Only fools and dead people have no worries. Human nature being what it is, all of us worry about money. We worry when we have too little, when we have enough and when we have extra. But not everyone worries equally.
Those who worry well about money are relatively stress free when it comes to money management, no matter whether the concerns are about too little money or how best to manage adequate and surplus funds. Those who do not know how to worry about money are nervous wrecks and consider finances to be a headache producer.
I suggest three rules of thumb about ow to handle the financial concerns that go with every business and that are almost always pressing concerns with small businesses.
First: organize the worries. Financial matters fall into a very few categories such as cash flow, debt management, credit development, receivables, taxes and asset management. Each have their own considerations and need to be well organized, carefully filed and accurately tracked. For example, with cash flow it is important to have cash on hand to meet daily expenses and payrolls, while with credit it is important to develop lines of credit, the longer the better, in order to protect the business.
Aside from writing legibly and making careful notes and entries, none of these money matters merit non-stop attention. Translating worries into tasks that can be accomplished is a way of acting on the worries instead of just worrying to no purpose. If organizing the worries is step one, then step two becomes scheduling dates on which these matters need attention. Change the worry to action, schedule the action, and live worry-free during the interim.
Second: schedule the tasks. Do them faithfully at the proper times. Get the taxes done on schedule. Make payroll on time. Organize debt payment to be automatically deducted or do those payments manually on the same date each month. It might be that the various tasks related to financial management of the business actually add up to less than one working day per month but what makes them seem burdensome is that these tasks are spread out here and there endlessly. Organizing and scheduling "corrals" them, creating the new perspective that the financial management of the business is not so bad after all.
Third: worry about the financies on purpose. Remember, we are all humans. It is human to worry. The manager of a small business and inded of any-sized business will worry about finances, no matter how well organized and efficient the company's management of financial tasks and policies. The goal is to be worry free in between the tasks you have organized. But the human mind does not always adhere to schedules!
Ridiculous as it may seem, commit yourself to worry on purpose when you "feel it coming on." Just be sure the worry session has a beginning and end before you get into the worrying. Keep it short: ten minutes is far more than enough to worry yourself sick and get it out of your system. This is a different approach than being half-worried or a little worried or stuffing down the worry. Nagging worries simply produce a sense of unease. By comparison, an all-out bone-rattling worry acts like a strong storm: it clears out the atmosphere so that calm can return afterwards. Venting out fears, worries and anxiety is a cleansing antidote as old as human nature. Use it as often as needed. It won't let you down.
Managing a small business brings with it plenty of financial problems and challenges. It is human nature to sit up and take notice of financial problems. Just remember, they never really go away, they just mutate. Managing worry is the best approach: organize the worries, schedule the work involved to properly address the financial aspects of your business, and when you need to worry do it with abandon!
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