4 Money Mistakes That Keep Business Owners Broke (and How to Avoid Them): Part 2
“Tell them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, ready to share, thus accumulating as treasure a good foundation for the future, so as to win the life that is true life” (1 Timothy 6:18-19).
Last month, I shared the first mistake that keeps business owners broke: an unhealthy money mindset. Here, I discuss three more money mistakes many business owners make.
Mistake No. 2: Bank Balance Budgeting
Bank balance budgeting looks like this: “Hey, this course costs $2,997, and I have $3,400 in the bank … so I can afford it!”
If you have enough in your bank to afford something, you can afford it, right? Not necessarily. What business owners don’t see when they “budget” this way is the invoice about to go through tomorrow, the inventory that they need to reorder in two weeks, or the payroll they need to process on Friday. Simply looking at the account balance doesn’t give you enough information to make a prudent decision. Budgeting does.
Budgeting can get a bad wrap; many people see it as a straightjacket designed to tell you “no” to everything you want. But, in reality, a budget is simply a spending plan based on your current goals and priorities. Life without a budget means wondering where the money went. Life with a budget means intentionally spending your money in a way that aligns with your values and priorities at that given moment.
I often encourage people to change one little word around budgeting: to live with a budget, not on a budget. The first phrase is empowering, where the second gives the budget all the control.
Every month, you should create a new budget, since every month is different from the ones before and after it. You’ll give every dollar a job (we use YNAB - You Need a Budget and Wave Software for budgeting and accounting). Then, when you spend money, you’ll track it in your software. Make sure your bank account balance matches the budgeting software on a weekly basis. Wash, rinse, and repeat.
Mistake No. 3: Cozying up to Debt Like It’s Your Friend
The debt machine our society has accepted pitches the idea that debt is your buddy who will be there for you to help you get ahead and have the lifestyle or launch you want, even if you can’t afford it at the moment. This idea has masterfully marketed its way into many households and businesses to the point that most people can’t even imagine a life without debt.
An often-overlooked aspect of all this debt is the serious emotional effects it carries with it. Studies show what many of us already know: Debt is about much more than money. Being in debt can lead to a number of emotional and psychological issues. Studies show that carrying debt can lead to depression, anxiety, resentment inside relationships (especially marriages), denial, stress, anger, underperformance in the workplace, regret, shame, embarrassment, and fear.
It’s not all gloom and doom, though: Many people feel relief, peace, and freedom about their debt—once they’ve paid it off! Becoming debt-free isn’t just freedom from debt; it’s freedom from all those negative emotions, which is why keeping company with debt is a mistake. It’s tempting to think that debt will help you scale your business more quickly, but for every business owner who throws $20,000 on Facebook ads and earns back more, there are 99 who try the same thing and wind up in financial ruin.
Debt also tends to hamper creativity. When you feel like you have an automatic out of your situation with a simple credit card swipe, it stops you from asking big and critical questions like, “How can I make this happen?”
In our first year in business, we were asked if we wanted to adopt another child—to the tune of over $30,000. Our business was not performing at a level where it could sustain itself, our family’s needs, and a spare $30,000. We could’ve just signed up for a home equity line of credit (HELOC) because it felt easy, but it would have shifted more risk onto an already uncertain future (not to mention that it wouldn’t help us grow our business, which was the actual problem).
Because we asked “how?”, we tried new launch strategies with partners, ads, and a workshop with videos. Six weeks later, we had all the money we needed and a business that was earning more than it was before. Easy debt would have blocked that creativity that ultimately solved the issues we had under the surface.
Mistake No. 4: Not Having a Big-picture Plan
Think beyond the bills that are due right now—beyond, even, this month’s budget. You need not only some big goals and dreams for your business but a plan for how you’re going to get there.
Your big goals, your dreams? Those are up to you. What kind of impact do you want your business to have? How do you want your business to look a year from now? Five years from now? Ten years from now? How can your business profoundly touch your family, community, and the greater world? What sort of work life do you want for yourself and your employees?
You need an implementation plan to get you from A to Z—the steps you’ll take to arrive at your desired financial destination and a system that will take you from guessing and wondering with your money to following a proven plan that will help you achieve your dreams every time—not only for your business finances but for your personal finances as well. If you’re married, this plan is all the more important, since you have two people to get on the same page. A plan is essential.
With your money, ignorance is not bliss. Ignoring it because it’s too painful to deal with won’t help. Embracing it, finding the right strategies, and being consistent in implementing them will make the difference between staying stuck for years or decades and making progress and thriving as you hit your goals and achieve your dreams.
You, too, have likely had your own “crumple onto the bed and cry because you don’t know if your business will make it” moment. But you don’t have to have any more; you can learn the skill sets, habits, and systems to establish your business and scale it sustainably.
Working on your money mindset, gaining budgeting skills, eliminating debt quickly, and crafting your financial game plan … it’s what we help others do, and we’d be honored to walk with you in your journey. It’s as simple as this: Find a plan, and follow it. We teach The WalletWin Method, a Catholic personal financial plan made of four financial phases and 12 Money Milestones. To learn more, hop on over to walletwin.com. You can also dive deeper with us on The WalletWin Podcast at walletwin.com/podcast (or look up “WalletWin” in your favorite podcast player).
Amanda Teixeira and her husband Jonathan cofounded WalletWin, a financial-success program and podcast that help everyday Catholics get intentional with money. In 2012, they were $24,500 in debt, but in less than eight months, they had paid off all their loans and closed the doors on debt forever. Since kicking debt to the curb, they’ve focused on saving, investing, and giving, and they’re now teaching others how to do the same. While not traveling the U.S. in their Class A WalletWinnebago, Jonathan and Amanda live in Omaha, Nebraska with their three daughters Josie, Charlotte, Ellie, and crazy but lovable Labrador Retriever, Wrigley. Their first book, “How to Attack Debt, Build Savings, and Change the World Through Generosity: A Catholic Guide to Managing Your Money,” is out today.