Are You Getting Paid?

Business owners are modest people. The stats show that we don't pay ourselves enough, which is why many owners often run into financing issues. The business may be making money, but are you? As a business owner you need to show a profit for yourself, not just the company, in order to sustain your personal finances and obtain loans for the business.

If you're not paying yourself the same amount of money that you would make doing the same job for a company- you're not paying yourself enough. Period. Don't say you have to sacrifice your wage to make the business work. If this is the case, the business isn't going to work! If your salary is normally 40k- you should be able to pay yourself 85% of that base.

Are you aware of your business' finances? If not, stop reading this right now and get involved. Too many people aren't aware of what they could be paying themselves because they have no idea what the business is making after the bills are paid- or if the bills are even being paid. You need to be involved in your business' finances. Like Oprah says, "sign every check yourself and you will not get into trouble."

What are your growth reports? Some business owners are so involved in making a sale that they don't realize what the sales ratios are. If you get 20 prospect customers per month, you should be turning over 1/3 of them. If you don't know what these numbers are- again get involved. If you see three months go by where you are not converting 1/3 of your inquiry base to a customer base- you need to adjust price point and possibly fire a few employees. Whatever you do- don't cut your current salary-address the issue!

Happy Easter
Twyla