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Take my hand and we’ll make it I swear

Woah Oh….Living on a Prayer….

Sorry – tragic Bon Jovi fan here. But let’s take a minute to talk about who you are working with in your business, who is holding your hand on this roller coaster ride and who is helping you “make it” and reach your financial goals.

Recently I had a Financial Coaching Session with a client and they had no idea how they were going to make their annual budget numbers, as they looked far too unreachable, they were mind boggling and they were (upon a bit of digging) the reality that was holding them back from moving forward.

Part of my job is to understand what that fear is, what is the underlying cause and to break it down.  I work with my clients to ensure that their budget is attainable, pushes them but is realistic at the same time.

Let’s face it – we are not in the business to lose money.

Instead of looking at your yearly sales targets or yearly profit goals (as these can often be large values which can inflict more stress and anxiety) – break those goals down into a monthly target, and then break that monthly target down into a “number of customers” target.

Whilst working with this client it became evident that the monthly number meant only 1 new customer per month was required and the financial sales goals would be met.  Thinking about 1 new customer (rather than another $50000 in sales for the year) – was not a stressful situation, nor did it create tears, anxiety or the client shutting down and losing interest.  But that one new customer will still create the $50,000 sales per year that they needed (without the added stress).

So same end result, but by breaking it down into smaller chunks, the focus now becomes about finding that one ideal ongoing customer, and not finding 50 new customers (which was their initial thought when they looked at the yearly numbers).

Focus can then be narrowed down to what needs to be done in the next month to find that one ideal customer – what advertising needs to be done, what current clients you can leverage off, what networking should you be attending and what other avenues can be thought of.

Sometimes you need to take a step back, in order to move forward.

Having a budget is an essential tool to track performance and goals – but this doesn’t need to be looked at purely on a yearly level.  Monthly budgets are just as effective, less stressful and easier to focus on tasks to ensure those financial goals are achieved.