I read once that people would rather talk about sex than money. As a bookkeeper it seems to hold a nugget of truth. Many small business owners (myself included) struggle with the emotional side of money. And, let’s face it, being an adult can suck. Being an adult business owner…let’s just say that we all know some days that makes “adulting” suck even more.
According to a piece from the Atlantic this year 47% of American’s wouldn’t be able to handle a $400 emergency.
I always advise my bookkeeping clients get (and keep) separate checking and credit card accounts. It makes things easier for me (and cheaper for the client). More importantly it’s critical from an IRS standpoint.
But…keeping business and personal funds separated this way is just one piece of the proverbial puzzle. And the other piece is one I was still struggling with earlier this year.
I took money from my business whenever my personal “life” needed it. It [my willy nilly nature] lacked structure and accountability. When I had personal bills to pay I would simply transfer money from my business checking to my personal checking.
All fine and dandy you think? Maybe on the surface.
For me the inerrant flaw was that I wasn’t treating the two [life vs. business] as though they were entirely separate entities. When I worked in Corporate America I would have never just said, “Oh I have to pay my Verizon bill, buy groceries and my kid needs a haircut so I’ll just transfer $350 into my checking account.” No Way! That would be called embezzlement!
Am I saying I was embezzling from myself? In a way I was! (I’m kidding. Can someone even embezzle from themselves?)
By nature I’m a scientist of sorts
I’m insanely curious and love to try out new methods in nearly every area of my life. I will try something. Assess it. Tweak it. Assess it again. I’ll “rinse and repeat” those steps as many times as I need to find MY sweet spot.
All of this tweaking and assessing different “money” things between my business and personal life brought me to The Secure Entrepreneur.
I’ve been using Jeremie’s method since July 2016. Despite the significant [and painful] double-whammy of decreased revenue and higher expenses in 2016 I feel more secure and grounded in my business finances than I ever have since starting my business in late 2008.
This method is my sweet spot
The security and peace of mind I feel is why I am excited to help announce his upcoming Money Habits Bootcamp. You can read all of the details here but three things I want to quickly point out.
- It’s virtual (you don’t have to book a flight to Aruba or into the cornfields of America)
- Read the info and you’ll find two options. One for just $97 and another for just $167
- Do you really need three things? Just sign up! You’ll be glad you did.
PS: I am not an affiliate or anything like that for Jeremie. I just straight up owe him so much (can you put a price on peace of mind?) and I want to share him with the entire world! (Well, his money habit methods at least!
