Anyone who runs a business should know just how important it is to look after the finances of that business. After all, if you are doing that, it’s going to mean that you are much more likely to keep the business as a whole on the straight and narrow, and to avoid many of the serious problems that can beset companies of all sizes. So in this post, we are going to take a look at some ideas about how you can better care for your business’ finances, so that you can effectively hope for a much better future for the company.

Plan For Emergencies

You never know what is going to happen, and businesses are beset by emergencies very often. The more effectively you plan and prepare for those kinds of incidents, the more likely it is that your business will be able to survive them, so this is something that you are definitely going to want to think about here. Planning for emergencies is the kind of thing that you will have to do generically. You can’t know what specific emergencies will happen, but you can have a plan in general for when they do, so aim for that at least.

Pic Credit – CCO License

Manage Your Accounting Properly

You also need to make sure that you are managing and looking after your accounting as best as you can, which might be a lot easier than you think but does require that you are paying close attention to it. The best way is usually to simply hire a professional to do it for you. A small business accountant is going to be able to help you keep your finances where they should be, and avoid problems that will otherwise happen to you. Just having them on board can really make a world of difference.

Frequently Review Costs
It’s great if you can keep your costs as low as possible at all times, so to help with that, it’s a really good idea to review your costs on a frequent basis so that you can ensure they are as low as possible. The more you keep your eye on this kind of thing, the better off your business will be in general. If you are able to do this as much as you can, you’ll find that your costs stay low and that you therefore have much healthier finances in general. It’s amazing how much it can help.

Pic Credit – CCO License

Keep It Separate
Finally, remember that you need to keep the business’ finances separate from your own, personal finances. This can be easier than you might think to achieve, but it is important to get right because otherwise you could land yourself in all sorts of legal trouble. Most of all, you have to keep a separate bank account for yourself and for your business, because otherwise you might struggle with this. And make sure that you pay yourself officially and legally, rather than just taking money out of the company for yourself.

Running a successful business can be a winding path with highs and lows. But don’t let setbacks keep you from striving toward your vision. Your entrepreneurial dreams can continue with the right knowledge, actions, and professional help. Follow these tips from Mike McRitchie to get back on the right track.

1. Brand Assessment and Development

If you’ve had a setback, your business may be in need of rebranding. A brand is developed through the words, actions, and look of your company; it should be reinforced with every move you make as a business owner. Decide what qualities are most important to your business — innovation, trustworthiness, and consistency are possible examples — and build your brand with respect to those qualities, making sure each decision you make reinforces your brand. This not only builds confidence in your brand for your customers but helps attract quality workers who also share your values and vision.

A crucial part of your brand is your logo design. A well-designed logo will be recognizable and increase customer loyalty. If you’re on a tight budget, avoid hiring a graphic designer to create your logo and use a free online logo maker instead. This tool will allow you to generate a new logo using previously designed templates which you can customize to your needs. 

2. Have a Stellar Website

Website design is not something your business can afford to skimp on. For many potential customers, your website is their first interaction with your company and informs them about your level of professionalism and quality of work. It needs to be attractive to the right customers, and they need to be able to navigate it easily regardless of the device they are using to visit the site. If a site is difficult to use, most potential customers won’t want to struggle just to purchase your goods or services; they’re more likely to simply leave your site and search for another business to buy from. Create a website that is optimized for local SEO and balances great and compelling design with seamless functionality .

3. Market Effectively on Social Media

Social media is where your customers are, and the potential for new-customer reach is nearly limitless when social media marketing is used effectively. With specially designed ads targeted to the correct audiences, you can grow your customer base and increase revenue. Engage a professional or service to manage social media for your company that is integrated across platforms and informed by data.

4. Embrace Email Marketing

Newsletters and instant updates are wonderful ways to stay connected to customers online. Grow your email list and communicate with list members efficiently and in a timely manner, putting links to your website, profiles, and products directly into their hands. This encourages casual visitors to become repeat customers, and there is no better place to make sales than with customers you’ve already worked with. With the right data analysis informing decisions, email marketing can be one of the most effective ways to generate revenue. If understanding the data is difficult, hire a professional to handle email marketing for your company.

5. Form an LLC

When you’ve had setbacks in business, you know it’s important to protect yourself and your assets. Forming a limited liability company is an efficient and easy way to do this. This business formation offers extra protection between you and your assets and those of your business, making it one of the more important steps in starting a business. 

Don’t let business setbacks keep you stagnant. Use quality information to make decisions and keep moving toward your entrepreneurial dreams. With the right branding, data, and steps on your part, they’ll soon be within reach.

What do advisors do in business? Much like in politics, it’s their job to be totally in tune with what’s going on inside the organization or movement, and what’s happening outside of it too. They have to study the metrics of the relevant channels in the market and then formulate a report. This report will advise the leader and indeed other parts of the business on what further to do in order to reach the company’s goals. They are there to be asked questions and through a non-partisan way offer the best knowledgeable advice on how to proceed with a matter. The CEO may want to know the effects of a global market crisis, the potential for an expansion into new markets or simple if the business is keeping to it’s targets for the month. You’re supposed to be the expert that can be relied upon to give the boss multiple options on how to proceed. However, you undertake research largely at the request of the CEO. this means you’re not independent to explore new things and come up with new ideas from scratch. So if you want the ability to take the business in new directions, you need to level up.

Advisor vs officer

Financial advisors are basically people who give their opinion based on facts, statistics and their gut feeling to business leaders. They must be versed in different kinds of economic strategies but ultimately it’s not their job to formulate one. You work in tandem with the chief financial officer who in turn works directly with the chief operating officer. The COO is the second in command to the CEO. The CEO’s main force is the CFO, the COO and the wider executive team. Below this team are the heads of departments who will take the orders of the executive team and then implement it into their respective areas in the business.

As you can see, there’s a lot of people and roles between you and being close to the CEO where the real decisions are made. Your advice does go directly to the CFO, COO and sometimes the CEO but you don’t have a say in the direction the company goes in. however a CFO is the exact opposite. They are in charge of the company’s finances and not only develop strategies, but analyze and audit and control the fiscal policy in the departments. It’s the ultimate role for someone who wants to play a huge role in business pertaining to finances.

How could you climb?

There are many ways you can progress up through the ranks but some are faster than others. You take your time and make sure you are the best you can be in your current role. Being a financial advisor is great. You may not be in a risky position where you make crucial decisions, but you aren’t generally considered irreplaceable either. Your advice may or may not be taken, your job is only to make reports for specific reasons and hand them in. yearning to climb up the ranks is a normal and healthy ambitious attribute. However you need to be qualified in order to take on such an important role. If you want to start working closely with the COO and the CFO, then you need to become a CPA. Here you can compare courses for becoming a certified public accountant which allows you to be considered a senior in any organization. It’s advisable to get a master’s degree in your chosen subject as this shows dedication to your passion in life and professional determination. Everybody learns in their own way which is why courses offer different ways of learning such as incorporating technology like tablets. Some people learn far better on their own by doing research online and reading through the textbooks. And others learn better in a classroom environment which the courses offer also. This way you have a tutor that is directly in front of you and you can ask them questions and listen to the answers they give to other students taking the same exam. When you pass you have the opportunity to apply for roles that above the financial adviser grade and begin to earn 6-digit salaries.

The role of a financial advisor is not as high pressure as a COO or CFO. You do play a role in the decision-making process but you don’t wield a lot of professional opinion power. A CPA works directly with the two executive roles aforementioned. Therefore you play a direct role in how the company moves forward as you create strategies and analyze the impacts of the global market on business.