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If you’re not careful, a business can tank your finances in a matter of weeks. Even with every good intention of starting a company, you could still lose it all in a matter of moments! It’s why you’ve got to be sure what you’re spending on, how your cash is flowing, and where money pits have a danger of opening up. If you’re not sure what factors you should be looking into, we’ve got a little list of the most dangerous below. Check it out for better financial security in the future.
You’re Not Listening to Your Head Enough
If you follow your heart a lot, it’s not really a problem. However, if you’re following your heart AND letting your business down at the same time, something needs to change. You need to start listening to your head a bit more.
To do that, you’re going to cut out a lot of the ‘chaff’ you’re regularly dealing with. Lost or unpaid invoices, late employees, poorly priced tech subscriptions – each of these little problems will become mountains if you keep letting them off!
Letting Results Sit
Gathering feedback from employees, or conducting your own market research, is invaluable as a small business. However, if you get the results back and then just let them sit, you’re going to lose all momentum.
You need to act on data as soon as you’re able to. Hit the ground running with your results by applying them to a real life situation. For example, if you have multiple data points that show you don’t answer emails in a reasonable time, you should put a fix in place.
Employees Forgetting to Clock In/Out
If this occurs, you could be losing money to payroll, without even knowing it. Some employees could be owed more than they actually worked, some less, and you’re out of pocket because your budget doesn’t match up.
To prevent this from becoming a big issue, you could start using software that provides an employee time clock online. This way you automate the process; employees can easily access their time card, and you can set rules dictating the max hours they can work in one shift.
Pricing Too Low
Pricing too low is one thing. You can fix this by announcing a small price increase and leaving it at that. However, realizing you’ve priced too low, and then raising the price over the months until it’s too high is the real problem.
Your customers are going to lose all trust in you, and simply lowering the price again won’t bring them back! It also won’t fix your cash flow problems either. Price reasonably from the start to avoid such a pervasive issue.
A business can leak money out of every orifice. The challenge is trying to find the right holes to plug, while ensuring you’re not panicking about the wrong boards. So don’t let these little matters become sinkholes. Take charge of them now for stronger financial health later.
