Our Hero today is Leo Kanell, a small business cashflow expert and founder of 7 Figures Funding.
Leo unpacks the sometimes unintuitive ways you can fix your cashflow, the money available for use in your business.
Just because 10,000 dollars is in your bank account doesn’t mean it is available for use in your business.
Of real interest is Leo’s method for freeing up more cashflow when it’s currently locked up into overhead like software tools and marketing spend.
Track Your Cash Flow
The first step to mastering cash flow is accurate tracking. For many fitness businesses, this begins with overcoming the reliance on bank balances alone.
Consider employing a bookkeeper or accountant who can provide a profit and loss statement for the previous month. While insightful, these reports are often outdated by the time you receive them.
A more immediate solution involves using specialized software that consolidates your financial data, allowing you to monitor bank accounts, credit cards, and loans in one place. This real-time visibility can transform your daily management practices, ensuring you make informed, proactive decisions.
Create and Free Up Cash Flow: Practical Steps
When it comes to enhancing cash flow, focus on understanding and reducing your customer acquisition and fulfillment costs.
Begin with determining your cost to acquire each customer. If your customer acquisition cost is higher than your profit from the customer’s lifetime value, adjustments are necessary.
Implement strategies such as affiliate programs to cap your spending on acquiring new customers while optimizing fulfillment costs by streamlining operations and negotiating better terms with suppliers.
Explore increasing the value you deliver by enhancing your offerings, such as personalized nutrition plans or community events. Charging a premium for expanded services can increase your revenue stream and improve your business’s financial health.
Forecast Cash Flow, Plan for the Future
Forecasting is a strategic exercise of predicting your future cash needs based on past performance. Start by analyzing the last 30 days of financial activity to determine patterns in profitability.
Next, scrutinize your cash and debt balances to understand your financial obligations. Comprehensively plan for future expenses, whether it means preparing for anticipated growth or acquiring necessary resources and equipment.
Consider financing options like loans or credit lines for significant investments. By spreading the cost of investments over time, businesses can maintain liquidity and gradually pay off debts as profits increase. Forecasting helps prevent unexpected financial strains and nurtures steady business growth.
Make Informed Decisions with Cash Flow Insights
Utilize your cash flow insights to make strategic business decisions. Begin by assessing your gross profit margins to ensure they are high enough to support a sustainable business model. Gross profit represents the leftovers from sales revenue after direct costs have been deducted. After establishing healthy profit margins, focus on cash flow to determine if your operations and investment opportunities align with financial forecasts.
Implement practices that improve these financial metrics, like cost-cutting initiatives or new revenue streams, and analyze how changes impact your overall cash flow. Planning regular “money dates” ensures you periodically assess and adjust your financial strategy, similar to how successful relationships thrive on regular, dedicated quality time.
Conclusion
Mastering cash flow is critical for business longevity, especially in industries where passion often drives ventures more than financial acumen initially. By maintaining focus on tracking, creating, and forecasting cash flow, small businesses can leverage these insights for greater stability and growth.
Leo Kanell, a small business cash flow expert, underscores this approach’s importance in ensuring your entrepreneurial journey is not only sustainable but thriving. For more guidance on cash flow management and financial tools, visit cashflowsecrets.com for resources that can empower your business endeavors.
By following these strategic steps and leveraging expert tools and insights, small business owners can transform their passion into prosperity, steering their ventures toward enduring success.