I’ve heard from a number of people about how this series on Financial Freedom has made them stop, think, and actually make different decisions. It’s been amazing to hear people saying they’ve had enough of the way things are and they’re ready to make a change.
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’ll know it’s my life mission to help more business owners get the financial security they deserve, without a life of stress and compromise. And whilst we work with a lot of businesses directly we can’t work with everyone, so it’s hugely exciting for me to know there are business owners are changing their future by taking action.
What we do as business owners isn’t easy, and most will never get the life and security they thought they would.
And that’s why we do what we do at The F Word. To find a way to change that reality for as many people as we can.
So, a quick recap of this special 4-part series
Part 1 knowing what Financial Freedom looks like for you and finding out your X number
Part 2 stop abdicating responsibility for your own financial future
Part 3 – an action plan to get out of Financial Survival Mode
If you’ve been doing your homework you should now know what financial freedom means to you, and be taking concrete steps to change your financial future for the better.
And if you haven’t yet done anything, but know you need to, then WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?
How many more years of your life are you happy to waste when you could have been building a future to be excited about?
Ok, rant over, on with this week’s blog – the tools and habits you need to build your own Financial Freedom.
I wanted to leave you with a definitive list of the tools and habits you’ll to create the financial future you want, so here goes:
The financial tools you need:
- A plan of where you want to get to. What is the X Number that will secure your future? This is a very personal number and it depends if you want to leave some of that to your family or spend it all yourself! Get advice on this one if you don’t know your number yet – it’s SO important!
- A plan of how your business is going to give you that number
- Through dividends and pension contributions
- And / or through a business sale – what does it need to be worth?
- A cash flow forecast to make sure you never run out of cash
- A weekly flash report that’s forward looking as far as you can see on pipeline and future work
- Monthly management accounts that show your full year forecast net profit after tax and dividends
- Key Performance Indicators, ideally as graphs, that track your most important numbers so you’ll see immediately if anything goes off track
And the financial habits you need:
- CONSISTENCY. This is absolutely the most important habit you’ll need around your finances. Your finances need your attention every week, every month. Looking at it now again just won’t cut it
- Put all your taxes into a separate bank account every month and don’t touch it – HMRC money isn’t yours!
- Keep at least 3 months overheads as buffer cash in a separate bank account
- A focus on net retained profit – no one cares what your turnover is, the only thing that matters is what you keep
- A daily and weekly focus on pipeline and future sales
- Regular marketing activity, especially when it feels like you’re too busy
- Make regular contributions into your pension – don’t just invest what’s left over, prioritise putting money away for your future
- Belief – start to believe you CAN do this, and if you do the right things consistently there’s a damn good chance you will
- Keep looking forward
- Don’t get too busy for the basics; being a busy fool doesn’t get you a gold star!
Well that’s it. My guide to building your own Financial Freedom. I really do hope you’ve got some good ideas and feel inspired to make 2019 the year you take control and start crafting the future you want.
Or there is a simpler way.
Just say “sod it”
And leave it all to chance
It’s worked pretty well so far….. hasn’t it?
And if you missed any of the previous 3 posts in this special 4-part series you can read them here
Part 1 knowing what Financial Freedom looks like for you and finding out your X number
Part 2 stop abdicating responsibility for your own financial future
Part 3 – an action plan to get out of Financial Survival Mode
We want to help as many small business owners as we can to build their own financial freedom, so if you know someone who’d find this useful, please forward this to them or share it on LinkedIn