Getting Your Personal Finances On Track Before You Start A Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Personal Finances|Getting Your Personal Finances On Track Before You Start A BusinessAre you thinking about setting up your own business? We recommend that you do work to clean up your finances first. If you fail to get your finances under control then you will look weaker to potential investors. If you need to borrow money to get your business up and running you could also struggle to find the right deal. So, how can you get your finances under control? Here are the suggestions we recommend.

Set Up A Budget

Our first recommendation is that you set up a personal budget. Experts recommend that you should be doing this, regardless of how much you are earning each month or each year. It’s always a smart idea to have a safety net that you can fall back on. This doesn’t need to be a massive amount of money. It just needs to be enough to keep you in a comfortable situation and hopefully free from the problems of debt.

Pay Off Your Debts

If you already have debts hanging over your head, then you need to make sure that you are working to pay them off right now. There are various strategies that you can explore for paying off debt that you have accumulated. For instance, you might want to think about taking out a debt consolidation loan. A debt consolidation loan can be useful but only if you get the right interest rate. If your interest rate is higher or more or less the same you’ll need to look at other choices. You could use a service like Improved Data Services collections. They help people who are in debt reach a swift resolution with their creditors, essentially acting as a middle man to keep everyone on the right page.

Improve Your Credit Rating

If you’re planning to borrow to set up your business, then you do need to make sure that your credit rating is at a healthy level. Be aware that a credit rating can change based on a variety of different factors. Paying off any debt that you have accumulated will help but it’s definitely not the end of the story. You should also think about borrowing money that you know you can afford to pay back.

Diversify Your Investments

Finally, you might want to think about exploring the different options that you have with investments. If you are already saving money then it makes sense to invest this in different areas. There’s a range of options worth exploring depending on the amount of money that you have accumulated. For instance, you could invest in property or you might want to think about looking at stocks. Even penny stocks could provide you with the extra cushion of cash you need when setting up your first company.

We hope this helps you understand everything that you need to know about getting your finances under control. If you take the right steps here, then you’ll be in the perfect position to start your own company and get things on the right track from day one.

5 Ways to Prevent Potential Chargebacks

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Chargebacks|5 Ways to Prevent Potential ChargebacksChargebacks, especially frequent ones, can significantly affect the profitability of your business. There can be many reasons why a customer may want to request a chargeback after purchasing a product from you or receiving a service. In some cases, such activity can also be fraudulent. Merchant chargeback protection is definitely something that shouldn’t be taken lightly. In this article, you can find some ways to prevent this problem.

Why does a customer request a chargeback?

To put it simply, a chargeback is when a customer requests their bank to reverse a transaction after paying for a certain service or product. It is a consumer protection tool but it can often be misused by some individuals. Some of the reasons why a person may request a chargeback include such:

  • A product arrived damaged
  • A product got lost while shipping
  • Technical problem
  • A customer didn’t receive the service or product
  • Billing problem (duplication, failure to cancel it, etc.)

How can you avoid chargebacks?

If you want to prevent potential chargebacks as much as possible, it’s important to minimize the instances when customers can be dissatisfied with services or products. The steps you can take include the following:

Ensure proper customer service

Customer service should always be in place to address the potential concerns of customers. This includes answering emails and calls as promptly as possible. It’s essential to always get back to your customers because miscommunication leads to chargebacks. You should have clear time frames when your customer service works so people know when they can contact you and get their answers.

Provide detailed descriptions

One of the best ways to prevent chargebacks is to be upfront and transparent when describing your products or services. You should provide clear images and explanations so that people know exactly what they pay for.

Create an extensive refund policy

Whether you have an online or offline business, you should have information about your refund policy readily accessible for clients. There you can state when returns are possible, during what time, etc.

Provide detailed shipping information

Customers often get frustrated when products don’t arrive in several days, and this is when chargebacks can happen. To avoid this issue, make sure that you describe all the shipping terms in full detail.

Always pay attention to previous chargebacks

If there is a repeated reason for chargebacks, it’s time to make changes. You may need to change a shipping company to make sure your products arrive faster. Or, you may have to improve a certain product if there are specific complaints.

Deal with chargebacks before they occur

Chargebacks are a constant problem for every business, but most cases can be prevented by establishing good business practices. This includes being honest about what you sell and making sure that your customers feel heard.
What do you do to prevent chargebacks? Please, feel free to suggest your methods in the comments and tell us how you deal with this problem. Share the article with those who may find it interesting.

Why Hire a Financial Modelling Consultant

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Financial Modelling|Why Hire a Financial Modelling ConsultantWhen you’re starting a business, it’s a default action to try and do all the heavy lifting to get your ideas off the ground. Many entrepreneurs are often guilty of overburdening themselves with tasks they can hardly accomplish.

Aside from the stress and distraction that shifts your focus away from things that truly matter, there are some areas that, given your lack of expertise, could damage your business rather than benefit it.

A case in point is financial modelling. Financial models are a set of assumptions regarding the future financial conditions of a business, including its earnings, revenue, and cash flow, allowing them to reduce the risks and make better, informed decisions.

Hiring a financial modelling consultant provides you with access to their expertise, filling gaps in your own skill sets. In this article, we are discussing the reasons to bring in outside help.

The 5 Benefits of Hiring a Financial Modelling Consultant

Financial modelling consultants are hired to assist businesses with their budgeting, forecasting, capital raising, and other crucial business decisions such as mergers and acquisitions. Smaller businesses, particularly start-ups, usually outsource this service instead of hiring an in-house consultant. Regardless of the way you hire this professional, you can get access to their following skills:

Expertise

You may have a profitable business idea and the resources to get it started, but you may struggle to conduct market research and translate data to a comprehensive financial model and a succinct marketable plan. An expert consultant fills these functional gaps, helping you construct a model that provides immediate answers to things that may take a while to actually take place. This allows you to plan accordingly and make certain decisions.

Constant Monitoring

As you launch your business, your financial modelling consultant will also monitor the performance of your business—compare the actuals to the budget. This is a crucial factor that will allow you to make adjustments to realign your plans and ensure that you will complete a particular task or achieve a milestone at the end of the day.

Domain Experience

When venturing into new markets or launching a new product/service offering, you can benefit from seeking advice from a consultant who has experience in that particular domain. They can use their past consulting experience and familiarity to get the project done more efficiently by saving you from the need to conduct years of industry research.

Different Perspective

Because they are not engaged in your day-to-day operations, financial modelling consultants can analyse your situation with greater objectivity. It also makes them more apt to identify possible issues and opportunities. They’re also more likely to be updated with the latest solutions, thus are more versed in using them.

Time

Perhaps the greatest value of hiring a consultant is the fact that they are sharing a part of your burden. They will handle strategic responsibilities while you remain focused on the day-to-day operations that drive ongoing revenue and sustain your business operations. From an economic point of view, outsourcing this service is often more cost-effective than allocating resources to hire additional in-house staff to fulfil the need.

Aside from these direct benefits, hiring a consultant can provide other advantages. Because of their existing relationships with their clients, you can connect to an entirely new network of potential customers, investors, suppliers, and more.
If you have any more benefits to add to the list, let us know by leaving a comment below.

Tips For Mitigating The Financial Impact Of A Turbulent Economy

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Turbulent Economy|Tips For Mitigating The Financial Impact Of A Turbulent EconomyA crippled economy leaves few financial options for anybody to explore, which is not too good for investors and businessfolk.

Obviously, the economy in the US has been less than stellar in recent times. In July 2020, CNN reported that the US economy experienced its worst drop on record, and the situation is hardly an enviable paradise today. There are some real issues deeply imbedded across the country now, and some of these problems may persist for a longer while yet.

Still, life needs to go on and find a way somehow. Keep reading for tips on mitigating the financial impact of a turbulent economy.

All Weather Investing Opportunities

While a turbulent economy can seem greatly restrictive, there are still opportunities for investing and success.
For example, the Ray Dalio All Weather Portfolio is an investing portfolio designed to thrive in all economic conditions. Optimized Portfolio provide an in-depth breakdown of everything it entails, detailing how it was modeled after the risk-parity-based All Weather Fund. With their insight, you should be able to keep your finances lucid in tough times as a low risk tolerant type of investor.

The All Weather Portfolio uses different types of asset classes that perform best during varying degrees of inflation and economic growth. Assets include 30% U.S. stocks, 40% long-term treasuries, 15% intermediate-term treasuries, and a combined total of 15% for gold and various other tangible, diversified commodities. In the end, the All Weather Portfolio possess more dependable realistic returns and less crippling downside volatility more conventional portfolios.

Intensive Audits

The amount of money coming in and out of your home or business needs to be acutely assessed regularly.
A turbulent economy is largely unpredictable, analyzed in ever-changing broad strokes. Still, that is no excuse for stumbling completely blindly through your finances. Audit yourself and try and gain a foothold on at least some insight. The chaotic economy may be hard to ascertain, but your own personal situation should not be as tough to understand.

Access help wherever possible too if you need it. Last year, states like Connecticut offered help to small businesses to help them manage their cashflow problems, so it might be that such or similar services are available for use in your area. If government support is lacking, it might be financial advisors or charities could step in to assist. It is important to remember that you are not alone, and that support is out there if you need it.

Impressive Credit Scores

Having a high credit score greatly boosts your chances of receiving financial help.

Applications for loans, grants, mortgages, and credit cards only really get approved if you have a proven track record of financial stability. Everyone takes a bit of a hit in a turbulent economy, but if you cannot show that you were responsible with your money before the nation was engulfed, then why should lenders think things will change when times are tougher?
Because of this, the best thing you can do is practice good financial behavior. Pay bills on time, square away your debts rhythmically, and keep your oldest credit cards open. That way, you are painting the picture of a reliable spender, and receiving financial help from official bodies becomes more likely.

How To Make A Profit As A Small Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article |Small Business|How To Make A Profit As A Small BusinessStarting a small business is a fun and exciting, but an overwhelming, task. It takes a lot of patience and practice to get the business right. From the get-go, you will encounter some mistakes or delays due to lack of understanding or not enough time. For those setting up a new business, one thing that will be on your mind is how to make a profit. In this guide, you will discover the best ways to ensure your small business can make a profit.

Ask For Help

Asking for help as a small business is key to ensure you do not do everything by yourself. You will need the advice to expand your knowledge and facilitate further development of your business. Without help, you may suffer a loss by not being able to meet customer needs or know how to market your business correctly.

There are several businesses out there that focus on helping small businesses accelerate and create revenue, such as Stephen Hourigan of Elevate Ventures. Asking for help and advice is not something to be ashamed of. There are experts out there whose job it is to offer support in order to help businesses secure a financial profit.

Make A Business Plan

Market research is the core of a business plan and a business plan is your best protection against business heartbreak.

Of the many reasons to work through a business plan, the main one is this; when you’re done, you’ll know whether or not your proposed business idea can be turned into a profitable small business. When you get your business idea right and know you can stick to the plan, you will more likely stick to targets and be on track for making a profit.

Track Your Finances Regularly

Once you have systems in place for tracking things like time, expenses, and earnings, you need to keep an eye on those things regularly. Analyzing any changes can help you determine what’s working for your business and what isn’t.

Finance tracking is a startup essential that shouldn’t be overlooked. Without accounting for your incomings and outgoings, you will not know how much your business has made or spent. You will also lose track of how much more you need to earn to make a profit.

Ensure You Offer Good Service

A small business can gain a lot from spending time serving customers and meeting their needs. No matter what type of product or service you offer, providing a great experience to customers should always be a top priority. Doing so can help you build repeat business and even gain referrals, which essentially serve as free marketing.

Do everything in your power to absolutely delight your customer. Going above and beyond to deliver an amazing customer experience increases the chance of repeat bookings, and might inspire your customer to recommend your business. These are both positive levers on the unit economic model of a business.