This weeks coaching theme was money. There are sometimes collective themes in my coaching work. That does not surprise me, as I tend to believe in the collective unconscious, that Carl Jung discussed. It is also just after tax season, and I am hearing about more of my clients getting hit this year with unexpected tax consequences. Money is one of "those" subjects and there tend to be a lot of dancing gremlins associated with the topic. Sometimes these gremlins aren’t even our own, but inherited gremlins.
So what does it mean to begin to form a conscious relationship to money? My first recommendation for my clients is buy QUICKBOOKS for Small Businesses or if you are not going to strap yourself, get Quickbooks Pro. You can start with Quickbooks for Small Business and always upgrade later as your business grows. The next step is to see if there is a class at your local community college where you can take a beginner start up class. If there is nothing in your area, then find a bookkeeper who can get you set up and give you a tutorial to help you get started.
I will tell you this, I don’t know that Quickbooks is the best program for tracking inventory, and there may be better programs out there in that realm, but it will get you up to speed and conscious around your spending, simply and intuitively. Once all your categories are set up, it is as easy as entering expenses into a virtual checkbook. Another huge bonus is that it makes tax season a breeze.
Quite frankly, until I started using Quickbooks all those years ago, I was extremely phobic around math and money. I did it, but it was an exercise in frustration and chicken scratch. Now I can honestly tell you…I ENJOY watching my business grow and knowing exactly where the shifts are. This can even help you become aware of seasonal ebbs and flows-and as small business women-that will help us to feel grounded when we can say to ourselves, "Oh, my slow season is on the horizon, how can I prepare for this, so I am not panicking?"
More tips next week and our topic is Debit Cards….
Quick Tips:
- Purchase Quickbooks or some small business accounting software
- Take a class or hire a bookkeeper to help you get your accounts set up correctly
- Pick one day of each week to be your book work day. (Mine is Friday as it wraps up my week)
- On your chosen day, enter all invoices, receipts and checks written that week
- KNOW YOUR BALANCE
Write it: How can you become more conscious starting today around your finances?
by Heart Light Digital