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Intimate with the Numbers

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When Shark Tank first aired back in 2009 I wasn’t a fan. I felt for the people who dared take center stage and weren’t prepared, didn’t know their businesses thoroughly or worse yet didn’t know their numbers.

I didn’t like the show because every time I watched it served as an indictment against me that I didn’t know my numbers. I was treating my business more like some side hobby instead of the multi-million dollar organization I knew it would be.

My husband loves the show and as I snuggled up to him and watched the show week after week, I was always convicted. Always. I realized that if I wanted my business to grow, I had to become intimate with my numbers.

Now this may not be a problem for my highly efficient and organized left-brained counterparts. Me? I’m as right-brained as they come. Creative, intuitive and was doing just fine in math till they threw in random members of the alphabet. I wanted nothing more than to create for my business and my clients, not cozy up to some spreadsheet hammering out a budget and figuring out cash flow.

But here’s what I learned. If you don’t have a plan for your money, other people do and have no problem spending it for you.

So not only do you have to have a plan for your money, you have to know your business. You have to map out a direction and set sales and financial goals otherwise you’re letting other people spend your money.

As an entrepreneur or small business owner, we’re bombarded with messages from well-meaning coaches and consultants on how they can help grow our businesses. There’s no shortage of the $47, $97, $997 course, class, or mastermind group. Then there’s the myriad of conferences—some free, others can be hundreds even thousands of dollars to attend.

If you don’t have a plan for your money, if you don’t have a goal, if you don’t know your business, you’re more likely to impulsively buy that $47 Facebook Secrets Revealed Course only to find out you already knew the secret. Multiply that $47 by 12 other secret tips and shortcuts and you’ve spent $564 that you could have put to better use.

Knowing your business, creating strategy and being intimate with your numbers allows you to say no to opportunities that don’t align with your strategy and yes to the ones that do.

I was recently asked to be part of a book compilation and the investment to be included was $1,200. I politely declined. I already knew how and where I would spend my marketing and advertising dollars for 2015. I knew what I wanted for my business and even though it was a good opportunity, it wasn’t the right opportunity.

How do I know?

Thanks to Shark Tank, I set a direction and goals for my business so I know it thoroughly and became very intimate with my numbers.

 


 

Lisa Alexander, She Is Fierce! Contributor

Known as The Marketing Stylist™, Lisa N. Alexander is a speaker, marketing consultant, and author of This Woman Knows and Put It Out There! 5 Steps to Kick Fear’s Butt and Move Your Dream Forward. Lisa believes women must know their value, face their fears and shares a message that is both practical and inspirational. Lisa married her high school sweetheart and have been married for 27 years. Together they have two children, one grandchild and a frisky Lab mix named Kobe.

Meet Lisa at  ThisWomanKnows.comTheMarketingStylist.com or follow Lisa on Twitter.

 

Photo courtesy Flickr

  1. Dee says:

    Thank you. Very good article! Yes, knowing your business numbers is important. I love Shark Tank. I’ve been watching the UK version, Dragons’ Den, for years. I think that apart from the entertainment, there are lessons to be learned from the shows that can be invaluable for entrepreneurs.

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