Ten Top Tips To Get To Grips With Your Business Today

Nicola Cairncross

One question that we notice a lot of our clients in the creative industries struggling with, is how do they switch off their creative juices, and lock into a frame of mind that is much more conducive to getting their finances straight.
 
How do they go about making sure their businesses are on track for profit and not just to indulge a passion?
 
Nicola Cairncross, ex-fashion designer and founder of The Money’s Gym has come up with her Top 10 ways to combine a creative flair with starting to think about your business and its long term financial future.
 
After all, being good at business can be very creative too!
 
1.  Decide to spend a day a week on admin, a day on marketing (both working “on” your business) and then three days working “in” your business, doing whatever you do to make money.  Creative flow can’t be broken interrupted and it’s better to divide the week up for specific activities – then you won’t be distracted.  Doing admin on a Monday provides a buffer between the weekend and the productive part of the week, while doing marketing related activities – like updating a newsletter, calling potential clients or having meetings on a Friday winds you down nicely for the weekend.
 
2.  Design your environment to suit your personality.  If you know you can’t work in a muddle and tomorrow is one of your creative days, then tidy up the night before.  Have separate areas for different activities; for example one area for making/creating and one for admin and accounts.   Very visual types (and I know, because I am one) can’t concentrate with lots of visual distraction and a messy desk although some seem to thrive on it!
 
3.  Make sure that you have the equipment you need easily to hand, because getting up to find things will also break the creative, admin or marketing “flow”.  Especially if you work from home, it’s amazing how distracting going into the kitchen for a cup of tea can be…..washing up that needs to be done, washing to put in the machine, pets to feed, cupboards that need clearing out.
 
4.  Tell all your friends and family what your “work” hours are.  Often if you don’t go to an office, people think you are available at any time for tea, lunch or just “dropping in on”.  Even if you are a creative person, you can be ruthless about protecting your “income producing activity” hours from what I call “time-stealers”.  Similarly, surround yourself with positive upbeat people.  If you are always hearing how hard it is to make a living in your industry, then this will become the reality for you.  Think about role models who have achieved what you would like to achieve, and find out all about them.  What worked, what didn’t?  What could you “model” or copy.  Could you find yourself a mentor?  It’s amazing how many successful people want to share their knowledge and encourage a talented newcomer……….ooooh!  I feel a whole new diary entry coming on!

 

 
5.  Consider starting a “blog” to diarise your creative activities.  You can write about your own goals, and set yourself deadlines.  People are fascinated in the creative process and you can combine this online diary with a name and email collection process via a simple newsletter sign-up box.  Building a database of people who know who you are and what you do is the fastest way to ensure that you can fill any private view, fashion show or shop opening with one free email.  The search engines love “blogs” and you won’t be a secret for long.  I recommend www.typepad.com where for $89 a year, you can run three different blogs under one account.  Powerful stuff.  You can visit mine at www.TheMoneyGym.com – click on “blog” in the menu.
 
6.  Make friends with your bank manager.  I used to meet mine for coffee once a month and he’s still a great friend.  Bank managers have seen many businesses come and go and, if you ask, will share a lot of knowledge on how to run a business.  They often have a wealth of contacts in the local community and can introduce you to other business customers who can help you grow your business.  And if you need them for help with an overdraft or a short-term loan, they will be much more likely to be able to help if they know you and your business well.
 
7.  Any bank manager will tell that it’s not lack of profits that kill a business, it’s lack of cashflow control.  I’ve tried many methods of running my cashflow – some simple and some complicated – but the best/easiest/fastest way I’ve found is a simple Excel spreadsheet which combines money in, money out on a week by week basis and which  projects out at least 18 months.  You check it (reconcile) to your bank account every week and anything that hasn’t happened that you expect to happen, you move along.  Perfect for making sure you keep on top of that credit control (making sure invoices get paid) because you can see at a glance what effect not collecting the money will have!

 

 
8.  Find yourself a VA.  Virtual Assistants are like Personal Assistants but you hire them by the hour and they don’t have to live in the same town or even the same country as you.  Super efficient, they can take care of admin, accounts, travel arrangements and anything else you need.  Marvellous!
 
9.  Think about creating passive income flows.  Many artists and creative industry types struggle when they could be making money from other sources to free themselves up to do what they love – creating beauty.  Very often you can leverage what you do to create passive income flows online with only a small investment.  Show me someone with £50,000 worth of equity in their property and I can set them free for life, making sure of a fabulously comfortable old age (and they wouldn’t have to DO anything themselves either).  Being creative is not an excuse for living in poverty or worrying about your old age, you know!
 
10.  Spend some time each week reading the great business building and creative development books – often a less daunting prospect than you may think!  Often written for short attention span entrepreneurs, books like “E-Myth Revisited” by Michael Gerber is a great story, while teaching you how to build a business to last.  “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki will convince you that you are on the right path and “The Artists Way” by Julia Cameron is rapidly becoming a classic too.
 
This Top 10 Tips was created by Nicola Cairncross, ex-fashion designer and music biz manager, co-owner of The Money Gym, helping bright, creative people set themselves financially free by building a business to love. www.themoneygym.com