5 Crucial Steps to Starting a Business
Only 20% of businesses make it after their second year.
David understands this struggle. He was able to at least sell his first business and break even, verses going bankrupt. From this experience he was able to learn so much that helped to make his next one a success. Here are the five ways he was able to grow his current company:
1) Cash Flow Is Key
What does this mean? Cashflow is the money you put into the company and what you keep after all your expenses. This is completely different then profits.
When you write invoices, send them on time! Profits mean nothing if your cashflow is negative. If you are not billing you cannot move forward. Be transparent with your clients and build this trust to create great outcomes.
2) Profits Is a Theory
Profits is merely a statement number that you have to file to the government to pay your taxes. If you are negative in your cashflow after taxes you are either over spending or billing and invoicing without collecting payments.
A key way to balance your cashflow is to stay on top of it. Sometimes yearly, quarterly or monthly meeting are not enough. David makes a point to always have a meeting once a week to meet with his accounts manager to track that everything is going well.
3) Taxes Will Kill You If You Don’t Pay On Time
From day one when you begin to invoice and bill for your company you need a good accounts manager. Under or not paying your taxes is a sure way to kill your business.
Get a good accountant and pay the least amount of taxes within the law. If you make all kinds of cashflow and profits but at the end of the day end of in jail. All those efforts will be for nothing.
4) Culture is Key
If you have a fulltime job and you aren’t happy, it is most likely because the culture is lacking or non-existent. You spend time everyday with your coworkers, it is crucial that you build a respectful and positive environment for them to flourish in. People preform best when they are in a good state.
In David’s business ISU Corp, they built and use a digital office platform called HubLinked for building their company culture. David says, his team is more then just coworkers they are a family and what do families do? They look out for each other. Fostering a positive company culture is key to the success of any business.
5) Without Innovation There Is No Business
You have to keep innovating to stay alive. At ISU Corp, innovation is at the core of every project, every sprint. Assess always, what are you doing and how can you make it better?
Staying 10 steps ahead will give you the upper hand.
“The job of a true leader is to set the vision for the next level of innovation.”