“I have been burying my head”
“I keep putting off the tax thing, and research... it makes me want to cry or vomit - I'm not sure which one.”
“I usually avoid this stuff like the plague!”
Burying your head in the sand when it comes to your business books?
You’re not alone. Nearly everyone I talk to has put off dealing with their books for one reason or another. I’ve done it myself.
My first business was financial coaching, and I didn’t make a dime. I never kept track of my spending because I didn’t want to see how much I was losing. Granted I’m a frugal person so it wasn’t a ton of money but I know I would have been much better off if I had just kept up with my books.
Can you relate? Maybe you aren’t keeping up because you don’t know what to do or how to do it. Or maybe you’re just afraid to face what’s going on with your business. Whatever the reason it’s time to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and dive into those numbers head-on. Here’s why:
Peace of Mind
Have you ever cleaned your kitchen after days or even weeks of ignoring it? Every time you walked past the mess the voices in the back of your head started their annoying little chatter.
“Seriously, you’re such a slob”.
“Just get the dang thing done”,
“If you can’t keep up with this how can you expect to run a business”.
The lingering item on your to-do list weighs you down, messes with your head, and keeps you focused on the wrong things. But then you take the time to clean up, and it’s not as bad as you expected, And it doesn’t take nearly as much time as you thought it would. You’re asking yourself why you let it get so out of hand, why didn’t you just take care of it?
I promise you, dealing with your books is exactly the same. Sure there’s more skill required and more opportunity for error, but the relief of just getting it done is huge. Your brain is free to truly focus on the things that actually move your business forward. You’re no longer hijacked by the thought gremlins:
“Clearly I’m not a real business owner if I can’t figure this out”
“I’m just no good at business”,
“I suck at all things math”.
Getting a handle on your finances and pulling your head out of the sand is so incredibly freeing
Note: Not sure what you need to do to keep up? Get the Ultimate Checklist to Keep Your Bookkeeping Simple.
Make Smart Business Decisions
“You can't manage what you can't measure” - Peter Drucker
“You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you.” - Dave Ramsey
If you don’t know what’s happening with your business finances how can you appropriately manage your business? Answer: you can’t.
You have to know how you’re doing. Are you making a profit? Are you bringing in enough sales? Are you spending more than you’re making? You have to know the answers to these questions if you want to still be in business in a year.
I know it’s tempting to bury your head in the sand and just hope that it all works out. It’s not going to.
Hear me loud and clear: IT’S NOT GOING TO WORK OUT.
I know the fear of what you’ll discover can keep some from catching up their books, but you can’t fight an enemy that you don’t know anything about. You can’t know where to cut back, or what to save for if you don’t know what’s going on right this second. For the love of all that is good, dive in, know your numbers and start making smart business decisions.
Save Time and Money
We already talked about how much time and energy you’re wasting when you’re constantly forced to think about how far behind you are, but buying your head in the sand can cost you even more time and money than you realize.
If you don’t put the effort into getting your books in order you can expect to pay a tax accountant some pretty high rates to put it together for you when they go to file your taxes. Not to mention the time involved to find and organize all your receipts. Don’t manage to get your books together even then? Well, you can expect to pay some high interest and fees to the IRS when they come knocking on your door. And if you’re dealing with the IRS like that you probably better go ahead and shell out for an Attorney to help you with the audit.
Oh but wait, can you afford to pay them? You have no idea because you don’t know how your business is doing. And it just continues to snowball from there. Seem a little extreme? Maybe so, but the longer you keep your head in the sand the more time and money it’s going to cost you to get caught up.
Note: Not sure what you need to do to keep up? Get the Ultimate Checklist to Keep Your Bookkeeping Simple.
Diving in and taking care of your books is so much simpler than dealing with the effects of burying your head in the sand. So stop being an ostrich, pull your head up, brush off the sand and get it done! Your business is worth it.
