One of the top 5 challenges small business owner’s face is “How do I manage the money?” I can’t tell you how many small business owners I’ve coached who don’t pay attention to how the money flows in and out of their business.

One client said to me “Michael, I feel as if I’m walking around with blinders on.” Well, I’ve created a simple 3-step process to help you manage the money in your business.

I’ve also designed a new LIVE, one-day intensive to help you take control of your money.

“How to Finally Take Charge of Your Money so you can EARN more and WORK less” – LIVE workshop
1-Day, Money Breakthrough Intensive
Location – Easton
June 2012

Spots will be limited so click here to get in the “Yes, I’m interested” list.
Watch for more information soon! 

Here is the 3-step process to get your head out of the sand and really manage your money:

#1 – Set a yearly Bold Money Goal

How much money do you want to generate in 2012? Set a yearly bold goal for your business.

If you don’t hear yourself gulp when you say that number push it up a bit until it become s a stretch goal for you.

#2 – Track your daily income

You need to have a system that allows you to easily track how much income is brought into your business on a daily basis.

I keep a very simple paper and pen tracking system. I have the month at the top and down the left hand side of the paper the numbers 1 through 31 for each day of the month. Next to each number is a line to record the income that is brought in that day.

#3 – Determine your revenue streams and numbers to reach your bold goal

It’s great to choose a bold goal but you need a strategy to reach it. Identify how money flows into your business. What are the different revenue streams?

In order to achieve your bold goal, what would need to happen with the current revenue streams? Would you need to create new streams of income?

Be very clear and specific on how many numbers, customers etc., you would need to achieve your bold goal.

Take A Pulse – Before we can grow we have to identify where we are now in our lives, work and businesses? It’s important to take a step back and observe what’s really happening? What’s working well in your life and work and what isn’t?    Then identify how you would like to be different in 6 months and when you get to that point. What positive impact would that have in your work and your life?    Invest In Your Success – If you want to be successful in business you need to hang out with successful people.  I work with a master coach and 12 coach colleagues in Tucson, Arizona. We challenge each other to be our best in our businesses every day.    So the question to ask yourself is, “How am I currently investing my time, my money and my energy on my  growth?

If you’d like some help in exploring how to move forward:         

Sign up for a FREE discovery Session

This is a time where we’ll sit down, one-on-one, discover what your challenges are and, how you see yourself and your business in the future.

1. Clarity– Get very clear about how you want your day(s) to be? Do you want to continue to operate in survival mode, constantly putting out fires, with no intention or direction? How would you like your day to flow?

   Control what you can control about your day. Create the systems that will afford you the opportunity to achieve more success each day.

   I start each and every day off with a 5 minute ritual. I call it my “slow entry”. I get up early, fix my cup of green tea, walk outside, watch the sun come up and count my blessings. I then set my intention for the day. I get very clear in my head as to how I want my day to flow.

2. Belief- To really take charge of your day you need to release yourself the excuses. If you find yourself saying, “I can’t do that”, “It’s too hard”, “I don’t have the time”, “My job decides for me how I spend my time”, “I don’t have the right team to support me at work”, etc.

   This is called “taking yourself out”, being the “victim”.

   The question to ask yourself is “As someone who is very productive and in charge of my day what action do I need to take?

3. Consistency- Once you decide how you want your day to be and empower yourself to put a plan and action steps in place to take charge…… you need to stay on a consistent path.

   Honor your plan. Don’t let others or things disrupt you. Set good boundaries. Learn to say “NO” when appropriate. I told a client recently that “NO” is a sentence. No explanations are needed.

Would you like some help in taking charge? Asking for help is OK!

Click here for a free discovery session.

This is a time where we’ll sit down, one-on-one, discover what your challenges are, how you see yourself and your business in the future and what you need to move you forward.

Don’t let this happen to you! If this is historically your pattern, you CAN make it different this year!

Here are some great nuggets I learned last week in my “Mastery” coaching program. I LOVE bringing this great insight back to my clients.

In order for you to move forward with your goals:

• It’s not OK to NOT ask for help
• It’s not OK to WHINE, this is a place of victim and helplessness
• It’s not OK to give away your power with others (I CAN’T…..means you’re giving away your power)
• It’s not OK to be invisible (Put yourself out there. Surround yourself with successful people)

So if you’re giving up and saying to yourself, “I can’t do this” “It’s too hard”, “This will take too much time” etc…ask for help!

Sign up here for a FREE Discovery Session.

This is a time where we’ll sit down, one-on-one, discover what your challenges are, how you see yourself and your business in the future and what you need to move you forward.

Don’t give up on 2012!

Are you one of those people who constantly say, “There’s just not enough time in the day to do everything that needs to be done”. Many of my clients would like me to help them focus on managing their time but I’m of the opinion that “Time Management” is a misnomer. 

We can’t really manage our time. We can though choose to decide how we “show up” in the time that we have. We all get 24 hours a day! Why is it that some people who have extremely busy lives seem to flow through their day while others exist in a state of chaos, inefficiency and overwhelm?  

The answer is that those who invest 10% of their time maximize the other 90%. So how do they invest 10% of their time:  

• They plan their week ahead. They sit down with their calendars on a Sunday evening and look at the week ahead. They review their work schedules, social activities, family time, self-care, etc.
• They “mind dump” once a week. They take every task, project or idea and get it out of their heads and onto appropriate lists either on paper or in the computer. This gives them the comfort of knowing that these items are on a list so there are no worries of “forgetting something.” 
• They create a “problem free” zone for their lives. They get rid of things that they are tolerating…the leaky faucet, the closet full of junk, the clutter. This creates a clear mind to focus on the really important things in life. 
• They continually replace themselves at work, at home….they delegate, and they assign tasks. The more you give away, the faster you’ll grow and the more you will have room to create. They’re focused on the future, letting the horizon pull them towards it versus them scrambling to get more time in the present.  

In my work with my clients we focus on creating and maintaining a reserve of space so that the next opportunity can come in. If one is too busy trying to manage time, these opportunities tend to run away.

Take the time to invest in maximizing your life and watch what happens! 

©The Twenty-Five Secrets – developed by Thomas Leonard www.thomasleonard.com