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Dr. Karen's
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breakthrough in our later years. In order to move forward successfully (personal and business), we have to face the past fears If you hope to eventually be financially that scorned us.” free, then one of the most important things you can do is identify the reason you’re Excerpt from The Black overwhelmed by the thought of money Book for Financial issues. Only then can you act to move Freedom by Dr. Karen past the money blocks keeping you from S. Ratliff. obtaining your financial goals. Search hard for answers by asking yourself “What is your first memory around finances, and Exercise: Instead of thinking “I can’t do what are your thoughts and feelings about it,” ask yourself, “what will happen if I could get it done?” it?” “As many entrepreneurs start exploring the challenges to get them going, money issues are almost always the most common roadblock. Financial roadblocks began somewhere, often in our younger years.
Letter from the Editor
Most people have negative feelings and Dr. Karen S. Ratliff memories regarding money that they find Editor In Chief, challenging to talk about. The difficult I Love Mondays with Dr. Karen fact of this is that these negative emotions and feelings surrounding money often come from people we are close to (e.g. our parents, friends, and family members). “These internal fears, created by past situations, negatively impact financial
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Highlighting DeAnne Grant! Top 10 Tips on Being Financial Savvy as a Business Owner
Entrepreneur’s To-Do List
This month’s VideoCast!
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Get financially fit! Money exercises.
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First Things First. 5 Quick Money Tips
How to pay off debt quickly!
Table of Contents
Where does your money go? Find out how to set the proper percentages for your budget.
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Where Does Your Money Go?
Sometimes we fall behind financially because we do not know where our money should go. Here is a guide on percentages and where your money should go. 10% Towards your tithes and offerings 20% Towards your savings 30% Towards paying off your debt 40% Towards Living
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Financial Exercise 1. List: Your Wish List:
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Dream Big! What do you want for your business that costs you money! Make the list today. 2. Create: A Vision Board
You need to see it every day! The more you see it, the more it will manifest. Write the vision and make it plain. 3. Confess: What You Desire to See
Every day make confessions about what you desire for your business, even if it costs a lot of money. Confess (out loud) what is on your wish list. 4. Pray: Over Finances Pray and believe that you will receive what you desire. Don’t forget to pray big prayers.
YOU’VE MADE THE COMMITMENT TO INVEST! NOW PLAN OUT YOUR INVESTMENTS STRATEGICALLY!
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DeAnne Grant
Accountant
DeAnna Grant, Managing Partner of Grant’s Financial Services
DeAnna Grant, is a mother, divorcee, business woman, and native Chicagoan. She is the owner of Grant’s Financial Services, a personal and professional financial and tax service. Ms. Grant is a highly regarded financial partner to start-ups, politicians and small to medium size companies undergoing growth. One of her favorite quote is “Profits are Everything” for she fully believes that for a business to be successful they must be profitable. She is also a highly sought-after speaker and trainer to various organizations on current tax and accounting topics.
Top 10 Tips on Being Financial Savvy as a Business Owner
1. Set Goals –Short and Long Term
3. Legal Formations
Before you start a business you should have a plan. Fail to plan, then plan to fail. Every new business owner should have a clear picture and specific goals while knowing exactly what is desired from the business. A business plan is an essential tool. You will need a business plan, not only to obtain financing, but to map out the overall direction of your company. How much money do you want to make? How many employees do you desire? Who is my competition? These are just a few examples of questions that should be answered PRIOR to starting your business.
One of the most important decisions when starting a small business is to choose the legal formation under which your business will operate. The business could be a sole proprietorship, subchapter S corporation, corporation, limited liability company (LLC), not for profit and or general partnership. Understand the different entity choices and discuss the options with an attorney or tax accountant. Also an accountant can assist with cash flow analysis included with the business plan.
2. Have “Cash” and know the cost of doing business
Many small business owners try the “do it all yourself” model. This may be the most cost effective model; however, this is one of the main things I have noticed that causes many small businesses to fail. Think about it this way; every successful business (McDonalds, Walgreens, Target) in their internal offices have an accounting, human resource, legal, and marketing departments. Why do we as small business owners think that we can successfully wear all of these hats? My suggestion is that what you are not skilled at, seek proper counsel.
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Cash and the flow of cash is essential to any small business. Many small businesses fail within the first five years and cash flow is generally the root cause of all small business failures. Know your start up costs (incorporation fees, business cards, advertising, telephone, office space rent etc.) When your new business venture opens the doors for the first time, there is no guarantee that customers will come pouring in. With that being said, in addition to the start up costs, a new business owner should have sufficient operating expenses for the initial 3-6 months. Operating expenses consist of salaries paid to employees, research and development costs, legal fees, accountant fees, bank charges, office supplies, electricity bills, business licenses, and more. As small business owners, we are inspired to action, but you truly need capital i.e. “cash” to grow your business.
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4. Seek proper counsel
5. Remember Sales=Income Business owners need to remember that in order to make money, you must learn to sale. If you are not a natural born sales person, then you must find a way to obtain skills in this area. To obtain skills, I suggest purchasing appropriate business books, join networking groups, and hire someone with sales experience.
6. They Pay Attention to their Business Finances For you to reach your business goals, you must never lie to yourself when it comes to finances. Remember, numbers don’t lie and if you do lie one time everything will catch up with you. You need to be very honest with how much you have first before thinking of getting external sources of finances. In your day-to-day running of your business, the book of accounts must reflect what type of transactions that the business had on that day. Try accounting for everything and try as hard as possible to limit the expenses that cannot bring in cash. Most of these are personal expenses. 7. They Plan Ahead
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“Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail.” This also applies to the business world. In order for you to enjoy success in any business, you must always plan ahead financially. You should be able to determine at what time will your business need a loan and how the loan will be obtained. 8. Make Good Decisions “Good Decisions Pay Off, Bad Decisions Penalize” Yes, in the business world, it is advisable for business owners to make the right decisions, otherwise, a slight mistake may cost you a lot financially. Before you make a decision, have several options at your disposal before choosing the best out of them. 9. When It Comes to Finances, They Are Disciplined
One of the things that lead to business failure is the lack of discipline when it comes to management of finances. Financial discipline is key and makes up to 75 percent of success in business. You need to have knowledge and self-control when it comes to money. As a focused business owner, you need to be aware of how to conserve cash so follow your budget strictly. In my practice I advise my clients with a three bank account system: Operating Account, Tax Account and Profit Account. 10. Track, Measure Decide and Control. Utilize an accounting system, such as Quick Books Online to Track Income and Expense. They measure the financial results or outcomes of monthly profit and loss statements, make management “cost” decisions after reviewing the financial reports, and Control the outcome of their financial succe$$.
Grant’s Financial Services
“Helping Clients Achieve Financial Success” Accounting, Consulting and Training for Small Businesses 2008 S. Wabash Chicago, IL 60616 Phone 312-265-1414 www.grantsfinancialsvcs.com
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First Things First!
“The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing.” -Stephen Covey
Tip #1: Have Balance - Have balance by living for today and tomorrow. The living for today mentality can have you doing things today that you will regret tomorrow. Living for tomorrow is not a better solution. In fact, you may regret not living for today if you continually focus on tomorrow. An example of how living for tomorrow may not be a great plan to follow is putting so much focus on tomorrow that today is wasted; this will cause the years to fly by without you getting any enjoyment from life. Now, the best living is to plan, research, and save the money needed for tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, enjoy it and feel better. Tip #2: Give - Have you heard the saying “If you keep your fist balled up to prevent yourself from giving, it will stay balled up to prevent you from receiving?” There is a blessing in giving and providing for someone’s need. Sow a seed “give” and reap an even bigger seed (blessing). Tip #5: Find the Tools and Strategies That Work Best for You - It is important to understand which tools and strategies are more comfortable for you to become successful in your finances. What works best for you may not work best for someone else. Do you prefer to pay your bills online or pay them by check and in the mail? Do you prefer to grocery shop once a month or weekly? How often do you like to review your finances? At the beginning of every month? During every payday? Are you organized? If not, do you need an Excel spreadsheet to help you with organizing your bills, pay-
Tip #3: Have a Weekly or Biweekly Date with Your Finances - It’s not easy managing your business finances with all of the other demands in your life. Carving time out of your busy schedule—the same way that you do with work, activities, and hobbies— will ensure that you remain on task and financially organized. My advice is to carve out twenty to thirty minutes every time you receive your paycheck. Tip #4: Don’t Get Into Debt - This is an obvious tip, but sometimes we need to see things in writing before the message sinks into our mind and before we start the implementation process. If you can’t afford it for your business now, wait and save the money until you are able to purchase. Also remember, when you are paying off debt or have paid off debt, don’t get back into debt by implementing old habits.
ments, and due dates? I find it easier to pay bills online through a bill pay system that is provided by my bank. I also am comfortable with paying bills twice a month, on the first and fifteenth. On these two days of the month, I set aside time (a date with my finances) to review, in depth, what is coming in and going out, and how I will pay for upcoming events, trips, or big-ticket items. On these two days of the month, I also take time to review and call creditors and ask for lower interest rates or shop around for cheaper insurance and other promotional services.
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March Money Madness
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Five Quick Money Tips
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ENTREPRENEUR’S T O - D O L I S T Pay Yourself
Why pay everyone else and not give yourself anything? It can become stressful to work, pay others, and not have anything left for yourself. You can start small, but put something aside for yourself and treat yourself to something you want when you put enough away. You will feel better knowing that it’s not all work and no play.
Pay Attention
Pay attention to the details. Make sure you read every piece of mail that comes to your home. Ensure that you read the fine print on all contracts and mail. Hidden fees are sometimes located “in between the lines”; and because the print is so small, it’s easy to not read the fine print at all. I can remember opening up mail from my bank and failing to read the small print. Weeks went by, and I incurred additional fees from the bank because I did not call the bank to make changes on my account, as the letter stated. That mistake cost me money in fees. The situation could have been avoided if I had read the entire document. Take a few additional minutes to read everything that comes in your mailbox; it can save you in the long run.
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March Money Madness
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Share what you are learning with others, including mistakes and success stories of kicking your debt to the curb. When you find a app, share it with someone. When you received a grant for your business, tell someone how you were able to get it. If you are not happy with customer service representatives at a financial institution, tell someone not to work with that company. If nothing else, you’ll feel better knowing that you helped someone.
Visualize Your Better Days Visualize yourself paying down your debt on your business loan. See yourself paying cash for your business needs and travel. Take five minutes right now: close your eyes and visualize yourself without debt. How would your life be different? Take the vision and keep it in mind whenever you want to make an impulse buy or when you want to spend money on something that you do not need. Know that the better days are ahead, and keep making progress with your finances today.
Get into a Habit Try to commit to thirty days of conditioning yourself to spend less, save more, and become aware of your debt situation. If you can make it through the initial thirty-day challenge, it becomes easier to sustain. Let today be day number one. During the initial thirty days, stay consistent. If you are working on your spending habits, for example, work on spending less every day. If your focus is to save more money for your business account, practice putting money away every week. After thirty days, you should be in a habit, and naturally, you will be able to spend less and save more.
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Paying Off Debt Quickly
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Having debt can bring on major life challenges, including stress and worry. Pay off debt as quickly as possible by using the “snowball� method.
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The snowball method is strategy to pay off debt in the smallest to largest debt balance. When the smallest debt is paid in full, use that money you were paying on that debt towards the next smallest balance. 1. List your debts from smallest to largest
3. Repeat until each debt is paid in full.
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2. Put as much money as possible on the smallest debt, while making minimum payments on the other debts
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t e e h s k r o W A ! u o Y For
The VideoCast Check out my FB Live on Create Your 7 Streams of Income
Click here to watch video! Financial Readiness Assessment by “Balance: Financially Empowering You”
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About the Editor in Chief
Connect with ILM with Dr. Karen!
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Dr. Karen Ratliff is a native of Chicago, Illinois. As the founder of 365 Consulting Group, she assists individuals and corporations reach their desired visions, dreams, and goals. She is an author, motivational speaker, certified life coach, ghostwriter, and consultant. Her motto is “How May I Help You Win?” Dr. Ratliff was the writer for Jet Magazine “Cents and Sensibility” column. She is also a professor, course designer and curriculum developer. She is the trailblazer for the approval of a charter school located on the south-side of Chicago, where she now serves as the Board President. Most recently Dr. Karen became a 2018 recipient of the “40 under 40,” Young Women Professional League where she is recognized as a trailblazing professional under the age of 40. She loves Mondays because Monday is the day that sets the tone for the week. Don’t wait until Friday to get things done. Get it done early and chill the rest of the week.
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