Cashflow is one the biggest secrets to success in your business. Understanding how this works, and more importantly understanding the mindset of the players on the field driving this game, is incredibly important. Some of the players that you will found in almost every other business are as follows:
1) Kelly– As soon as a match is won, and the prize money is in the bank, stressed out Cash Grab Kelly (who is harassed daily by creditors), dives in and takes all to pay overdue bills. Not ideal, however a better position to be in than having Killer Carl take the lead.
2) Killer Carl –Cashflow Killer Carl infiltrates Team Manager’s psyche encouraging him (or her) to spend big on Lifestyle and living it up with the result that there is nothing left in the kitty to pay for business liabilities and growth. Killer Carl is often featured in news headlines, where his skill is displayed on the political front, however he does love to sneak around Team Business (and domestic homes) causing havoc as well. Team Managers are well advised to keep a watchful eye out for his sneaky attacks from the sideline, particularly when Kelly is on the field, as his greatest triumph is when Kelly is taken by surprise, leaving no funds available for her cash grab.As this is when Team Business goes down hard.
3) Budget Buddy is Cash Flow King’s wingman. Buddy helps with cash.flow planning reporting. He is often sidelined by Team Business as criticised for not having the passion, charisma and star qualities of other players. However, his long-term diligence and performance stats prove his value should not be underestimated.
4) Cash Flow King – This is the guy you want in play every training session…..every game…. every season. He is the star player when it comes to cashflow. Some of his training notes have been leaked from an unknown source (see below). Experienced players swear his techniques have proven many times to kick Kelly and Killer Carl off the field.
A) Understand your expenses – where is the cash flowing?
B) Understand your expenses – where should the cash flow?
C) Develop a strong line of defence against Killer Carl & maintain a disciplined and committed approach to maintaining these strategies. Ensure Killer Carl is not one of your players!
D) Ensure Tax Minimisation strategies are in play utilising the kills of a proactive and experienced coach.
E) Debt Management – In many cases this is where the opposition (Team ATO) make an appearance along with credit cards and outstanding supplier invoices. A debt reduction strategy needs to be developed removing these issues from your game as soon as possible.
F) Spend Money To Make Money – Team Managers often struggle with this play underestimating the benefits that planned spending brings to Team Business. Increasing expenditure on areas that focus on increasing profitability can be time consuming, however when gameplay is thoughtfully designed real results are seen. Additional expenditure could include items such as new equipment, additional staff, advertising, time saving software and/or staff training. The key to this effective strategy is ensure all the playing strategies above are understood and Budget Buddy has been brought into play. It is often the case that borrowing funds to spend the money is the best way to implement to the Spend technique …. whereas falling back on the old play of “there is no money to pay for improvements” is often, in the long term, a losing strategy
G) Warning – When your business is the wining team in the cash flow game take care! This is a time when generally Killer Carl attempts to sneak back into play with a vicious attack from the sidelines!!