Lifestyle

Budgeting for the Entrepreneur: The Science of Not Having

by . May 21st, 2014

The Science of Not Having: A Study on Budgeting

medium_5685872210

Everyone understands the risk that comes with startups. Most entrepreneurs have to give up a stable job and since there’s no way to steer clear from the chaos that comes with a budding company, many fail due to blasting a hole in their wallets. Fixing up a foolproof plan for your money can be quite difficult, but it can be done.

I am a hedonist and often do things out of curiosity. Often I think that if I want to do something, I better get it over with or my mind’s going to run around. However, I also understand what I need to survive and grow. Through the years, I have learned how to stretch a dollar to its limits and organize my finances so that even on a tight pocket, I can move towards excellence with whatever I want to do.

Let’s go over some of my personal tips and tricks on how to survive with a bag of coins.

7. Do Your Research

The term “spending wisely” is to be taken literally. You actually have to know what you’re spending on and beyond that. Before spending on anything, I get the whole scoop on it. I research about the product, its manufacturers and where I can get it. I also study about the product’s competition and predecessors and find out everything about those too. I want to be as comfortable with a product or service as if I had already purchased it before, before actually purchasing it. This should also be applied to hiring people.

6. Take Advantage of Free Offers and Discounts

When a product or service is offered at a lower rate than usual, this doesn’t mean it’s a clearance sale of a failed project. Otherwise, they’d say so. Mostly, it’s a shout out. The owners believe that what they’re offering is great and deserves a shot, but sadly isn’t getting too much heat. If there’s no special offer, don’t hesitate to ask for one. A lot of companies would rather give a 10% off on a product, rather than losing a customer and other potential ones through them.

5. Find Out What You Can Give Up

Even if you’ve got good standards for living, that doesn’t mean every facet of your living has to be up top. Find out what makes you genuinely happy and focus on those things. And sometimes, you just need to start on this, because we never really understand what we can live without until we actually try. And remember that if you can save for yourself, you’re also saving for your company.

4. Go to Startup Conventions

You go to a room with free food and likeminded individuals with similar goals and possibly similar problems. What could be easier in this situation than to offer service for service to help the group running? Some people there could have also gone through experiences that you haven’t yet and may offer advice in exchange for yours. And because of the passion of everyone in these meet-ups to learn something new, they don’t feel all stiff, but rather they give off a friendly and fresh environment.

3. Understand Where Your Money Is Going

It’s an obvious thing to say, but I feel that it’s important to be reminded of this once in a while. Even if you’re new and are spending the tiniest expenses and making the tiniest of sales, your company still needs to grow. You can’t do that if you don’t know exactly how it’s growing and what you have in your arsenal to help it grow.

2. Know the Little Things

There are many things that people tend to forget to budget for. Sometimes it’s the transportation from one meeting to another. Other times it’s the time wasted from holding an hour-long meeting, when it could have been accomplished in 15 minutes. When you start to realize that these tiny expenditures are often regular and add up to huge amounts of waste in the long run, you can then wizen up a bit more on what you do and how you do it.

1. Don’t Forget Yourself

I understand that your business (whatever it may be) is really important to you and that at times, you can get really passionate about it. Yes, most of your money should definitely go to the company, but understand that you, the entrepreneur, are practically synonymous to this creation of yours. If you burn out, so does your company. Find time and cash to spend on yourself and your loved ones. Go out and have a good time. Celebrate how your business has progressed so far, and what you know it will become in the future.

medium_3442842573
Your business is basically your child. Spend nothing on it, and it will die. Spend too much on it, and even though it will enjoy the extra for a bit, its fate stays the same. Spend wisely and prepare for the events you’ll be going up against. Soon, your business will thrive into a massive fortress.

photo credits: peasap via photopin cc; teegardin via photopin cc; ian sane via photopin cc; stephenpoff via photopin cc

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: