If you've been hit hard in recent times and have experienced a slow down in sales or shut down of your business, let's talk about how we can get stronger from all of this.
Many business owners are in analysis and revamp mode. They are doing a lot of self-discovery, a rebirth if you will. They are looking for ways to improve and come back with a vengeance. Let building a business emergency fund be part of your comeback strategy.
But first, let's talk about why to build an emergency fund.
You put your blood, sweat, and tears into your business and you want to protect it. When you build an emergency fund, it gives you peace of mind knowing that if there's a hiccup in your business you will have funds to pay your bills. Obstacles don't necessarily have to be a pandemic like the Coronavirus. It can be a car accident that puts you out of work for a few months. Or it can be having to take care of a sick family member thus prohibiting you from working. There are many different situations out there, and having an emergency fund will give you peace of mind knowing that you can take a break whenever you need to. And after all, that's why we became entrepreneurs.
As entrepreneurs, most of us have the goal of having the financial and time freedom to do what we want when we want. Which leads me to the next reason: financial security. Your emergency fund will allow you to still pay your overhead costs to keep your doors open or online business going. Whether you have a brick and mortar store or an online business, you have some kind of overhead costs associated with running your business.
As I said before, you put your blood, sweat, and tears into starting your business and growing it. That includes creating a community with your team members. Whether it is a virtual assistant, or an employee working at your physical location, you want to make sure that you can retain quality talent.
There are three ways that you can build an emergency fund starting now. But they're not what you think.
First of all, take advantage of annual payment discounts for subscriptions.
You can save hundreds of dollars when companies give you 1-2 months free for paying annually. Prepaid services can include website hosting, email service, marketing apps, and more. I pre-pay my Canva, Planoly, Linktree, Teachable, and Wix accounts.
While this may be a lot to allocate in your budget upfront, you will feel the relief month to month when you don't have to pay these monthly subscriptions. I've been told by fellow entrepreneurs that they've saved over $700 by doing this.
Secondly, consider outsourcing administrative and marketing duties.
Let me ask you a question. Do you have a hairstylist, nail technician or use any other beauty services? The answer is probably yes because you don't feel experienced enough (nor care to spend the time) dyeing your own hair or doing your own Shellac.
I outsource my marketing, content creation, and content scheduling to a virtual assistant. My virtual assistant is amazing and very affordable. She works part-time yet gets so much off my plate. She allows me to focus on creating new content and showing up on social media to connect with my audience.
When you are the business owner, you have the brains, the knowledge, and the experience to drive revenue and run the business the way you want it. The work that you do is more than a $10 per hour job. So why spend your time doing these tasks when you can actually earn more money by focusing on money-making activities?
I have created a checklist to help entrepreneurs hire quality talent on Upwork.com This checklist ensures that you find a diligent virtual assistant that will care as much as you do for your business. It also covers how to have open communication and set expectations for a smooth delegation process. Communication and reliability is key when working with someone virtually.
Lastly, explore additional income sources.
These days with the global pandemic, you see many businesses thinking outside the box on how to still generate revenue. But for some entrepreneurs, they are feeling stuck and unsure how they can make money without completely starting a new business.
In my program, 3 Pillars to 6 Figures, I coach entrepreneurs on creating 2 additional sources of income that pair well with their current business. The diversification techniques I teach allow them to earn more money and work less. Together, we uncover these additional sources of income and set up a system where it can run on autopilot.
After the 30-day program, participants will have the tools and resources to potential triple their income with a team in place to help leverage their efforts.
Don't wait until another crisis to take action.
Starting your emergency fund now and putting a plan into place will save you lots of stress and headaches in the future. For more guidance on how to have a strong comeback in the "new norm", download the GC Checklist today.
