The Partnership of Financial & Strategic Planning

Financial planning for small business owners and business strategic planning are inextricably linked. Do you have either?

As business owners, it is so easy to get so caught up in the daily hustle that we forget to step back and look at the financial forest through the trees. What the heck are we building? An income or wealth?

I've witnessed with many a small business client - brilliant at their craft but lost when it comes to business and financial planning. Typically, the entrepreneurial motivator to start their business was to get away from a a boss and a job, yet they end up creating "a job" that pays the bills but not a business that predictably generates wealth and is a salable asset.

Here's my take: Neither financial planning nor strategic planning is just about number-crunching or creating a budget. Yet that's about the extent of many owners planning horizon. 

Planning is about creating CLARITY that allows you to lead you business instead of run it–or have it run you. A clear statement of one's personal and business purpose and their linkage is the foundation for everything that follows, including the personal and business financial planning and budgets.

Every decision in your life is informed by your personal purpose. Similarly, every business decision and line item in the business is informed by the purpose of the business. With purpose, decisions followed by actions are either off- or on-purpose.

The role of financial systems is scorekeeping a reflection on how well your decisions are aligned, period. Unless you're a trust fund beneficiary, your business financial condition has a direct impact on your current lifestyle and retirement planning; and especially your peace of mind.

The beauty of a working financial system is the mental freedom to trust your plan is on track. Or, if it is haywire. you are alerted early, better informed, and more likely to make successful adjustment. This knowledge frees you to focus on what really matters - stewardship of the purpose, plan, and people involved in creating the processes and performance that serve your clients.

But when you're a worried business owner because your finances are a mess, the tendency is to withdraw, conserve, and withhold the very financial and emotional investment needed to escape the tail spin.

Sometimes just naming the beast makes it less scary. Looking for insights into the source of your profitability leaks beyond the numbers, access my free resource guide I created for worried business owners.

Question for you: Which financial aspect of your business life keeps you up at night? Is it cash flow? Retirement planning? Tax minimization? All of it. Let me know.

This article from Capital Tax was inspirational for this post: 10 Expert-Approved Financial Planning Strategies For Small Businesses