I want to just bring it to real simple terms. You know, how much cash do you have today, uh, versus how much money do you owe in debt? So think about your credit card loans, uh, any, any, you know, maybe, uh, lines of credit that you've taken out to support your business. And the reason why I encourage you to look at this information, uh, is cause you, you want to start making the steps to reduce that debt, uh, but manage to keep a reasonable amount of cash in your checking account so that you can support the operating expenses of your business. So one of the things that we work with clients on a lot is, uh, know how much your average operating expenses are per month, and then set aside two to three months worth in your checking account so that you are not operating and paying yourself from a place of fear. You can pay yourself with confidence or you can pay down your debt with confidence. So if you know that you can cover the next three months, um, you'll be able to take home a bigger paycheck and a more and more confidently, uh, you'll be able to make it through your slower seasons and be able to do that more confidently and you'll be able to start making, uh, any reductions in debt as a, as your business grows.
Speaker 3:Oh, I love that. You know, one of the most empowering moments in my career as a business owner came when I finally realized that, you know, I had a full year's worth of tracking done. So once I started working with a professional, I could look back and say, okay, this is what all of my expenses were last year. And, and from month to month, slow season, busy season everything and really start planning. So I was actually being proactive with my financial planning instead of constantly just in reaction mode where you know, I'm reacting to a bill that comes in every month and and everything else. So that feeling of just, just being able to anticipate the cashflow issues that I, you know, during slow season and all of that just made me be able to sleep so much better at night. Oh my goodness. It was incredible. Plus I started feeling like, okay, I can kind of project how things are going to go. So I'm going to make decisions based on those projections instead of just kind of winging it all the time, which is all I did for a few years and it didn't work out. Like winging it is not a strategy FYI.
Speaker 4:And when you have that information, um, from the previous year. So when we get towards the end of the year, clients who come to us say, well, should I really put together my last year's financials in the accounting system or should I just start fresh and in the new year? And I always tell people, let's, let's do your financials for last year. Let's do that catch up. And here's why. Cause then as we get, as we go through next year, we can geek out on, on being able to tell you, here's how much your sales have grown, here's how much you're spending has changed and here's your increase in profits. And it's a really fun exercise to be able to go through with clients when you're able to see how much you're growing or, or not growing and, and be able to measure that success. So, uh, as you start getting that year under your belt in your accounting system, that second year, it becomes really fun to look at those numbers.
Speaker 3:Mmm. So good. This has been really great. And I hope that the, you know, the audience listening, if they're in, you know, whether you're already doing some of this stuff, in which case, you know, give yourself a big Pat on the back or if it's something you've been thinking about, maybe it's one of your goals for 2020, you know, hopefully this has inspired you to spend some time just to really focus on your numbers. I know, you know, it was such a hard thing for me to do, which is I think why I'm so passionate about it, but it really changed the course of my business. So I'm curious, is there anything you want to share with the listeners as they, you know, think about implementing these tips? What should they keep top of mind
Speaker 4:start small. Uh, do one thing at a time. Uh, you know, I throw a lot of numbers at you today and a lot of accounting terms don't, uh, don't turn this off and feel overwhelmed. Right? Uh, take, take one step. Uh, one action step for me. I know that when I feel overwhelmed by something, uh, taking movement forward makes I gain traction on that momentum. Uh, we created a signature framework called the profit planner and uh, and we break down those action steps on a daily basis for you so you can start taking a five to 10 minutes as your daily CEO time and be able to take those action steps. So don't feel overwhelmed. Start small, do one thing at a time.
Speaker 3:Mm. And I think that advice about taking, you know, 15 minutes a day is really important. I started, I'm a big time blocker and I started blocking in, you know, a good amount of time to focus on my financials every week. That really changed things for me too. Like, just knowing that I had the time set aside, making it a priority was really important. But I'm super curious about your planner. So can you tell us a little more about it? Like I, so I checked it out on your website. It looks amazing. So what, what does it do for people? What's the benefit of it?
Speaker 4:Yeah. Yes. So the planner is not just a traditional planner. So we can um, pick up a, uh, traditional planner on, on every street corner and every mainstream marketplace. But what this planner does, uh, at the beginning of each week for 12 weeks, uh, we will give you some financial education and accounting knowledge. Uh, and it's not overwhelming. The idea is for this to not be overwhelming. So we're taking one small section and reviewing just two to three pages worth of information and then we break that goal down into daily action steps. So you have one thing to do each day of that week to help you align to that week's goal. We give you space within the planner. We give you a note section so that you can do that exercise right there in the note section. Uh, we also give you space to, uh, set your top three priorities for the day and to refocus on your goal. Uh, I like to write out my goal for my business every day and it has that, uh, that space there. And then there's also the, um, daily scheduling from six 30 to 9:30 PM. Uh, you know, I'm kind of like you, I like to time block. And so, uh, you know, I write right in my financial planner, take time to be my daily CEO and that's when I do action tat task. So at the end of the 12 weeks, uh, I want to, to feel confident about your numbers and feel, uh, more confident when, you know, when we're being asked by our mentor or our spouses or our mastermind mastermind groups. Uh, how was your business doing? You can say, I just learned all about my numbers in this, this, uh, planner and I can confidently answer, answer these questions now and I can confidently grow my business.
Speaker 3:Mm. So I'm a bit of a planner, addict. I use
Speaker 4:bye
Speaker 3:at least two every year, which is really ironic and ridiculous because actually I do most of my time blocking and everything using Google calendar. But I still think about having a physical thing to write in really works for me. So I love this idea so much. So if anyone is listening, if one of your goals for 2020 is financial, like if it has something to do with your financials, it sounds to me like this is the perfect planner for you because I think it's really easy, like you said, to pick up a very inspiring planner here and a, you know, goal planner here and all of this sort of thing. But if one of your goals is to know your numbers and to be more profitable in your business, this is the perfect planner. And I understand that you are offering an amazing deal to our listeners. You're going to give them 15% off, is that correct?
Speaker 4:Yes, absolutely. So if you use a code, what preneur uh, we will give you 15% off your total cart. Uh, and I say that because we do have, uh, two planners. There's fi there's, uh, profit planner foundations, which will help you lay the, the foundations of your accounting process, and then when you're ready to up level and, uh, and take it to the next level, uh, we also have profit planner financials. And so you can use that code on both planner one and two.
Speaker 3:Amazing. So where can our listeners go to find the planner?
Speaker 4:Uh, you can go to profit planner, bookkeeping.com.
Speaker 3:Fantastic. I will link to that in the show notes. I also understand that if people are listening and they're feeling a little overwhelmed or they just want to get more information, you do a free discovery call, right? So where can they reach out to schedule that with you?
Speaker 4:Yeah. I want to give you a access directly to my scheduling link. Uh, so if you, uh, are have questions and you are looking for support and helping your business, um, my team welcomes, uh, entrepreneurs in, uh, uh, in a way that is no judgment. And, uh, we want it to be as easy as possible for you. Uh, so you can go to calendly.com/kickstart accounting and you can schedule time with me directly there.
Speaker 3:Fantastic,
Speaker 2:and I will also link to that in the show notes. It has been a true pleasure today. Danielle, this has been so informative. Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with my listeners. Oh, thank you for having me. I've anybody has any questions? Don't hesitate to reach out. Thanks so much. Have a great day. You too. Hi everyone. Me again. How are you feeling? Is your head spinning? I know from experience that learning how to be the CFO in your business can feel completely overwhelming. As you heard me Sharon, today's episode, it took me a while to figure out that one, I really needed to understand my numbers and two, it really wasn't as challenging as I originally thought it would be, but I can't emphasize enough how important it is and how empowered you will feel. Like most things in life. It just takes some practice and my hope is that today's episode has given you some of the tools to start practicing. Danielle really knows her stuff and I love how she was able to break down the numbers in a really actionable and easy to understand way. I highly recommend you check out her services and her planner and take advantage of that 15% discount. She is the real deal and imagine for just one moment how amazing it will feel to have someone guiding you through the financials in your business and helping you make those big scary financial decisions. I will link to all of her information in the show notes, which you can find at the web, printer.com/four three that is it for today. As always, I am so grateful for all of my listeners out there, you guys, we surpassed 15,000 downloads over the holidays, which is an amazing accomplishment and I literally couldn't have done it without you, my loyal listeners, you guys are the best, so thank you so much for being here and don't forget if you aren't already part of our incredible community on Facebook, consider this your personal invitation. You can head to the web preneur.com/join and continue the conversation. Have a great week. Everyone.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for joining me for this week's episode of the wet preneur podcast. I'm so incredibly grateful to all of my listeners and would like to take a moment to invite you to keep the conversation going. Head on over to my free online community@thewetpreneur.com forward slash join if you enjoyed this episode, help us spread the word by leaving us an honest review on iTunes. I appreciate each and every one of you and welcome your feedback. Until next time,
Speaker 2:[inaudible].