ExecutiveChronicles|Good financial management is an essential key to any company’s success, but it can be a complicated prospect for first-time entrepreneurs. When you are starting your first business, it’s vital to make sure you know how to handle the financial affairs and tasks so that you can avoid mistakes that have negative consequences. Managing your company’s finances well from the beginning can help ensure you continue to have adequate funding as your business grows, and it can be a foundational aspect of long-term success. Here are some of the most important things to remember as you plan and oversee the financial aspects of your business.
Choose the Right Legal Structure
There are many different ways you can structure your business as a legal entity. Before you start attracting clients and making sales, you may want to take care of all the paperwork to create a legal structure for your business according to the laws of your state. For example, you could function as a sole proprietor but use a trade name to protect your own identity. You could alsodecide to create an llc to protect your personal finances from business liability. If you have investors, partners or plans to expand quickly, a corporation or partnership may be a better option. Each type of structure has unique advantages, challenges, and tax-related issues, so you may want to do some research before deciding which structure to use.
Keep Business and Personal Finances Separate
One of the common mistakes first-time entrepreneurs make is using personal funds to operate a business. It can be tempting to invest your personal capital into your company and to avoid paying yourself a salary to ensure your business has enough money to continue operations. However, there are several potential disadvantages to mixing your personal finances with those of your business, so it is usually better to separate them completely from the very beginning. The first steps are fairly easy. You can open a bank account for your business and apply for a credit or debit card to use for business purchases. You may also want to pay yourself a salary from your business account, even if it is a small amount. Creating separate personal and business budgets can also help you keep track of where exactly your money is going.
Create a Comprehensive Business Plan
Another important step is developing a business plan. A good plan should cover a variety of areas: the products and services you want to offer, your expansion plans, and overall goals. You may also want to include information about your target demographic and your overall marketing strategy. Other components of your business plan may include whether you want to attract investors, how you will file taxes, whether you want to expand into other geographical regions, and what additional employees you want to hire.
Don’t Work for Free
Starting a business is often stressful, and many business owners make certain sacrifices to get their companies off the ground. However, in most cases, providing products or services for free leads to negative consequences. Many entrepreneurs think that working for “exposure” is an even trade-off for lack of payment, but this usually isn’t the case. Certain industries and markets have a lot of potential clients who try to take advantage of new business owners by negotiating low rates or even asking for free products. One of the most common consequences of working for low rates, however, is that it is harder to begin charging more once your business gets off the ground. In most cases, it is better in the long run to avoid low-paying contracts.
Starting a business can be equally exciting and challenging. However, you can reduce the chances of long-term difficulties by managing the financial aspects of your business wisely. Before you accept your first client, it’s a good idea to create a solid business plan and decide what legal structure you want to use for your business. You can keep your business’ assets solid by avoiding common pitfalls such as mixing personal and business finances and working for free.
