Welcome to another installment of Financial Fridays! Looking for past articles covering financial & business topics you should know about? Check them out here.
As a business owner, you most likely wear a lot of hats. Whether it’s managing your accounting on weekends, marketing on weeknights, or running the cash register when an employee’s caught the flu – you’re busy.
So it’s easy to skip over an essential part of running a business you may be overlooking. But worry no more – here are 4 essentials you need to know for running a successful business.
Trust Your Employees
If you founded the company, and have been running it from the beginning, this can often be the most difficult lesson to pick up. After all, you’ve been doing it all from the start – how can anyone else do it as well, you might ask.
But if you’re serious about growing, then the amount of tasks you’re trying to cover will begin to overflow quite quickly. There’s only 168 hours in a week, and despite what a few entrepreneurs will tell you, you have to sleep for some of them. Trusting your employees to run your business, and complete tasks without you, will have many benefits. Employees will feel more valuable (and less leery of you constantly standing over your shoulder), while you’ll be free to take on whatever parts of the business actually need you the most.
Look for Growth Opportunities Wherever They Are
When you’re so dedicated to your business, you occasionally forget to look up and glance around you for ideas and opportunities. But that’s most likely how you came up with your business idea, by spotting an opening around you, so it’s a task you should keep up.
Often times, growing your business requires money, which is how many of these opportunities can help you. There is a variety of chances in Louisiana, including tax incentives and pitch competitions. The traditional route of getting a loan from a local Metairie business bank is always another option available to you! The key is: if you’re in need of money, and have a good business plan to back it up – then you just need to be looking out for opportunities to serve you.
Always Know Where Your Money Is
When a company starts, the business owner is typically on top of every single dollar, knowing who it’s going to, why it’s going there, and your return on investment. After all, when money is everything, you’re giving it your full attention. But once the money starts coming in, it becomes less necessary for you to care about every dollar as if it was your life. Your company won’t go under anymore if a hundred dollars goes missing, so that hundred becomes less essential. But this is no slippery slope to start falling down. Apply proper accounting techniques (or if you don’t have time to do that, then hire an accountant who does) to ensure you’re receiving every dollar you should!
By keeping these three things in mind, you’re well on your way to becoming a more successful business owner!
This guest post was written by Flynn Zaiger in association with Hibernia Bank. The views expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of any financial institution or bank. This article is intended to provide those reading it with information about matters of current interest. It should not be construed as legal or financial advice concerning a specific topic and should not be acted upon without contacting the appropriate professionals.