A Guide to Making Smart Financial Decisions

DATE: Oct, 10   COMMENTS: 0   AUTHOR: Allan Azarola

There has never been a better time to start making smart financial decisions. Even if, for far too long, you have been making poor financial decisions that have placed your business in a tricky financial position; there is always time to turn it around – it really is never too late. And, even if you’re proud of the financial position your business is currently in, there are always ways to refine your decision making to optimise your financial stability.

Sometimes, businesses and individuals alike, forget to go back to basics. They look for complicated ways to save and spend strategically; sometimes even outsourcing this practice to someone outside of the business. While this can be a fantastic solution, it can come with some cons too because the outsider often knows very little about the business and what it needs – you may be struggling with this reality right now, or perhaps have in the future. It certainly is an all too common reality; which is why it may help to reconsider your strategy and go back to basics so that you build a stable path to financial stability, based on your critical knowledge of the business. And, if you’re wondering where to start, don’t stress; we have some simple, fool-proof and proven ways to make smart financial decisions that’ll likely put your business back in the pound seat. 

Hire a small team of good people

If you’re running a small business that’s not likely to scale quickly, and you have limited resources to grow drastically in a short amount of time, the best thing to do is keep your team small. By small, we mean keep the handful of people that are needed to get the job done, and refrain from hiring more staff just to help scale the business. These two elements do not work hand in hand – you will be able to grow the business even with a small team, especially if it’s made up of strong individuals with varying skill sets. Yes, it may take a little longer, but it is indeed a smarter, more stable way of growing a business; much better than rushing it, hiring plenty more staff and then realising you’re in a financially toxic situation.

Consider offshore options

Another smart and savvy financial move is considering setting up an offshore account in a country that has low tax rates. This doesn’t mean you will evade tax – it certainly isn’t illegal, it just means that you will pay the tax rates of the country in which your business is held, and not the tax rates of the country your business was ‘founded’ in. Corporate services Mauritius is one great option and they are also known to be very helpful and supportive in a process that may come across confusing and complex. 

Budget Strictly

Budgeting is imperative, and it’s even more important that the person dealing with the business’ financials is skilled at budgeting, as well as identifying the business’ needs, rather than ‘wants. One important point to consider ensuring the budget runs optimally, is to review all expenses, and identify what could be cut back. Often businesses overspend on the little things that make a difference. For example, if you’re buying office equipment, use a site like Only Reviews to decide whether you could find the product cheaper. This will help your business to not only save but allow some space in the budget for other critical expenses. We all know that costs increase every year, sometimes even during a year when you least expect it – so having some ‘breathing space’ in your budget is very important. 

Save wherever possible

There are plenty of ways to save. Just one huge way to save in a business is by re-evaluating marketing expenditure and finding smart, cost effective alternatives. Traditional marketing techniques are incredibly costly, so why not take advantage of the new age marketing techniques, such as social media, which is said to be one of the most inexpensive, and highly effective ways of marketing your business and brand. Another way to save is by re-negotiating contracts. While you may think this is near impossible, you’ll be pleasantly surprised that many businesses are open to negotiating, however, they often want something in return. You could offer extra services in order to get a good deal from them. It certainly is worth a try, and it’s likely you will both ‘win’ from the negotiation. Yet another way to save is by hiring interns. Often interns do not expect a good salary – in fact, some don’t expect a salary at all, as they are looking to learn more about the industry and gain invaluable knowledge. If your business is in need of an individual to get through certain tasks which could add to their knowledge and benefit their career, then considering an internship program is a fantastic way to help them, and your business.

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