You’re not someone who wants to put a ton of work into your business and have it all be in vain, right?
Let me jump right in and share some lessons I’ve learned that will help your business succeed for decades.
Seated across from my mentor in a tiny office with a big window and books everywhere, I asked ‘What’s your best advice for business? ‘Save for taxes’ she replied.
Since our line of work was sign language interpreting, as an independent contractor, it didn’t feel like I was stepping into owning my own business… and that was the extent of the business advice I received.
I’ve figured out a LOT on my own the hard way as well as investing time and resources to fill in the missing gaps.
Because I know if you want to build a business that impacts your family and serves multitudes, you are ready to put in the effort that will bring the results that will last.
hey guys, welcome back my name is Charissa and if you’re new to this channel, this channel is all about helping you make simple 3% money mindset shifts to line up with Scripture so you can create a massive legacy that reflects God’s goodness
Just a few months ago, I helped a client implement these same action steps in her business, and now she’s seeing a steady stream of clients plus feel so much more confident in how she’s bringing transformation to them along with the foundation her business is built on.
Go ahead and hit the like button if you want to have the keys to creating a business you can feel confident about!
Other videos in this series:
#1 Dealing with the financials
Let’s start with the advice from my mentor, Save for Taxes
As a business owner, you need to put aside money to pay for estimated taxes that you send in quarterly. Otherwise, there could be fines or a huge tax bill at the end of the year.
Personally, I take my tax bracket percentage off the top of any revenue I receive and put it in separate savings in my business account, strictly for taxes. You may not need all that money when it’s time to do estimated taxes, but it’s there if you do.
#2 Managing an irregular cash flow
Can I be open and honest with you? For a long time, managing the irregular cash flow in my business was a huge source of stress. I hated looking at the financials, feeling like a failure because I didn’t know what to do because the revenue was irregular and I’d often mess up how I was allocating the revenue.
That is until I developed my Business Financial Abundance Plan with specific formulas to manage an irregular revenue flow, calculate how much I needed to earn to bring home what I wanted, and cover all my expenses.
Because let’s face it, if you say you want to bring in 6 figures… you aren’t bringing home 100 grand. This Business Financial Abundance plan has been SO helpful for both me and my clients, eliminating the stress!
#3 no matter what business you have, you need multiple streams of income
In my first business as a sign language interpreter, I learned early on that if you had only one source of income you depended on that would limit your income earning potential and often would dry up, causing a lot of undue fear and anxiety.
Many ways to do this!
Low/mid/high + coaching and digital courses,
Take a second to drop 1, 2, or 3 if you’d like to hear more tips in upcoming videos
Action Step:
Start putting aside a percentage of all revenue for taxes, learn a simple way to manage your irregular revenue, and create another income stream.
#4 Have a solid sales strategy
We all want to make more sales right? That’s one of the main reasons we started our business, to contribute financially to our family so we could help pay the bills, save money, or pay off debt.
When I started a blog as my second business, I was told to create digital products and sell them. I did, but because I
didn’t have a good sales strategy – how often to promote, what to promote when the psychology of why people buy… this is just the tip of the iceberg
#5 is understanding the customer journey, the stages at where they’re at and their needs.
This stumped me for a long time, but basically, you need to think about what your potential clients are dealing with, help them solve that problem, and think about the next problem they need to solve and provide a solution for that.
#6 having a simple and solid marketing plan that can scale.
Not only do a lot of entrepreneurs struggle with the idea of selling, but marketing feels very icky.
Marketing is simply talking about your business to those who could benefit from your products or services!!
You do this naturally when you’re excitedly telling your best friend about the new restaurant you tried downtown!
There are so many marketing strategies out there, but pick something you’re really good at. For, I’m really good at video and speaking, so the majority of my marketing involves Youtube videos, workshops, and speaking opportunities.
This category has been one I’ve had to invest a lot of money into developing, one of my mentors, Pete Vargas, calls Sales and Marketing, SAM, and encourages you to date SAM, fall in love with SAM then get engaged and married to SAM by getting really good at a couple sales and marketing strategies, then adding in more.
What are 2 ways you can begin to improve your SAM? Tell me in the chat
#7 Embrace Pivoting
Being in business is the greatest self-development and faith development you could ever have, drop a yes in the chat if you agree!
As you grow and develop, in each season you will serve differently, your business will look different, and the clients you serve may be different. You may start another business like
I did.
This is ok! Allow your business to grow and pivot with you.
#8 Next is making a business strategy with God.
As a Christian, I’ve always prayed about my business and had a big vision that God has given me.
but I didn’t always make the time to listen to the exact steps and strategy God wanted me to use to see His vision for this business be established.
I’ve had periods of burnout and discouragement because of this where I doubted that I was even called to business.
Since getting in alignment with God’s strategy, I’ve seen more opportunities and more sustainable growth for my business, something I am now super excited about!
Action Step:
Take an honest look at your business, is there an area you need to pivot or develop a business strategy with God?
